Week 1: Welcome to Sideline Chatter

The Tribune Chronicle and Vindicator sports department dive into a preview for the 2022 high school football season. 

Greg Macafee, Joel Whetzel, Neel Madhavan and Nate Hawthorne break down storylines, teams and players to watch throughout this season and preview Week 1 of the season .

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:04

1, 2, 3, 4.

Greg Macafee: 0:17

And here we go. Welcome to episode one of the sideline chatter podcast brought to you by the Tribune, Chronicle and Vindicator two of the longest running newspapers in the Mahoney valley. My name's Greg McAfee. I'm the sports editor over here at the newspaper. I'm here with three of my reporters, Nate Hawthorne, Neil Madhavan, Joel Whetzel guys. Thanks for joining us tonight. It's the start of something new over here at the newspaper. Joel does a lot of YSU stuff for us, a lot of high school stuff for us. Nate<laugh> Nate joined us in the middle of the summer. He's coming out as a part-timer for us and Neil joined us, late towards the end of last year, end of the football season. So it's his first football season here in the Mahoning Valley. We're all excited, guys. You excited to be here? I mean, of course

Neel Madhavan: 1:06

It's football season thats all that matters.

Nathanael Hawthorne: 1:08

Mm-hmm<affirmative>, you know, my feeling, we talked about it off, uh, off mic. So

Joel Whetzel: 1:11

<laugh>, I, I, I think we're in for a, uh, pretty fun 2022, so definitely excited.

Greg Macafee: 1:17

Joel Whetzel Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Um, so here we, we we've kind of tossed around this idea, um, since I took over at the, the, or here at the newspaper last year. Um, but when we kind of got in, we were all new to the staff. Joel, we were kind of buried<laugh> for a couple months there<laugh> and uh, so we kind of put it on hold and, um, towards the end of the summer, we were like, all right, let's put this into action. Let's start getting things done. Um, so we're gonna bring this to you each week, every Thursday, uh, every Thursday afternoon, um, different times probably we'll see, we'll see how that goes. We're just gonna try to get on a consistent basis, but we're just here to, you know, talk high school football, um, talk the beginning of the season, we're gonna bring in coaching interviews, player interviews. We we'll see maybe Steve Ruman bring on a podcast every once in a while. Everyone loves Steve Nile's favorite person. Um, but yeah,

Joel Whetzel: 2:01

Mayor of Nile's

Greg Macafee: 2:02

The mayor of Niles, uh, you know, he might have some, some skiers information for us. We'll

Nathanael Hawthorne: 2:07

See, uh, we need, we need a skier segment. I'm just throwing that one out there.

Greg Macafee: 2:10

<laugh> it would definitely be funny. Um, we'll see how it goes. Um, but we're gonna, we're gonna dive into week one here in a little bit, a little season preview. Um, but first we're gonna have a word from our sponsor Sims auto park

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Greg Macafee: 3:14

All right. And we are back guys. All right, we're gonna jump into week one here in the Mahoney valley. And, you know, season started early last year. It started seems like it's starting even earlier this year, we got games. Um, today we got Niles at Holland. We got Cheney at Poland. We got Brookfield inland. We'll get that one. We'll get into that one a little bit later. Springfield south range, Crestview Salem Newton falls, St. John's school Jackson, Milton Latonia Lincoln, west Seabring. Um, and that's just the first night we got a lot of exciting matchups here, a lot of exciting teams throughout the valley guys. Let's just start. I mean, what are some of your favorite storylines to, to kind of that you want to keep an eye on this year when it comes to, you know, teams in the valley, whether it's a, a player or a, um, a coach or anything like that, what are you kind of just some of your favorite storylines to watch this year?

Joel Whetzel: 3:59

I think it will be interesting to see how hard he reloads its offense, uh, you know, with the graduations of Tyreek, ivory and Dom foster, uh, you know, Steve Arnold, the head coach has said they want to get a little more balanced this year. They certainly have a talented running back in Ryan Powell and a talented quarterback in Dallas jet. So I think it will be interesting to see how Harding's offense readjusts and how that impacts their season.

Greg Macafee: 4:26

Yeah. I mean, Harding's always one of those teams to watch. I mean, I just kind of did a deep dive, um, into to Warren football history there, revisiting Warren Western reserve. We've revisiting Warren G Harding, um, a lot of exciting times and Harding's kind of been down as of late, I think, not up to their normal standards, but that's something that they probably want to fix. And, you know, you got a lot of guys over there. Um, I've been to a couple other scrimmages this off season. It seems like they kind of got a couple guys that can, that can be different maker difference makers that's for sure. Especially across the front line.

Joel Whetzel: 4:55

Absolutely. I think, uh, Ryan Powell, tailback is going to be kind of the X factor, you know, a year ago. They kind of spent a lot of time throwing their way into games again. And I think this year they're probably going to want to establish that run game a little more mm-hmm<affirmative> and if they can do that, I think they'll be tough to

Greg Macafee: 5:14

Be, I mean, it always is always helps to have a good quarterback under Senator as well. And, you know, Joel, you and I have talked about Ryan Powell all year long and his, his transformation in the backfield. So, you know, he's gonna be a big guy, but Dallas jet, he's another quarterback. He kind of came out of the scene last year. He is on the, the front page, the cover of our, our football preview this year. Um, another guy to watch coming in from outside into the Mahoney valley. I think he's definitely another guy that can have an impact on that too, as well.

Joel Whetzel: 5:38

For sure. And you know, he's dual threat. I think that's going to help take the pressure off of Ryan and the run game some, and it opens up a lot of different things Harding can do with him in the backfield.

Greg Macafee: 5:49

Oh, for sure. Um, Nate, what are some of your ti some of the, some of the, uh, teams, anything you want, you think stands out to you this year so far? I

Nathanael Hawthorne: 5:57

Mean, we can get into it a little later. We said, you said we were gonna talk about the Brookfield wrestling game.

Greg Macafee: 6:01

Mm-hmm<affirmative>

Nathanael Hawthorne: 6:01

Definitely, they're one of the teams I covered preseason, but my team to watch like watch this year mm-hmm<affirmative> is probably gonna be champion mm-hmm<affirmative>. Um, just I brand new coach last season two and eight year. Not really the best start, but it makes you a good underdog story. I mean, their let their player to watch for me is Joey fell. He is, um, he's stellar. He had a breakout season last year. Mm-hmm<affirmative>. I mean, he did it all. He ran, he threw, he played both ways and he's gonna be expected to play both ways this year. Um, and his leadership on the offense is going to help kind of make the team not necessarily his, but he he's gonna be the leader in the focal point and the rallying point for the guys leading in the game, you know, dig deep let's, let's get into it, um, on defense as well. Uh, he's gonna be playing in the defensive backfield and, um, Conrad is looking at him to kind of be the leader on defense as he is on offense.

Joel Whetzel: 6:57

Wow. And I, I think it's certainly fair to say, champion will go as Joey fell goes

Greg Macafee: 7:01

Oh, a hundred percent. Yeah, for sure. And

Nathanael Hawthorne: 7:03

That's, that's a lot of pressure to put on he's still in high school. So I mean that, he kind of lived up to that pressure last year. I mean, still going to an eight, having several games down to the wire, a couple overtime games, uh, and he was kind of like the heartbeat of that team. Mm-hmm<affirmative> um, and I'm excited to see how he does this year. I know he is going into his senior year mm-hmm<affirmative> so,

Greg Macafee: 7:25

I mean, I remember talking to Conrad last year when it was one of my first stories that I did. I think I did the preview for the Warren JFK champion game and I called Conrad. And, um, he, I asked him about Joey fell and he was like, he's, he's taking over under, he's taking over our offense, but the kid is electric. He can literally do everything and you put the ball on his hands and he's gonna be a game changer at some point in time. For

Joel Whetzel: 7:47

Sure. You sure. And you, you alluded to it a lot of close calls for them last year. I think that is a rather deceptive two, an eight record they're

Greg Macafee: 7:53

Coming on. Oh, hundred percent. Absolutely.

Nathanael Hawthorne: 7:55

Yeah. And I mean, uh, one of, one of the games I went to last year, uh, it was champion Lare. Um, it was down to the wire at the half, and then Lare kind of exploded and shows why they were

Greg Macafee: 8:05

Went as deep into the, the 3 headed monster that they had. Yeah.

Nathanael Hawthorne: 8:08

Went deep into the playoffs as that they did last year. So that kind of showed me that champion knows what they're doing. Mm-hmm<affirmative> and I gotta say kind of from a bias standpoint, having spoken to Conrad on the phone, he, and talking to him in person, he has some kind of motivational factor about him that mm-hmm,<affirmative> makes the team excited. And that's why I think they're gonna feed off his energy. They're gonna feed off Joey. And, um, I, I expect them to do well this year. Mm-hmm<affirmative>, um, and definitely bounce back from the two and a season. So. All right.

Greg Macafee: 8:37

Know how about yourself, Neil?

Neel Madhavan: 8:38

You know, speaking of champion, I think earlier the definitely season kind of barometer test, I think it might be week one where they faced Warren JFK. Yeah. Yeah. Mm-hmm<affirmative>, that could be a good, you know, see where they're at, figure out, you know, do they, can they, you know, match up with some of the best teams in the area, some see how, how, see how some of those new guys that they have, see how Joey felt can compete with a mm-hmm<affirmative> a team that's, you know, every year we're seeing JFK make playoff runs. So yeah, that could be a good test for them.

Greg Macafee: 9:04

I know that I know they played, uh, week one last year and it was, I mean, JFK did what JFK does. I mean, they kind of put champion in their place a little bit, but I mean, it kind of, I mean, like, like we kind of talked about, they were young last year. I mean, they had a running back in Kegan McDermott who went off to do big, good things. But throughout the year, I mean, champion was in games. They were, they were

Nathanael Hawthorne: 9:24

All it not like, it's not like they were down 32, nothing at the half and just down on themselves, they, they were in it to the end mm-hmm<affirmative>. Um, and speaking of, uh, McDermott, his brother Connor, yeah. Is as well as Mike Sanders and Andrew Chebe they're, um, expected to handle a lot of the run game. And here's an interesting storyline, uh, Chebe actually played offensive line last year. Mm-hmm<affirmative> but his natural position is running back. Yeah. So to kind of fit the team's need, he jumped on the line and was like, yes, coach I'll do whatever mm-hmm<affirmative>. And, um, Conrad told me that he thinks that's gonna be an advantage for him because he knows when the line's gonna make that hole for him to cut through. Yeah. And that's gonna be interesting, just interesting to see how he kind of progresses as the season goes on. Mm-hmm<affirmative> having, having that lineman background, if that makes

Greg Macafee: 10:08

Sense. Yeah. Mm-hmm<affirmative> yeah. What about you would any team to watch or anything like that, that you're kind of kept an eye

Neel Madhavan: 10:13

On? I know both of these guys have kind of mentioned Trumbull county team with Harding and champion, but you know, my focus, I think we have some of the best quarterbacks in the state. Oh, a hundred percent down here in Mahoen county. Mm-hmm<affirmative> we have five seniors, drew de shield at west point park, low Canfield, um, Jackson Johnson at charm. And, uh, you know, Billy qui I at, uh, south winds, these guys have, you know, have the numbers under their belts from last season. They have multiple years of starting quarterback. Um, it should be a, a pretty colorful high flying year for quarterbacks in Maho county. I think

Greg Macafee: 10:48

Mm-hmm<affirmative>. And, and, you know, I mean, this is something that I wanted to bring up today. Obviously you were able to write the, the cover story for our VDI, um, football preview, which we based around those five quarterbacks. Um, but you know, some of'em are kind of in different positions. I mean, you look at VIN balloon at Lowville, he brings all of his targets back. Then you go to, to west branch and you look at drew to shield to lost his top receiving target, Nick Wilson, he lost his top running back into Steven Mara. He lost Jackson. He shot, he lost a bunch of guys, um, Brock Lowry at Canfield, kind of going through the same thing where he is kind of reloading and you know, who is he gonna throw to? How is he gonna develop, um, those relationships and everything like that? Um, how do you think that's gonna play out this year when it comes to, I guess, redeveloping those relationships or building on them in, in Bo's case?

Neel Madhavan: 11:30

I know for Westpa and I know Christian Mar is one of the key receiving guys who is back from that year. He was the third loading receiver by behind both Wilson and hunter shop mm-hmm<affirmative>. And he's really kind of taken some of those younger guys like Carnegie and, and Johnson. Um, those younger receivers who are gonna fill, fill those spots under his wing. And, uh, he's spent a lot of time working the soft season, building his time in building his chemistry with drew to shields. And, uh, those that team, that team could put up a lot of like, you know, high flying, passing numbers, just like they did last year mm-hmm<affirmative>. But, you know, we know drew loves to use his legs, so he loves to run and he is athletic as, as, as, as he gets around here. Mm-hmm<affirmative> so he, he could be in for another big season, especially with the youth around him. He could be asked to do a little more than he did last year. When, you know, with the numbers he put up last year, it's hard to do more than that.

Greg Macafee: 12:18

Yeah. Right. And I mean, we, we're talking about the quarterback talent that we, we had in this area, um, or we have in this area, but you know, one storyline, I think to watch this year is replacing Bo Brard at Springfield. Um, obviously Sean Guerrero, the tigers that are entering a new era, um, you know, after the success that they've had these past couple years, I think that's gotta be a team to watch because not only did they lose that, that big senior class that led them with so much success, they're dropping down division seven. I don't care if you lose a huge talent group dropping down in division, especially after the success you've had. And those younger guys have kind of been through it with those, with those veterans that left. So they've had that extra practice. They've had all that stuff. Colton orgs, ready to go. Shawn do, Gardner was a key contributor last year. Um, what do you think guys? I mean, this kind of open question to all you Springfield can do this year. I mean, especially after dropping down a division,

Neel Madhavan: 13:10

It could be tough for them to make the usual playoff fund that they're used do mm-hmm<affirmative> because division seven, that region, that local region, this, this year is a gauntlet mm-hmm<affirmative> you have JFK, you have Louisville, you'll have Springfield. Mm-hmm<affirmative> the usual players. Plus some of the other Aqua and Cleveland teams who are usually deep playoff runs. I think Dalton is one of them Lucas as well. You know, that's, that's a, that is, you know, for lack of a better term, a region of death. So to speak a lot of very strong teams in that region, it could be hard for Springfield to make the kind of one they're accustomed to.

Greg Macafee: 13:42

Yeah. I mean, we're talking about Lowville Springfield. I mean, week four, September 9th. That's when we gotta circle on the calendar guys, because I mean, Lowville is a team that's looking to prove themselves. Springfield is a team that's looking to keep their reputation. Um, I mean, that's gotta be an exciting one to put on, put on the schedule.

Joel Whetzel: 13:58

Absolutely plenty of, uh, plenty of play makers going to be in that one. So definitely one football fans here should, uh, should try and attend.

Greg Macafee: 14:06

I got, I got another team in, in Mahoney county that we gotta talk about a coach. We gotta talk about a quarterback. We gotta talk about at south range in Danley, Billy scar. He's another guy that was on the center centerfold, um, a guy that what he, he was just in where Georgia or a road trip pitching.

Neel Madhavan: 14:22

Oh yeah. He was all over the country. He was in somewhere like Indianapolis. He was in Atlanta. He told me, um, you know, just, he came back from this like 10 day, 12 day road trip for baseball mm-hmm<affirmative>. And then the next day he's, you know, all of a sudden jumping into two a day practices with the rest of the Raiders. But he told me that, you know, he's been working on the playbook, he's still been doing the weights. He's still been, you know, doing the work that he's necessary. So he is not, he told me he is not behind at all. Mm-hmm<affirmative>, you know, it's just a matter of just finding that timing again with his guys and getting the chemistry going that they had last year, because they do return some skill guys and some Olan guys. And that offense could be potent potent again at south Williams.

Greg Macafee: 14:59

Oh yeah. I mean, and, and the fact that, I mean the talent that they bring back, I mean, they lost Dylan Dominguez. He's at YSU now, but Billy scarer brings back all of his receivers. He brings back, they got a bunch of backs and talented backs in the backfield. And then you look at the top of that. There's the top of the team, Dan ley. He's been there for 28 years. He's been there forever. And the Raiders don't have to go through Curtland anymore. The<laugh> that was the monkey on their back. The past three years, I was looking back at their past records earlier this week. And they've lost a Curtland I think the past three years in the playoffs Kurtland dropped down and opens the door. I think, I mean, do the Raiders make a run? Joel?

Joel Whetzel: 15:36

I, I think they have the talent. And like you said, no, Curtland, you know, C we're not gonna miss you for sure. I think they have a, a good path right now.

Greg Macafee: 15:46

All right. You go up a little bit north in Mahoney county, let's go to the, let's go to the Fitch Falcons. Um, they're a team that lost their starting quarterback. You know, they made a decent run in the playoffs last year, the beat Harding and round one, um, losing a guy like Devon Sherwood. Um, he was an exceptional player, but he was also a great game manager. He was also a great leader. Um, they lost a decent senior class as well, but they bring back a bunch of talent. Um, I think they have, I don't know if they're gonna be one of the top teams at the beginning of the year, but I think this team has so much athleticism at every single position. I mean, Brian Robinson is being recruited by all sorts of sec schools. He got an offer from the defending national champions in Georgia bulldogs. Um, I mean, what are your thoughts?

Joel Whetzel: 16:30

I, I think you're spot on, I think that team is going to get better as the year goes on as that quarterback situation kind of, you know, reaches the point where everybody's comfortable. Mm-hmm<affirmative> um, you know, and another power, five guy cam Smith is, yeah, he's going to Iowa state as a safety. I mean, I think they're gonna be loaded on both sides of the ball. I think they are going to surprise people with how well they perform this year. Oh yeah.

Neel Madhavan: 16:56

Mm-hmm<affirmative> I mean, you guys mentioned two of the top defensive guys, camp Smith and Brian Robinson, but yeah. You know, just the rest of that defense, they have, you know, two and three star Kyle recruit talent all over that defense. You have Dan Evans, they view Don who transferred to Fitch Flin last year. I mean that, that fit defense has speed. They have strength and they are all over the field and that Fitch defense is gonna be a force to be reckoned with this

Greg Macafee: 17:22

Year. Oh yeah. I think the one guy that kind of, um, goes under the radar a little bit is Deshaun Vaughn. I mean, he was an all district defensive back last year. I can't remember how exactly how many picks he had, but he was a sophomore and he was leading. He, he led Fitch in interceptions last year, he's back. And then he also makes the transition to quarterback and, you know, he, he alls they need, I think on the offensive side of the ball with, um, Jemele James and DJ Robinson in the backfield is just a game manager and he's the perfect guy to do it. He's athletic, he's quick. He's shifty. Um, you know, I haven't seen him pass the ball much, but you put a guy like that in the backfield. A lot of things can happen

Neel Madhavan: 17:59

Well, and if you can establish the run with yeah, with those two guys, you mentioned, I it's gonna take a lot of pressure off the quarterback to begin with. So I, I think you'll, you'll probably see a pretty potent ground game down at, down in Austin town this year. Yeah.

Nathanael Hawthorne: 18:13

Establishing the run only does one thing and that, so it helps open up the air as well. So if you guys, if what you guys are saying is true, I I'm a little, uh, ignorant to the fit team this year. Um, if what you're saying is true, I mean, they're gonna be lethal on offense as well from all facets.

Neel Madhavan: 18:30

Mm-hmm,<affirmative> just, just physique wise. It seems like Vaughn is almost like a Cub copy of what Devon show would does. Yeah. Last year, five, 10 stocky, strong, quick, you know, same kind of players, same physical attributes, same skill sets. It could be, they could just be, you know, replacing one with another this year,

Greg Macafee: 18:48

Man. Mm-hmm oh, definitely. Definitely. I mean, Devon Sherwood was a, was a special player. You, I don't think you just replace him, but I think you, you find a guy, I mean, Sean, Vaughn's a junior this year. You give him time to learn the offense all's they need to do, like you said, is just establish a run game and, you know, keep teams on us with deep, with deep balls, deep passes. And you see what happens. I mean, they got so many, they got so many athletes on the outside that it, it, it's gonna be interesting to see, um, guys, any other teams that you want to, you keep an eye on Joel?

Neel Madhavan: 19:16

Yeah. I think you absolutely should be keeping an eye on both Gerard and Liberty. Gerard.

Greg Macafee: 19:21

I agree with you

Neel Madhavan: 19:22

Having made the playoffs a season ago and one in the playoffs a season ago, and then Liberty needed one more regular season win came within an eyelash of upsetting, both Libre and Garfield in the season's final two weeks. Yeah. Uh, I think both of those teams are playoff caliber again this year. Uh, certainly keep an eye on the two teams in the battle of Belmont and they meet week two, I believe,

Greg Macafee: 19:47

I think, yeah, I think it is. Yeah. Mm-hmm,

Neel Madhavan: 19:48

<affirmative>, that's going to be a, a great litmus test early in the season for both of those

Greg Macafee: 19:53

Squads, you know, one, one player from, you know, those two, two teams that I'm excited to see is Michael Palmer. He's a running back. He kind of came onto the scene last year, Russ for over a thousand yards. He kind of, I mean, Gerard went through a bunch of injuries last year and Palmer was kind of the even guy. I mean, Nick Bengo stepped in a quarterback, but he was the guy that kind of carried the offense with down Meto a little bit. Now metos gone. Palmer's the feature back. I was out at how, um, at the end of last week, Palmer went off for, I think, three touchdowns in the first like quarter and a half. I mean, I don't know how they're keeping like track timewise, uh, in these scrimmages, but it seemed like it was a quarter and a half, maybe five, six drives and Palmer just went off. I mean, no one could stop him. No one could tackle him. So as that's just a sign of things to come, I think Gerard's in a pretty good spot again.

Neel Madhavan: 20:38

Absolutely. And I think over at Liberty, you know, Chris Cunningham is coming off a thousand north receiving season. Uh, and I think you're going to see him kind of be used in a variety of ways for the leopards. Uh, and you know, the, the question at Liberty was the transfer of DC Farrell as previously mentioned, uh, Derek DMAA has a cannon. Yeah. And Joe Simon, the head coach down there is really high on how he's done this. Uh, this in fact went so far as to say he and Chris have been their best players by far. So I, I think Liberty is going to be just fine, uh, with, with DMAA quarterback and getting Chris the ball in

Greg Macafee: 21:16

Space. I mean, you put, you put a guy like DMAA together with a guy like Chris, um, you know, two, I mean, I think they're like kind of like the perfect combination in a way. I mean, C camp can stretch the field and, you know, D DMAA can throw it down the fall, down the field. Neil, what do you

Neel Madhavan: 21:29

Got? Uh, you know, speaking of ARD, I saw them once in a seven and seven against both east and west branch early, early in during training camp mm-hmm<affirmative> and, um, you know, it seems like third receivers, they just all over the place. Mm-hmm<affirmative> they just, they have sides outside. They have a lot of speed and quickness inside with those slack guys. It seems like half the team can play receiver, just they have receivers popping up left and right. Mm-hmm<affirmative>, I mean, they have all kinds of weapons outside for Them. Kind of the, the question for both Gerard and Liberty is re kind of retooling in the trenches. I know both coaches discussed, you know, we're pretty wide open in terms of competing at those positions. At least they were, you know, a week or two ago when we were checking in with teams mm-hmm<affirmative> so I think a big question will be, how did those units come together early on

Greg Macafee: 22:17

Mm-hmm<affirmative> I mean, I think that's always, that's always a question early in seasons. Um, I mean, you, you, you kind of gotta bring the guys like those together in a way. Um, and I mean, when you, when you bring offenses back or defenses back with experience front, it only helps. I mean, if you, if you have a new guy under center, if you have a new running back, anything like that, it gives them time to kind of operate slow the game down a little bit. And, you know, I think that's always crucial. And I think that's, that's a reason why JFK's been good for the past couple years, that mentality in the trenches. I mean, I remember going out to talk to Eddie Keon last year. He was a senior last year at JFK. He was like, this is what we put our pride on. And it's the same year after year, since I've been here talking to Don Prologo is, you know, we're gonna run the ball down your throat, we're gonna win the minus scrimmage and we'll go from there and see how it goes.

Joel Whetzel: 23:04

Absolutely. The Eagles love their, uh, their physical football.

Greg Macafee: 23:08

Oh, for sure.

Nathanael Hawthorne: 23:08

You sure. Now you're talking about, uh, linemen and kind of, segueways perfectly into, uh, my other team that you need to kind of look out for, uh, not necessarily local to Trumbull and Mahoney, but ping valley, um, conference champions third year in a row last year. Um, unfortunately they're only returning five upperclassmen and that that's tough for any team. I mean, but you had these young guys who, you know, had a chance to learn with you had the, the sophomores that had a chance to learn with the graduating seniors and the now seniors. So of those returning upperclassmen, I believe three are offensive and defensive linemen. So that's huge. They've been there. They know what it takes, and they're gonna kind of stand up the defense and let the younger guys work. Um, Neros and their head coach told me that the freshman and sophomores they're, they're a little smaller, but they're shifty, they're quick. Um, and that's gonna, that's gonna play a huge role, especially if you have, you know, experienced people on the line, uh, creating holes, that's gonna do nothing but help the run game and help keep the quarterback alive. Really mm-hmm<affirmative> um, uh, Ryan Croston is actually the, uh, quarter gonna be gonna be the, uh, quarterback this year. He's a sophomore, um, took a couple reps in a few games last season towards the tail end. And, um, uh, Neil Croton had nothing but praise for him. I think he, he threw for over one 50 and several games and ran for a hundred as well. So he can kind of play both sides of the ball, um, in that regard. And he's expecting, um, Ryan to kind of step up on defense as well.

Greg Macafee: 24:44

Yeah. Um, I mean, I, I, I think there's just there there's so many teams around the valley this year. I think that could, could make a run at some point, um, throughout the season. Uh, I think we gotta look at teams like Cheney, um, Seth, an interims back at Cheney, they got Jason Hewlett coming back. He's going to the university of Cincinnati. They got a bunch of other guys. They lose, they lose talent, like Clive Wilson. Um, but I mean, Hewlett's not even playing quarterback this year, from what I understand. I mean, he was known he was gonna make a name for himself as a quarterback last year, and now they got Matt Jones coming in. I mean, he, he played pretty big last year for them after Hewlett got hurt. Um, but I think Chaney's another team that we have to watch this year,

Neel Madhavan: 25:22

You know, and making that switch from quarterback to other skilled positions. I think he's gonna open a, up, open up a hundred lot for Jason as a player too. I think he's really going to shine as an athlete this year for the Cowboys.

Greg Macafee: 25:34

Oh, a hundred percent. I mean, they have athletes all over the field over there too.

Nathanael Hawthorne: 25:38

I feel like that's something you have to take into consideration too. If you have, uh, someone who's a stellar quarterback, nine times outta 10, they're an athlete. You put'em in any position they're gonna succeed. No matter what it is, throw'em in throw'em in defensive back. They're gonna do great throw'em at white or Steve they're gonna make plays for you running back. Same thing. Mm-hmm<affirmative> and that's the dynamic, as we're we've been talking is the quarterback situation, at least in this area, it's not just one type of quarterback. It's not just a, I'm gonna throw, I'm gonna throw for 500 yards a game, or I'm gonna rush for four touchdowns in 250 yards. It's a good mix of both. And I think that we're very fortunate around here specifically mm-hmm<affirmative> to, uh, be able to see quarterbacks who can control the run game themselves or let it fly. Mm-hmm

Greg Macafee: 26:21

<affirmative> mm-hmm<affirmative>. I mean, I think that's what you've seen a lot in, in the quarterbacks in this area too. They're all able to, you know, pull the ball down and run if they need to. I mean, you look at Brock Lowry, you look at this shields, you look at Dallas, Jett Harding, Joey Joey fell. Exactly. Um, I mean, there's one quarterback that we haven't mentioned yet, and we're gonna talk about him a little bit later, but that's down Evan in Bloss. Mm-hmm<affirmative> I mean, he was the guy that kind of came out of the scene. Um, I'm sure he'll have something to say about in, in the quarterback conversation this year, but, uh, I mean, and there's, there's, I think there's a couple pretty good running backs in this area too. I mean, one guy that comes to mind is Antoine Gardner at Niles. He came out into the scene last year and he was literally the workhorse for Niles for the red dragons. Um, I think they went through two, they played three quarterbacks in the first game because two of'em got hurt and the rest of the season, it was all right. Gardner left Gardner. Right. I think Jim Perry said, uh, you know, wants to get away from that a little bit more this year, but when you have a special guy like that in the back feed, you gotta give him the ball. Neil,

Neel Madhavan: 27:19

You know, I mean, speaking of Niles, I mean, they have a quarterback now transfer from, I think it was KA falls, something

Greg Macafee: 27:26

Like that. Mm-hmm<affirmative> yeah. Beak. Yeah.

Neel Madhavan: 27:28

Yeah. Mm-hmm<affirmative> I mean, he's, he's a young kid. I think he's a rising juniors, rising sophomore, something like that, but he's got size and he is got an arm mm-hmm<affirmative> and that could be an added dimension for now his offense that helps compliment Cardinal on the

Greg Macafee: 27:39

Ground. Yeah, I definitely, I got to see him. They, uh, they scrimmage his Brookfield and Cardinal Moony. Um, I think it was last week or the week before, and it was good to see him. He kind of just spread the ball around a little bit, all over the field. Um, and it's, it's a, I think it's a new element that Niles didn't have last year before we get into this week's game of the week segment, now's a perfect time to visit our websites@wwwdotvdi.com and www.triptoday.com where you'll find everything you need from a comprehensive high school sports coverage to everything Youngstown state, you'll become a Mahoney valley sports expert in no time. So take a moment and visit our websites today, back to the action. We got two games that we want to get into a little bit here. So Brookfield, not Brook Brookfield ly at Stan stadium. Joe's house Joel's house. We're gonna say, we're gonna call it Joel's house because you know, he's there every weekend. He's there all the time. So Stan Boston stadium, Brooklyn, Brookfield ly, sorry, guys. I think this is one of those matchups that is just dynamic. I mean, there're two teams that they don't normally play each other, but I think, you know, this is gonna be one of the biggest barometer games of the year in terms of what these two teams can do. You have a team in Lin who's, they're replacing their quarterback, they're replacing their running back. They bring back five seniors on the offensive line. They bring back a couple wide receivers. Can they do it again? They went to the state title game last year. Can they do it again? And then you have a team like Brookfield, who is, like you said, Joel, they're stacked all over the place, every single position across the offensive line, they got two wide outs. They have two running backs. They have a great quarterback. So I mean, what, what do we think about this matchup?

Neel Madhavan: 29:17

This game is a matchup between two strengths. It feels like, yeah. I mean, with both Oland and Brookfield, those strengths through in the trenches. Yeah. Have both big size and strength on the offensive line. Both of, a lot of those guys play two ways as well. Mm-hmm<affirmative> so you're gonna see them on the D-line as well. That's, that's quite a lot of battles that could really determine go a long way toward determining who comes out on top of this game, You know, and, and Neil experienced this two covering Lin's run through the playoffs. That final score in terms of total points might surpass a hundred. Yeah. I mean that mm-hmm<affirmative> really could end up being a shootout, just given the offensive talent each team has coming back. Yeah.

Greg Macafee: 29:57

I mean,

Nathanael Hawthorne: 29:58

Uh, so, uh, speaking of the matchup itself, um, Brookfield's coach, Randy Clark said, said it best really. He said, uh, we're playing a great team and we will get to see where we're standing right out of the gate. And we're gonna see if we're as good as we think we are. Mm-hmm<affirmative>. So I think, I think that quote shows that this game is going to be like a serious stepping stone for either side. Like, like you said, Joel, the offenses are just incredibly talented. I mean, you have, I'm trying to think of the best way to describe it. You have, I don't wanna say a three headed monster again, but you have a three headed monster in the backfield with Donovan, Pawlowski, um, Isaiah, um, Aiden Jones and Christian Davis mm-hmm<affirmative> uh, I think you, you covered the seven on Saturday.

Greg Macafee: 30:44

Yeah. I, I covered a Scrimm shirt. I think it was late. It was at Niles and, um, they, I think they were go, they were scrimmaging against Niles and Christian Davis broke through the line and he had maybe one guy close to him. By the time he reached the end zone, there was no one even near him. He, he had a second leg, like a second breath of error that just bolt he's super quick. Aiden Jones is another guy. He's just, he's a physical running back. He's looking for that contact. He's not a huge guy, but he's quick too. And I think so I think they have two, like dual quarter or dual running backs back there. Can they carry the load?

Nathanael Hawthorne: 31:18

That's that's a sign of things to come. I mean, Christian Davis is only a sophomore. Exactly.

Greg Macafee: 31:21

Yeah.

Nathanael Hawthorne: 31:21

And he is, he's speedy. Mm-hmm<affirmative> can, if he's not gonna, if he's not gonna run you over, he is gonna blow by you. I mean, Clark said that he is kind of beefed up a little bit mm-hmm<affirmative> and he's worked on his strength. So I think that's going to be a bright spot for this Brookfield team and also the, um, receiver group that they have. Yeah. Xavier wither row and Isaiah Jones. Um, that duo is going to be very difficult to handle from the, from a defensive

Greg Macafee: 31:47

Perspective, you know, you know, I didn't get to see Brookfield play last year, but I saw a bunch of photos from being in the office and things like that. And it seems like Isaiah Jones has put on at least 20 pounds in the off season. He's a ginormous human being. He

Nathanael Hawthorne: 31:58

He's, he's just a big dude. Yeah. I mean, he's, mm-hmm<affirmative> I think I have it right here. Actually he is he's six, 5,190. Yeah. Like he's just big and he's fast. And he has great hands. I mean the one game I covered Brookfield Newton falls last year, um, he made a catch basically toe tapped in the back of the end zone and it rained into the chain link fence they have there and it, it was like, it was nothing. Yeah. I mean, pre pre-game warmups, even he's snagging things, one handed like it's like he's ode, ode, Beckham. I mean, yeah. It, it, tho those guys are going to be, um, threats for the Brookfield warriors, as well as, I mean, you can kind of go into Donovan because you kind of have a little bit more

Greg Macafee: 32:42

The, the, the one thing that sticks out to me obviously last year, Brookfield was, um, their, I think their one downfall was their penalties. I mean, they racked up a bunch of flags. Yeah. And it was one thing that seemed like Randy Clark addressed every single game postgame it was, you know, we gotta stop seeing these yellow flags all over the field. Cause it's killing us. And this year when I went to that scrimmage, the one thing that stood out to me the most was just Brookfield and their, their attitude. I mean, they were ready to go. They were talking trash. They were, they were, and they were loving it too. And it's, it's one thing that maybe have to keep under control, but that also can help too,

Neel Madhavan: 33:18

You know? And that's what I was going to touch on. I think you could tell in coach Clark's comments, Brookfield's got a little chip on his

Greg Macafee: 33:24

Shoulder. Yeah. A hundred percent sure. And when, when you guys have, when you have guys like Connor heater across the line, like the linemen they have are mean, hu, I don't wanna say mean human beings. I mean, they're high schoolers, but like they, they have that, the, that mentality like a little bit, like they do at JFK where we're gonna run you over, we're gonna break through the line and we're gonna control this game.

Neel Madhavan: 33:44

Yeah, absolutely. And I there's just no substitute for that kind of line. If you can impose your will. Mm-hmm<affirmative>, you're tough to

Nathanael Hawthorne: 33:50

Stop. I mean, in speaking of Brookfield's offense, it, it rivals only their defense. I mean, their defense is insanely talented. Um, you said Connor heater's name. I mean, standing on the sidelines of that game, I covered, I was, I was intimidated standing on the sidelines, a good 50 yards away from where the action was on the other side of the field. And he's like in the, in everyone's face, like getting ready

Greg Macafee: 34:13

To go amped up.

Nathanael Hawthorne: 34:14

And like once the ball snaps he's he's like, like an animal it's crazy.

Greg Macafee: 34:17

It's that attitude when you cross the sidelines. Yeah. When you cross a white strip

Joel Whetzel: 34:20

And you know, I, I kind of talked to Connor when he committed to Navy mm-hmm<affirmative> and the thing that struck me about Connor is he said the biggest thing he liked about Navy was their play style. Yeah. For those unfamiliar Navy runs the triple option. He likes to get in your face and mall you yep. In the trenches. And I, I think that's just the personification of that entire Brookfield team.

Greg Macafee: 34:42

Yeah. And, and when you have a leader like Donovan, Pawlowski, I mean the one thing, speaking of the attitude and everything like that in these scrimmages, they like to protect the quarterbacks. So, you know, at, at end of play, if, if a quarterback looks like he's about to get hit, the refs will blow. The whistle play will stop. They'll restart. Peloski scrambled at one point. And he is going through two Nile's defenders and ref blows the whistle. He stops. He's like, no, let them hit me. I want to be hit right now. Like I let's, let's go. Um, I said it last night on the w FMJ round table, but Brookfield wants the smoke. They want anything. They want to challenge themselves. They want to go up against the top teams. One of those top teams coming back from last year, the state runner up ly Neil, you covered them a bunch. You covered'em last year. Um, you saw you, you followed them along in that state title or that run to the state championship game. What do you think they got this year?

Neel Madhavan: 35:34

Well, one thing that, uh, coach Dan had constantly emphasized this off season is they too have a chip on their shoulders. Mm-hmm<affirmative> they it's it's I, I can't imagine a more painful ending the way that game ended for them last year. Yeah. They were up by three touchdowns in that game, 21 to 7, 28, 14, and then to lose on a last second two point conversion with less than a minute ago. I can't imagine something more devastating. Those kids won it badly. They want to get back to where they were badly and yes, they lost a lot of skill guys on the offense. But two names to look out for two receivers who would make big jumps this year, both Mark Manning and will Bernie mm-hmm<affirmative> will be two, uh, primary targets for whoever ends up taking over that starting quarterback job,

Joel Whetzel: 36:21

You know? And you touched on Playmaker. I don't think they're as lost at running back. As people may realize that the, the graduation of DeMarcus McElroy, uh, I mean, I saw Christian Lynch last season that kid can run the ball mm-hmm<affirmative> so I, I think ly, you know, they're, they're retooling a little bit, but they're not out of the mix by any means.

Greg Macafee: 36:42

Yeah.

Neel Madhavan: 36:43

And there's, there's no reason behind five seniors on the offensive line, five seniors who have been there together for four years, three years. There's no reason that Christian Lynch and tie Don low, who could get some them snapshot running back behind Lynch. There's no reason why those guys can't together have just as good of a season as DMAR MWA had last year. There's no reason, especially with the youth in, in experience, they have a quarterback, they could lean even more on the run game, especially behind that veteran offensive

Greg Macafee: 37:12

Bond. Mm-hmm<affirmative> and, and they, they also have, you know, obviously you talk about the quarterback position. They had Brady Shannon last year. Obviously he's a guy that you don't just go out and replace, but they have two guys battling for the, the starting spot back there. And Jack Erickson and DC Farrell, who, you know, as we talked about was coming over from Liberty. Um, but it seems like the, the two different play styles in a little bit, and Jack Erickson and DC Farrell DC Farrell obvious obviously showed what he could do last year, Liberty. I think he passed for over 1800 yards. And I think he ran for right around 600, 800 somewhere in there. Joel, correct me if I'm

Joel Whetzel: 37:46

Wrong, I would have to check. Yeah. But, uh, certainly a dual

Greg Macafee: 37:49

Threat as, as a freshman quarterback, too, as a freshman. So he's coming in as a sophomore. So obviously, I mean, we kind of alluded to it a little bit in the, in the football preview that, you know, they could both be on the field at times.

Neel Madhavan: 38:01

I think they will both, you'll see them both on the field at times, especially on offense. You could see the Oland try to move both of them around. They can both, they'll both take snaps from, from, uh, out of the shotgun or understand. I mean, that, that adds a dynamic level to the offense. When you have, you know, keep your defense guessing who's gonna be taking those snaps, what are they gonna run with both of those guys on the field, one of them on the field, you know, it keeps really keeps the defense guessing.

Greg Macafee: 38:25

Oh, definitely for sure. And I mean, it, it's gonna be an interesting one, uh, tonight at, at Stanoff stadium, Brookfield YSU, or Brookfield ly, sorry. Um, it's gonna be an exciting one, but we have another one, another exciting one on Friday, um, where Canfield goes to west branch, um, two of the top quarterbacks in the area drew to shields at west branch, he's committed to Eastern Illinois. We got Brock Lowry. He's committed to Indiana. Um, two teams kind of, you know, trying to find a little bit of a new identity in a way. Um, what do you think guys? I mean, this is gonna, this could be a high scoring game. I think,

Neel Madhavan: 38:58

I think it's, it is a BA it's a very much a battle of contrasting styles. Yeah. West branch wants to put the ball in space. They want to distribute the ball. They want to spread the ball around and they want to get out in space, run up a lot of yards score, a lot of points. Campfield wants to run out of the power. They want to control the game, control the clock, use that run game use, you know, the strength of block lowly out in the backfield and whoever ends up taking over it, running back as well. I mean, it's a contrast of styles, a power running team versus the spread passing team, which makes this game even more interesting just beyond the quarterback battle.

Greg Macafee: 39:32

I mean, I, I, I remember going out to Canfield last year, um, and, and a couple of the guys that were there, a couple of the seniors that are gone now, um, you know, said something that sticks out to me now is Canfield's a team we're, we're gonna make you remember who you played Friday night. We're gonna hit you all night long. We're gonna play physical. Um, and I think, I think in a way, um, the, the two head coaches in the match up Tim Cooper at west shields and, or sorry, um, at west branch and Mike pan pav Lansky at Canfield, uh, pav, Lansky's been at Canfield for, I think 22 years, Cooper's going into his first year as the head coach at west branch, two somewhat different eras, two completely different play styles, completely different, just mindsets in how to play the game. Um, I think it's gonna be an interesting one to watch just because of that.

Joel Whetzel: 40:19

Absolutely.

Greg Macafee: 40:21

U m, so I mean, there's a couple other games that w e got going on this weekend, obviously C heney and Poland. O ne we didn't really get to get into, um, t o Tom Pavlansky's going into year two at Poland, replacing a big senior class, S eth i nterim first game back at C heney, a bunch of athletes. I think that one's gonna be a watch be one to watch. and then Springfield south range. It's gonna give us a, a good picture of where both programs are at heading t he end of the year and everything like that. So

Neel Madhavan: 40:46

Don't forget Boardman versus Cardinal Mooney. That's two teams that, you know, maybe struggled a little bit last year, but both have, you know, expectations of getting better improving this year. Obviously two of the, you know, more prominent, larger programs in the area

Greg Macafee: 41:01

As well. Mm-hmm,<affirmative>, Paulini Carlini is there going into his third year? Um, I talked to him before the season started. He's, he's very excited about this, this senior class that they have, but he is also excited about the youth they have, cuz they've been coming up through the program. Um, they also brought on long time Waynesburg coach. Rick SHEPPA is the, is the OC and, uh, it's I remember talking to Paulini, he said it's been like two head coaches at, at the head of the program right now. And we've been battling all summer long. So they're challenging each other. I think that's gonna be interesting to see kinda how, um, the Cardinals play out this year. Uh, but you have a couple other interesting games. Um, Lare at Lakeview could be an interesting one, uh, Boardman, Carter Moony, and then Fitch is bringing in a team from Las Vegas and Foothill. Um, so that's gonna be an interesting one. They've kind of filled out their, their schedule pretty interestingly this year, but, um, yeah, I mean, it's gonna be an exciting, exciting year of football. This is just week one. Um, so stay tuned for us guys. Uh, we'll be here every Thursday, every Thursday afternoon. Um, this was the sideline chatter podcast brought to you by, uh, the Trane Chronicle and V sponsored by SIM's auto park. Thanks again, guys. See you on the sidelines.