Ohio Football

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Conference Call: SWBL Buckeye

By Greg Shoemaker | Featured Analyst

With no clear cut favorite the Southwestern Buckeye League Buckeye race should be quite a ride. Candidates for the crown are many but all comers have their positives and negatives.

Reigning champion, Waynesville, has huge holes to fill. Milton-Union must get mentally tough to win the title. Dixie looks to ride early-season confidence and emotion to the top. Then there is Carlisle who looks to separate Dr. Jeckyll from Mr. Hyde. Madison wants all of them to know that if they’re not careful the Mohawks can give a good scalping.

Here is a complete overview of the SWBL Buckeye:

WAYNESVILLE SPARTANS
Division IV, Region 16
Head Coach: Brandon Philpot (19-4, two years @ Waynesville, 19-4 overall)
2011 Record: 11-1, 6-0 SWBL Buckeye

Overview: Don’t think that the Waynesville run is over just because they graduated a very successful senior class that went undefeated during the 2011 regular season. The Spartans are equipped to bring home another SWBL title and amore playoff wins. There are holes to be filled and those who will be stepping in have the confidence to know they can beat whoever lines up across from them. The gauge will be measured in Week 2 when the team travels to defending Region 16 champion and county rival, Clinton-Massie. Waynesville topped the Falcons 17-2 a year ago. How the Spartans handle being the hunted will tell us plenty about what this team is made of.

The Waynesville defense held seven opponents to 19 points or less last season. The Spartans return some very athletic cogs on this side of the ball with end Jacob Audia, linebacker Austin Parrish, and Ty Black, Michael Vogel, Danny Hussey in the secondary. Black has seven interceptions at the varsity level. Hussey and Vogel combined for 109 total tackles as juniors.

The offense multiple-set, spread offense that the Spartans run will be loaded with new faces. The line coming together and performing well early will be a huge factor in where this team ends up positioning themselves for the post-season. Depth will play a pivotal role up front. Center Daniel Shinkle and Audia will be looked to for guidance by the underclassmen. Despite losing so much firepower head coach Brandon Philpot has big time playmakers in Ty Black, Vogel as well as newcomers Troy Black, Justin Stanley and Kory Stillwell. Troy Black will get his shot at winning the starting quarterback job. Ty Black is five receptions, 109 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns away from holding the school record in all three categories.


MILTON UNION BULLDOGS
Division IV, Region 16
Head Coach: Bret Pearce (67-60, 12 years @ Milton-Union, 67-60 overall)
2011 Record: 8-3, 5-1

Overview: Only one thing stood in the way of Milton-Union having a season for the ages in 2011 – Waynesville. The Bulldogs suffered two of their three losses at the hands of the Spartans. This fall M-U has the pieces in place to dethrone the reigning champs and win their first SWBL title since 2007. Those defeats a year ago should be more than enough motivation for head coach Bret Pearce and his staff to use on their troops.

The senior class has veterans who have been through the wars. On defense they are led by lineman Jesse Simpson and linebackers Chris Boggs, Tyler Brown, Austin Dickison and Josh Bryan while secondary members Joe Thoele and David Karns are All-Conference material. Junior Cole Pennington joins Simpson to make a formidable interior up front. Young defensive back Kenton Dickison will get his share of opportunities as opponents shy away from throwing near Karns and Thoele.

Up front on offense, Pearce has some comfort knowing tight end Alex King with linemen Jason Siler, Wesley Martin, Cory Layman and Josh Simpson will be giving the skill players room to do their thing. Brown racked up 10 touchdowns rushing and had another receiving as a junior. London Cowan will slide in at quarterback. Receivers Trevor Klosterman and Karns can spread a defense. Milton-Union has one of the best special team weapons in the state in kicker/punter Nick Fields. His ability to put the ball through the uprights may mean the difference in a few games in 2012.


CARLISLE INDIANS
Division IV, Region 16
Head Coach: Bill Jewell (38-25 @ Carlisle, six years)
2011 Record: 6-4, 4-2

Overview: If anyone could throw a monkey wrench into the top of the SWBL Buckeye standings this fall it would be Carlisle. The Indians are flying under the radar with Milton-Union and Waynesville expected to battle it out for top honors. With a cast of key players who know how and what it takes to win coming back Carlisle is a legitimate contender for the title.

With quarterback Levi Boyer throwing long touchdown passes to big play receiver, Nick Burton and Ryan McLaughlin finishing off runs out of the backfield the Indians have a fearsome balance on offense. Boyer threw for 1,357 yards and 18 touchdowns on his way to First-Team All-SWBL Buckeye as a sophomore. McLaughlin and Burton have knack for finding the end zone from anywhere at any time. Junior KC Clark is at threat on the verge of big things. Dalton Woodson and Tyler Barton lead the charge on the line.

Head coach Bill Jewell is afforded opportunities to take chances on defense with stud end, Brad Topp. All Topp did as a junior was record 16.0 sacks on his way to Second Team All-Southwest District honors. McLaughlin is a beast at linebacker and Malcolm Smith is ready for a monster year across from Topp. Carlisle must become more consistent and stronger against upper echelon teams. They gave up 43.0 points per contest to the four teams that had winning records in 2011. Their six wins were against teams that were all below .500 as the Indians allowed just 10.5 per tilt with two shutouts.


DIXIE GREYHOUNDS
Division V, Region 20
Head Coach: Sam Watson (0-0 @ Dixie, first season)
2011 Record: 4-6, 3-3

Overview: New head coach Sam Watson has wasted little time engraining into his players that Dixie is going to be playing for a SWBL title. The Greyhounds have never been known as a football powerhouse. The school has posted just one winning season since 1983 going 6-4 in 2010.

Quarterback Luke Bowling and running back Ryan Jordan are two of the most accomplished offensive players in school history. They would like nothing more than to have a winning campaign to solidify their place amongst the program’s elite. Bowling has thrown for 5,301 and 38 touchdowns heading into his fourth year as a starter. Jordan had a breakout junior year with 21 total touchdowns (17 rushing, four receiving) and 1,046 yards on the ground and 295 more receiving as a junior. Receiver Greg Leonard will see his number called quite often by Bowling.

It will be up to the defense to make great strides over last fall. The cornerstone is this unit is linebacker/end Matt Isaacs who does it all for the Greyhounds. Isaacs racked up 111 total tackles, 16 tackles for a loss and 6.0 sacks as a junior on his way to First Team All-SWBL Buckeye honors. He has 17.0 career sacks. Watson expects big years out of Hunter Overholtz and Justin Hudson.


MADISON MOHAWKS
Division IV, Region 16
Head Coach: Chris Wells (4-6 @ Madison, one year, 4-6 overall)
2011 Record: 4-6, 2-4

Overview: It was clear to see that Madison took on the gritty hard-nosed personality of first year head coach, Chris Wells in 2011. That is all fine and dandy, but four wins isn’t going to cut it with Wells. The Mohawks will be even peskier in 2012 as desire and dedication to the program has driven them this off-season.

The schedule is a bear with non-conference games against bigger schools, Wyoming, Indian Hill and Franklin. It will take everything in the tack for Madison to get to the .500 mark. Wells hopes the tougher schedule hardens his troops as the season wears on.

Secondary star Brandon Mize is the field general on the defense. His classmates Tre Owens and David Schenck are as a good as any in the conference at their respected positions. The trio needs to have broad shoulders for the rest of the Mohawks to ride on.


PREBLE SHAWNEE ARROWS
Division IV, Region 16
Head Coach:
2011 Record: 2-8, 1-5

Overview: There are going to be lots of growing pains for Preble Shawnee this fall. The Arrows graduated a senior class that had played tons of varsity football. Unfortunately they didn’t come up with enough victories to instill that sense of winning pride and tradition for those who followed.

On defense several key players return. Sophomore Brandon Frost tallied 36 total tackles in the secondary as a freshman. Classmate Wyatt Austin joins him in the defensive backfield. Kyle Deaton, Tyler Kittel and Conner Frye have been through the wars. Deaton and Frye combined to get in on 10 tackles for losses in 2011.

Arrow fans are going to need their rosters to keep up with all the fresh faces on offense. Preble Shawnee will rely heavily on Christian Letner to produce big numbers and be a leader. Austin Ferguson and Frost will also have their chance to prove they are worthy of touches at the skill positions.


NORTHRIDGE POLAR BEARS
Division IV, Region 16
Head Coach: Bob Smith (nine years at @ Northridge)
2011 Record: 0-10, 0-6

Overview: Northridge is looking for anything positive to build on in 2012. They might just have it with their speed and an exciting core of skill players lacing them up this fall. Expect some real shootouts when the boys form Timber Lane take the field in 2012.

The offense should be much improved after averaging just 13.4 points per game a year ago. Northridge only scored five first half touchdowns in their first nine contests of 2011. Receiver Nathan Jackson was a shining star amid the mess. He had 58 receptions for 970 yards and seven scores as a junior. Ivan King and Brandon Spencer combined to throw for 14 touchdowns a year ago. Spencer, Christopher Guffie and Jamal Phillips bring tremendous speed to the skills positions.

The defense was a mess last season allowing 51.7 per tilt. They were outscored 344-51 in the first half of games. It all comes down to standing your ground in the trenches. The Polar Bears have the athletes to be competitive. Two-way lineman, Trent Hatfield, sophomore Dalton Owens with secondary members Brandon Mays and Kesi Willis will be counted on to push everyone on this side of the ball to give more.

Greg is a co-founder of TSF and is now entering his ninth season as a Featured Analyst for the website. The Xavier University grad also serves as the Content Manager for the website and is widely considered one of the top high school football experts in the region. If you are interested in covering your team, please CONTACT US.

© 2013, Get Sports Enterprises, LLC. All rights reserved.