Eric Frantz
06-01-2011, 03:45 PM
Columbus Hartley (13-2, State Champions)
* Players to Watch – FB/LB Jarrod Zang (Sr.), RB/LB JaWaun Woodley (Jr.), TE/LB Jacob Matuska (Jr.), OL/LB Napoleon Bell (Sr.), RB/DB Alonzo Saxton (So.), DB Trevonn Brown (Jr.), DL Solomon Grace (So.)
* Outlook – After a 37-16 loss at Ironton in Week 8, the Hawks won seven straight games last year, including victories over Amanda-Clearcreek, Kettering Alter, Heath, Chagrin Falls and a rematch with Ironton, en route to the state championship (their second overall and first since 1986). The bad news is standout RB Noah Key who rushed for 2,905 yards rushing and 41 TDs in 2010 is now at Toledo. The good news is that means Zang, Woodley and Saxton will get to see what they can do with more carries. Matuska is regarded as one of the top junior prospects in the state. Schedule-wise Hartley has one of the state’s toughest for a small school. If the Hawks get back to the playoffs they’ll have earned it after facing the likes of Amanda-Clearcreek, Elyria Catholic, Ironton, Coshocton and Ready. In Week 4 Hartley faces its toughest test against D-II power Akron Hoban. Hartley was in Region 15 last year. “What’s great about the tradition at Hartley is seeing how the next group carries the torch,” head coach Brad Burchfield (58-35 overall, 27-9 in three years at Hartley) said. “(This group is) chomping at the bit to lay the next generation of bricks in the wall of that great tradition."
* Players to Watch – FB/LB Jarrod Zang (Sr.), RB/LB JaWaun Woodley (Jr.), TE/LB Jacob Matuska (Jr.), OL/LB Napoleon Bell (Sr.), RB/DB Alonzo Saxton (So.), DB Trevonn Brown (Jr.), DL Solomon Grace (So.)
* Outlook – After a 37-16 loss at Ironton in Week 8, the Hawks won seven straight games last year, including victories over Amanda-Clearcreek, Kettering Alter, Heath, Chagrin Falls and a rematch with Ironton, en route to the state championship (their second overall and first since 1986). The bad news is standout RB Noah Key who rushed for 2,905 yards rushing and 41 TDs in 2010 is now at Toledo. The good news is that means Zang, Woodley and Saxton will get to see what they can do with more carries. Matuska is regarded as one of the top junior prospects in the state. Schedule-wise Hartley has one of the state’s toughest for a small school. If the Hawks get back to the playoffs they’ll have earned it after facing the likes of Amanda-Clearcreek, Elyria Catholic, Ironton, Coshocton and Ready. In Week 4 Hartley faces its toughest test against D-II power Akron Hoban. Hartley was in Region 15 last year. “What’s great about the tradition at Hartley is seeing how the next group carries the torch,” head coach Brad Burchfield (58-35 overall, 27-9 in three years at Hartley) said. “(This group is) chomping at the bit to lay the next generation of bricks in the wall of that great tradition."