The 2009 JJHuddle Ohio High Football Preseason Power Poll is here!!

Division I

1.

Cincinnati Elder (13-2, Division I State Runner-Up)

Elder moved back into the forefront in the GCL as well as on the statewide stage with its run to the state title game. There had been some lean times for the Panthers since winning back-to-back state titles in 2002-03. After winning the regional title, Elder downed Pickerington Central 24-10 in a state semifinal before falling to Cleveland St. Ignatius 28-20 in the title game. Still, it was a major breakthrough for an Elder program that had failed to win a playoff game in its two playoff appearances since winning its last title in 2003.

“It was an exciting year,” said Elder coach Doug Ramsey, who is starting his 13th year as the Panthers head coach. “I’m not sure there were a ton of expectations for that team. That team was a big-time overachiever. We won 13 games and we lost one to the eventual national champion (Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas) and one in the state title game.”

Elder will have four returning starters on offense and seven on defense.

“Our skill positions on offense should be pretty good,” Ramsey said. “But we lost all five of our linemen from last year. We have a chance to have a bigger line than we had last year. On defense, we don’t normally have seven guys back. We expect the defense to play well.”

Mark Miller threw for 1,968 yards with 21 touchdowns against just four interceptions.

“Mark understands the game,” Ramsey said. “He is a very accurate quarterback and gets the ball to the open receiver.”

Alex Welch, who had four touchdowns among his 16 catches last year, has already verbally committed to Notre Dame.

The schedule is tough as nails. Elder faces Illinois state champion East St. Louis and Kentucky state champion Louisville Trinity. Elder also faces Colerain, Lakewood St. Edward and Columbus DeSales in addition to the usual GCL challenges.

Cleveland Glenville (11-1)

The Tarblooders won their first 11 games and appeared to be a potential state championship contender. That streak including an opening week win over rival Cleveland St. Ignatius. But St. Ignatius avenged that early defeat with a stunning 8-7 win in a regional semifinal before going on to the state championship itself.

As always, there are heavy graduation losses. OL Marcus Hall and LB Jonathan Newsome signed with Ohio State. But coach Ted Ginn Sr. has quite a bit of talent still on hand to try and make another title run.

S Christian Bryant has scholarship offers from schools from coast to coast and could be the next spotlight player out of this inner city school.

Latwaan Anderson transferred from Lakewood St. Edward, where he was a defensive standout. Jayrone Elliott’s stock has also risen with colleges during the spring and early summer.

Glenville is expected to win the Senate League again. The nonconference is daunting with road games against St. Ignatius and trips downstate to face Reynoldsburg and Huber Heights Wayne.

Cleveland St. Ignatius (14-1, State Champions)

Coach Chuck Kyle, back for his 27th year with the Wildcats, welcomes back three players with starting experience on offense and five on defense from his 10th state championship team. Kyle hopes to maintain the momentum built on that title run.

“We had a couple of camps recently and the kids were all like, ‘It feels like we just stopped (playing),’ ” Kyle said. “Now the kids know what the reality is about winning a state championship. What you hope is that you get to practice an extra five weeks because last year, that really did help our young kids get more experience during our playoff run.”

LB Scott McVey issued an early commitment to Ohio State after a dominant four-sack performance in the state title game win over Cincinnati Elder. For the year, McVey had 94 tackles and 34-1/2 tackles-for-loss.

“Scott’s the type of kid, he’s a very focused athlete,” Kyle said. “He loves playing the game. It’s almost like, ‘That’s (his recruitment to Ohio State) done, now let’s get ready to play the season.’ He’s glad it’s out of the way so he can play the game for his team. He had an amazing season last year.”

Kevin Johnson, who rushed for 302 yards and four TDs last year, was a state qualifier in the 100-meter dash and is a Louisville recruit. Brendan Carrozoni is being heavily recruited as a tight end. Mark Myers started a few games for departed senior Andrew Holland last year at quarterback.

The schedule has Glenville at the beginning and rival Lakewood St. Edward at the end with a ton of challenges – including Clayton Northmont, Mentor, Massillon Washington and Cincinnati St. Xavier -- in the middle.

Cincinnati Moeller (11-2)

John Rodenberg stepped in as the Moeller coach last year and led the Crusaders to a playoff berth. Moeller dropped its first-round game to Colerain 17-10. Rodenberg’s team could be poised to go deeper in 2009 with seven starters back on offense and eight returning on defense.

“We were excited with the way we got into the playoffs,” Rodenberg said. “We beat St. Xavier and Lakewood St. Edward. Unfortunately, we got in there and lost to Colerain. We have a lot of guys coming back. We hope they can play up to their potential. Our region is extremely tough, but if they can do that we could be in the thick of it this year.

“We are excited to have that many starters back. That puts me under a lot of pressure I guess,” Rodenberg joked.

All eyes will be on Andrew Hendrix, who issued a verbal commitment to Notre Dame in late June. He threw for 1,609 yards with 11 touchdowns against seven interceptions last year.

“He’s got phenomenal arm strength and release,” Rodenberg said. “He is very intelligent, he makes great decisions and he is a humble leader.”

LB Nick Galvin tallied 9-1/2 sacks as a junior. LB Marcus Rush is a Michigan State verbal and OL Jeff Tanner is a Wake Forest verbal.

Colerain (11-2)

It has been a pretty good two years at the helm for Tom Bolden, who followed the legendary Kerry Coombs as the Colerain coach in 2007. In two seasons, the Cardinals have gone 21-3 under Bolden. Last year, Colerain downed Cincinnati Moeller and Huber Heights Wayne in the playoffs before falling to Cincinnati Elder 27-20 in double overtime in a heart-stopping regional final. Middletown snapped Colerain’s string of 61 straight Greater Miami Conference wins, but the Cardinals still won the conference title. Bolden welcomes back seven starters on offense and six on defense.

“Without a doubt, we are still a young team,” Bolden said. “We played six sophomores last year. They did not perform like sophomores. They excelled. Defensively, we think we will be as athletic and as fast as we have ever been.”

Greg Tabar is a caretaker in the option offense, although he threw for 515 yards and six touchdowns last year. Tyon Williams and Trayion Durham each eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark last year. Williams finished with 1,269 yards and 16 TDs rushing, while Durham had 1,032 yards and nine scores.

Colerain meets St. Xavier in the Crosstown Showdown and visits Cincinnati Elder as well. Another Greater Miami Conference title will be the goal when the conference season arrives.

Dublin Coffman (7-3)

After reaching the state semifinals with a 13-1 season in 2007, Coffman went 7-3 and finished 10th n the region to miss the playoffs. Mark Crabtree, back for his ninth year at Coffman and 15th season as a varsity head coach, has six starters back on offense and five on defense.

“I think our players were definitely disappointed about missing the playoffs last year, but we had nobody to blame but ourselves,” Crabtree said. “We started out 7-0, but we lost our last three games by a total of 15 points. We weren’t probably athletic enough to make enough of the plays we needed to defeat the teams we played at the end of the year. We lost to three playoff teams there at the end.”

Cole Stoudt, whose brother Zack was the previous starter and a Louisville signee last year, stepped in as the starter last year as a sophomore. Stoudt, son of former NFL quarterback Cliff Stoudt, is now regarded as one of the state’s top 20 prospects in the 2011 class and has an offer to Cincinnati.

“The first thing we saw with Cole was he does have the ability to play at this level,” Crabtree said. “As a sophomore in high school, you never know. He came in and competed against kids two years older than him. He did a good job being a leader and taking charge. He was not intimidated by the situation.

“It’s nice to know we have him for two more seasons. He is mechanically sound and has the ability to make good decisions. His future is pretty bright.”

Coffman opens with Powell Olentangy Liberty with a game at Ohio Stadium as part of the Kirk Herbstreit Varsity Series. As always, the Ohio Capital Conference Central Division – with the likes of Upper Arlington, Hilliard Davidson and Worthington Kilbourne – looms large.

Huber Heights Wayne (8-4)

Wayne was off to a 5-0 start before Braxton Miller, its standout quarterback, suffered a broken leg in a Week 6 game against Clayton Northmont. Wayne still made the playoff field and swamped unbeaten Cincinnati Woodward 52-0 in its opener before falling to Cincinnati Colerain 23-0 in the second round. Miller has recovered from the injury and is considered Ohio’s top prospect in the 2011 class. After throwing for 1,000 yards and rushing for 500 as a freshman, he threw for 642 yards and five touchdowns in six games before the injury.

“When you have a player like Braxton, you have to feel good about that,” said Wayne coach Jay Minton, who returns for his 11th year as the Wayne coach and 19th as a varsity head coach. “His competitiveness and athletic ability, that is a combination that you don’t see very often. He’s a special player who, when he steps on the field, he makes everyone else around him better.”  

Minton has five starters back on offense and six on defense.

“We feel we are pretty solid up front,” Minton said. “At receiver, we don’t have that one marquee guy. With Braxton being there, you want to make sure you have some guys who can run great routes and catch the ball.”

Brothers Terrence and Terry Talbott are Michigan recruits.

The schedule will be a challenge. Wayne opens against Cincinnati Princeton in the Crosstown Showdown before going upstate to visit Canton McKinley and hosting powerful Cleveland Glenville. Wayne also figures to be in the GWOC hunt.

North Canton Hoover (12-2)

Hoover reached the state semifinals behind the exploits of Ohio’s Mr. Football award winner and the Ohio High player of the year RB Erick Howard (5-10, 210, Sr). Howard rushed for 2,387 yards and 31 touchdowns. He also registered 98 tackles, three sacks and eight tackles-for-loss. Hoover dropped its semifinal game to Cleveland St. Ignatius 34-7.

Cincinnati St. Xavier (4-6)

From 2005-07, St. Xavier posted a 40-2 record with a pair of 15-0 state championship seasons. But the Bombers took a step back in 2008, losing several tight games and posting a losing record.

“You never settle for anything but the best,” said St. X coach Steve Specht, who is back for his fifth year with the Bombers. “But we felt the schedule we had was brutal. We played a number of teams ranked in the top 20 in the country. We didn’t stay healthy. We lost three games by a total of seven points. I don’t look at last year as a failure. We had a group of young kids who worked hard. The ball just didn’t bounce our way last year.”

Specht welcomes back seven starters on offense and five on defense.

“Our offensive line should be the strength of our team,” Specht said. “We bring back our quarterback and we feel he is a major college prospect. We have a nice stable of running backs. We have to find some receivers.”

Luke Massa split time at quarterback last year nursing an injury. He threw for 752 yards and three touchdowns a year ago and is a Cincinnati recruit.

“He is the smartest quarterback I have coached,” Specht said. “He makes unbelievable decisions. He is very even keeled and poised in the pocket.”

Matt James is considered one of the nation’s top offensive line prospects with offers from a number of top schools, including Cincinnati, Notre Dame and Ohio State.

“We have leaned Matt out a little bit and he looks good,” Specht said. “Other than the fact he’s got size and athleticism, if you come to our practices you’ll see a kid who works as hard in practice as he does in a game.”

St. X opens with Cincinnati Colerain in the Crosstown Showdown. Four state championship teams – Indianapolis Cathedral, Louisville Trinity, Fort Thomas (Ky.) Highlands and Cleveland St. Ignatius – dot the schedule. Plus, the usual Greater Catholic League challenges of Cincinnati Elder and Cincinnati Moeller loom large.

Canton McKinley (6-5)

Former Miami (Ohio) assistant Ron Johnson took over the McKinley program last year and led the Bulldogs to a playoff berth in his first season. McKinley dropped its playoff opener to Federal League rival GlenOak 14-7.

“It was very encouraging,” Johnson said. “We came in following a 3-7 season and took the program over. We came in and played so many young guys. We started out 0-2, but then we went on a pretty good run.”

Johnson welcomes back six offensive starters and 10 on defense.

“It’s very exciting,” Johnson said. “Our kids are locked in and focused. They got after it this off-season. I think this is a mature, seasoned group and they have high aspirations.”

One of the youngsters that got playing time in 2008 was Kyle Ohradzansky, who started at quarterback as a sophomore. He threw for 1,400 yards with 15 touchdowns against just seven interceptions.

DE Steve Miller is considered one of Ohio’s top five junior prospects as he tallied 100 tackles, 11 sacks and 23 tackles-for-loss. He earned first-team All-Ohio honors as a sophomore and is in line for a number of major college offers.

“He just plays with great effort,” Johnson said. “He takes coaching very week. He is strong, uses good technique and just plays very hard.”

McKinley could be a team to watch in the Federal League. Nonleague games with Cleveland East Tech, Huber Heights Wayne and rival Massillon Washington (which won that Week 10 showdown 17-0 last year) all loom large.

Division II

1.

Lexington (11-1)

The Minutemen were the No. 3 seed in Region 6 last year and their only loss of the season came at the hands of eventual Division II state champion Sylvania Southview in the regional semifinals. This season, they have larger plans in mind.

Courtney Avery has verbally committed to Michigan and is ranked as the No. 28 senior in the state by Ohio High. He will play corner in college and he previously committed to Stanford before switching to UM. Avery has been Lexington’s varsity starting quarterback since the first game of his freshman year and he was named first-team All-Ohio as a defensive back last year. He was also stellar as a quarterback in 2008 when he threw for 2,600 yards with 26 touchdowns and just three interceptions (and completed 71 percent of his passes). Avery was named the Ohio Cardinal Conference offensive player of the year.

Kevin Smith returns to lead the defense from his linebacker spot and he had 80 tackles and seven sacks last year. He was named honorable mention All-Ohio, first-team all-district and first-team all-league. OL/DT David Willis is entering his third season as a starter and he was named honorable mention all-district and second-team all-league. Zach Myers and Willis are very comparable players. They are similarly-sized linemen that start both ways and they claimed identical postseason awards last year (HM all-district, second-team all-league).

Terrance Cyphers plays next to Smith at linebacker and was nearly as productive last year. Cyphers had 78 tackles, five sacks, one interception and was named second-team all-league. Tyler Hamman is steady at strong safety and last year he had 65 tackles, one interception and was named second-team all-league.

As if they weren’t already stockpiled with talent, the Minutemen also welcome in a pair of talented transfers from Mansfield Senior in Shaquille Jefferson and Kenya Coombs. Jefferson is the younger half-brother of former Ohio State safety Jamario O’Neal and has scholarship offers from Bowling Green and Central Michigan. Coombs was a starter at quarterback and wide receiver at Mansfield, but he won’t play any QB for Lexington unless something unfortunate happens to Avery.

Cincinnati Winton Woods (11-2)

The Warriors entered the 2008 playoffs as the No. 1 seed in Region 8 and advanced to the regional finals where it fell to eventual state runner-up Cincinnati Anderson in a tight 24-21 contest.

Dominique Brown runs the show at quarterback and he is a verbal commitment to Cincinnati. He is ranked as the No. 56 senior in the state by Ohio High and he was a second-team All-Ohio selection last year when he rushed for over 1,000 yards earning unanimous player of the year recognition in the Fort Ancient Valley Conference. 

Jeremiah Goins has rushed for over 1,000 yards in each of the last two seasons (over 1,300 yards last year) and is closing in on Winton Woods’ career rushing record. He was a second-team All-Ohio pick last season.

Avery Cunningham captains the defense from his safety spot and he is ranked as one of the top 150 seniors in the state by Ohio High.

Head coach troy Everhart calls Cameron Brown “a sleeper” and says he has the potential to be “one of the better defensive linemen in the state.”

Corey Webber started as sophomore last year and had four interceptions. As for David Hampton, he will be a defensive back in college, but Everhart says he’s a very good high school linebacker even though he’s a bit light to be playing the position.

Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit (9-3)

Walsh was the No. 1 seed in Region 9 of Division III last year and the Warriors move up to D-II this season. RB Cameron Ontko is ranked as one of the top 150 seniors in the state by Ohio High and is a Wisconsin recruit. Connor Cook is one of the top 10 junior quarterbacks in the state according to Ohio High. He has a strong arm and 4.71 speed in the 40.

The bad news for the Warriors is they have to replace all five starters on the offensive line, including second-team All-Ohio selection Pat McShane who is playing college football at Indiana. They also must replace second-team All-Ohio running back Armand Dehaney who signed with Ball State.

Head coach Gerry Rardin is entering his 29th season at Walsh.

Avon Lake (8-3)

Avon Lake was the No. 5 seed in the Region 6 playoffs last year and lost at Medina Highland in the first round. The Shoremen return an impressive group of players and should be better this season.

OL Christian Pace is a verbal commitment to Michigan. He is ranked as the 17th-best senior in the state by Ohio High, making him the highest-rated Division II player in the state.

OL/DL Dan Schneider is ranked No. 40 in the state by Ohio High and was a second-team All-Ohio selection last year and is a Pitt recruit.

Mike Mansnerus returns as the bell-cow tailback. Last season, he piled up 1,700 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns in just eight games. OT/DE Brian Mihalek is the top player in Avon Lake’s junior class and he will be a two-way starter.

“He has great tools,” head coach Dave Dlugosz said. “Good size and good speed (4.8 in the 40).”

FB/LB Nick Marinkov returns as a two-way starter and he is a strong and quick player that “plays downhill and has great hands out of the backfield.” DL Jon Rodgers is coming off an injury and Dlugosz is happy to have him back due to his good size and athletic ability. Jordan Market and Kevin Morissette are returning starters that bring leadership to the secondary. The latter also plays offense as a wideout.

Dlugosz is entering his 17th season at Avon Lake and has a career record of 168-32. The Shoremen won a state championship under his watch in 2003.

Logan (11-1)

The Chieftains were the No. 3 seed in the Region 7 playoffs last year and lost to Louisville 7-0 in the second round in a game where they turned the ball over seven times. (They knocked off Dublin Jerome 23-7 in the first round.)

This year, they return one of the best quarterbacks in the state regardless of division in Pat Angle. He was named first-team All-Ohio last year and is entering his third season as Logan’s starting quarterback. In 2008, Angle threw for 2,496 yards with 25 touchdowns – both school records – and added 557 rushing yards and seven scores on the ground. Angle set a school record when he threw for 324 yards in a 35-10 win over Pickerington North last year.

Angle has a good No. 1 target in Mason Mays, who was a second-team All-Ohio selection last year when he had 57 receptions for 852 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Michael Snider had over 100 tackles last year and returns to lead the defense from his linebacker spot.

Ralph Robinson and Jeff Murphy are returning starters, while Zach McDaniel was the backup tailback last year and moves into the starting role this year.

Head coach Dale Amyx is entering his 20th season at Logan and has a career record of 129-70. He has directed the Chieftains to 12 Southeastern Ohio Athletic League championships and six trips to the playoffs. He’s also been named SEOAL Coach of the Year five consecutive seasons.

Cincinnati Turpin (9-2)

The Spartans were the No. 4 seed in Region 8 last season (lost to Kings Mills Kings in the first round) and they have made the playoffs four consecutive times. This year, with 14 returning starters (nine offense, five defense) Turpin is primed for another quality season.

Wayne Dunham has racked up 2,679 career rushing yards (1,221 last year, 1,458 as a sophomore in 2007) and 28 touchdowns (15 last year, 13 in 2007) while averaging 6.4 yards per carry. He also has 24 career receptions for 311 yards and two touchdowns.

Jeff Groene is the best college prospect on the team and he starts both ways at fullback and on the defensive line. In addition to being a good blocker, he is a quality receiver out of the backfield and has 25 career receptions for 215 yards (8.6 yards per reception) and four touchdowns. He also has 73 career rushing yards (3.3 per carry) and six scores on the ground.

Eric Martin took over starting quarterback duties last year and was very solid in the role. He threw for 1,267 yards (57.2 percent) with 11 touchdowns and three interceptions. He added 290 rushing yards (3.8 yards per carry) and five touchdowns. Considering he was able to do all of that as a sophomore, Martin’s numbers could rise exponentially in 2009.

“We have tons of potential this year,” Turpin head coach Rob Stoll said. “Our backfield, if healthy, should be one of the best in the city. Jeff Groene is a big, bruising, athletic fullback who is often a lead blocker. Wayne Dunham is looking to completely re-write our record book this year.

“Defensively, Matt Kelly and Ken Mason will lead an athletic but inexperienced group. Our secondary returns four players that received extensive playing time, led by Zach Page. Our defense should be aided by a strong kicking game with kicker Alec Gates and punter Brogan Orcutt returning.”

Stoll is entering his eighth season at Turpin and has a career record of 53-25.

Toledo Central Catholic (10-1)

The Irish rolled through the regular season undefeated and were the No. 1 seed in Region 6 last year, but fell in the first round of the playoffs at home to Powell Olentangy Liberty (which moved up to D-I this year). This season, TCC is loaded with talent as usual.

TE/DL Jamaal Tarrent is ranked as one of the top 150 seniors in the state by Ohio High and has a scholarship offer from Akron. Last season, he had 36 tackles, 15 tackles-for-loss and nine sacks.

Chris Boles is ranked as one of the top 30 juniors in the state by Ohio High’s Mark Porter and he is one of two main starters back on the offensive line.

Dempsey is also high on Kyle Cameron who is ranked as one of the top 50 juniors in the state by Ohio High.

Dave Walender returns as the starting quarterback and he threw for 1,147 yards (53 percent completion) with 12 touchdowns and five interceptions last year. Three of his interceptions came in the final game of the season when Central Catholic was upset in the first round of the playoffs.

Nate Hobbs is a talented athlete that will play all over the field. He is even Walender’s backup at quarterback.Last season, Hobbs had 29 receptions for 546 yards and five touchdowns. He added 12 carries for 62 yards and another touchdown. The bad news for the Irish was that Hobbs missed the final three games of the season due to injury (including the playoff game).

Zach Messer returns to lead the secondary and he had 56 tackles from his strong safety spot last season.

Central Catholic also has a solid kicker in Kyle Burkhardt (5-of-9 on field goals with a long of 48; 30-for-30 on extra points).

“We have a nice group of kids coming back,” head coach Dempsey said. “We need our tailback situation to sort itself out and we have about five candidates, but no one with varsity experience for a season, or even a game. We have to throw the ball better this year and we have our quarterback and receivers back. We need to mix in the pass to help our running backs develop. We have a solid foundation on the offensive line, but we can’t afford any injuries.”

Columbus Marion-Franklin (10-2)

Marion-Franklin was the No. 4 seed in this region last year and defeated Columbus Beechcroft in the first round of the playoffs before falling to Columbus DeSales (which has moved down to D-III) in the regional semifinals.

Verlon Reed calls the shots at quarterback and he is ranked as one of the top 150 players in the state by Ohio High. He has scholarship offers from Bowling Green, Kent State, Syracuse and Toledo. As a junior in 2008, Reed threw for 1,200 yards, ran for 700 and accounted for a total of 20 touchdowns.

But it’s far from a one-man show at Marion-Franklin. The Red Devils return all five starters on their offensive line, led by massive OT Aaron Shelton (6-6, 320, Sr.).

Returning to lead the defensive line is Matthew Williams who is a player that often controls the middle of the line of scrimmage by himself.

One of the very few two-way starters on this deep team will be Dominique Marsh at wide receiver and strong safety.

Head coach Brian Haffele is confident that he has a dangerous team coming back and with good reason. The Red Devils have a lot of talent and they’re looking to turn up the heat on their opponents this year.

“Every year our No. 1 goal is to win our conference (Columbus City League South),” Haffele said. “We’re fortunate enough to have won it each of the last five years. Offensively, we have a lot of seniors. We feel good at quarterback and on the offensive line. Most of skilled guys are underclassmen. We’ll probably start eight juniors – all first-time starters – but four of them played in the playoffs against Beechcroft and DeSales for us.

New Carlisle Tecumseh (11-1)

The Arrows were the No. 2 seed in this playoff region last year and they won a first-round game at home over Mount Orab Western Brown before falling to Cincinnati Anderson.

Tecumseh has a total of 10 returning starters, many of which play both ways. Karson Williams is ranked as the No. 78 senior in the state by Ohio High and he anchors both lines. Riley Gault threw for 768 yards with four touchdowns and six interceptions and should be much better in his second season in the starting role.

The Arrows can point to a pair of talented, experience running backs to lead the offense. Last season, Dustin Holmes rushed for 977 yards (7.8 per carry) and Kyle Sanning wasn’t far behind him with 914 yards (6.1 per carry).

The leading returning performers on defense are Sanning (110 tackles), Zeke Eier (106 tackles) and Dustin Holmes (91 tackles, four interceptions).

“We return an experienced group of players that are committed to the program,” head coach Kent Massie said. “They are a talented group with a tremendous work ethic. The senior class will provide outstanding leadership, focus and they have game-day experience.”

Louisville (12-1)

The Leopards were the No. 2 seed in the Region 7 playoffs last year and they advanced to the regional finals where they fell to Columbus DeSales (which has moved down to D-III this year). Louisville defeated Columbus Independence and Logan in the first two rounds of the postseason.

This year, the Leopards must say goodbye to graduated quarterback Neal Seaman who was Ohio’s co-Offensive Player of the Year in Division II last year.

The good news is that they return WR Bobby Swigert who was a second-team All-Ohio selection last year (first-team all-district, first-team all-league). He is ranked as the No. 45 senior in the state by Ohio High and has scholarship offers from Akron, Ball State, Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Cincinnati, Colorado, Eastern Michigan, Indiana, Kent State, Miami U., Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Toledo, Western Michigan and Wisconsin.

Hunter Potts was a second-team all-league selection last year at linebacker and Joe Poyser was named honorable mention all-league as a defensive lineman.

The team captains for 2009 are Swigert, Potts, OT/DT Bob Gothot and TB/LB Jake Adkins.

Head coach Paul Farrah is entering his 10th season at Louisville and has a career mark of 84-24. He is a former player at Louisville and also played college football at Baldwin-Wallace as a defensive back.