Marion-Franklin looking to Reed to build on last season's success

Columbus Marion-Franklin (10-2)

* Players To Watch – QB Verlon Reed (6-3, 193, Sr.), OT Aaron Shelton (6-6, 320, Sr.), DT Matthew Williams (6-1, 325, Sr.), WR/SS Dominque Marsh (5-10, 190, Sr.)

Outlook – 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.

Reed calls the shots at quarterback and he is ranked as the No. 78 senior 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.

“He is a threat running or throwing,” head coach Brian Haffele said. “Last year was his first year as the starting quarterback, so that experience will make him even better this year. He started as a sophomore at wide receiver.

“He already has some offers and I think more will be coming. Everyone is saying Verlon is high on their board and he went to a lot of camps this summer: Cincinnati, West Virginia, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio State. He could be a Big Ten type of player.

“His greatest asset is that he’s an athletic kid that plays quarterback, but he looks to throw first. He’s added about 10 pounds of muscle in the weight room and he’ll probably run ball more this year than last year. But we’re multiple on offense and he’ll throw it plenty too. He has a strong arm and is very accurate. He runs well; he’s a 4.4 kid in the 40. He can pretty much do whatever you want him to do.

“What’s even more impressive to me is his leadership ability. That’s what makes him a Division I quarterback recruit – his desire to win is going to trump any physical attributes. But his physical traits are special too.”

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 the massive Shelton.

“Aaron is getting recruited by same schools Verlon is,” Haffele said. “They went to camps together and Aaron doesn’t have any offers yet, but a lot of people are interested him. Physically, he’s a big kid with great feet. He’s pretty physical. His quickness with his feet is what separates him from other lineman.

“We feel pretty good about our O-line. We have five seniors up front and they average 6-5, 300 pounds. Four of the five bench over 300. We’re going to go as far as those kids take us.”

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

“Matthew is completely a run-plugging D-tackle and he’s the strongest kid I’ve ever coached,” Haffele said. “He benches 470. He’s enormous and he’s a workaholic in the weight room. He’s the first one to arrive and the last one to leave. He had a good summer and I think he’s going to have a big year for us.”

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

“Dominique is our best defensive back,” Haffele said. “He’s strong with a 300-pound bench press and he’s a 4.4 kid in the 40. He’s probably our second-best athlete behind Verlon. He’s very athletic and versatile.”

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.

“We’ll be very athletic on the defensive side of the ball this year. This could be our best team in the five years I’ve been head coach here. This could be a special team because you don’t get a Division I quarterback too often. It’s all about our kids working hard. If we work hard, we can compete with anyone. We’ve got to shore up our toughness a little and it will come with our workouts and in camp this year.”

If Marion-Franklin makes the playoffs as expected, Haffele knows it will be tough sledding in Region 7.

“I still think it’s one of the most-difficult regions of any division in the state,” he said. “We lose Watterson and DeSales, but we gain Olentangy and Big Walnut. So, pick your poison. For any team to come out of Region 7 is going to be hard. Brookhaven is back. You’ve got the powers of the City League in the same region. So, it’s going to be a very tough region to get out of. And there’s a lot of different variety of teams. There’s everything from spread teams to wing-T teams.”