Madison won a playoff game for
the first time in school history last season. They were the No. 7 seed in Region
5 and they knocked off East Cleveland Shaw on the road in the first round.
This
year, they return a solid nucleus of players and are optimistic about the
upcoming season.
Madison (8-4)
* Players To Watch – FB/DT Ty Law (6-2, 225, Sr.),
WR/DB Miles Iverson (5-11, 175, Sr.), RB/DB Steve Isabella (5-10, 175, Sr.),
OT/DT Seth Boggs (6-3, 245, Sr.), TE/LB Hunter Legeza (6-2, 215, Sr.), WR/S
Jason O’Bryan (6-3, 175, So.)
* Outlook – The Blue Streaks won a playoff game for
the first time in school history last season. They were the No. 7 seed in Region
5 and they knocked off East Cleveland Shaw on the road in the first round. This
year, they return a solid nucleus of players and are optimistic about the
upcoming season.
“Our expectations are the same as any other year,”
offensive coordinator Mike Martin said. “Our primary goal is to win our league
(Premier Athletic Conference). We feel that whoever wins the league will end up
being in the playoffs, because if you were good enough to take care of business
in the conference, your out-of-conference work should be good enough to get you
in.
“But we definitely feel like after getting a playoff
victory that the expectations are notched up a bit. Getting there just isn’t
enough. If the leadership of our seniors comes together, we feel like we are
actually a deeper team than we were last year. So, expectations are high. A lot
of that depth is going to come from a tremendous sophomore class that is
asserting itself. Right now, we expect that five or six sophomores are going to
play major roles, so the sooner we get them some seasoning, the better we will
be.”
The biggest hole for Madison to fill is the loss of Mitch
Krotz who was a first-team All-Ohio selection last year at linebacker. The Blue
Streaks know the road will be difficult in the Region 5 playoffs if they are
able to qualify for the postseason again.
“Every time the regions get realigned, it seems like Region
5 gets tougher,” Martin said. “Aurora was a state champ last year. Lake Catholic
is usually good. Traditional powers like Canfield and Walsh have been added.
Plus, Akron Garfield is moving down from Division I.”
