Serving Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky and Wood Counties
Cardinal Stritch announced on Wednesday that the school will return to the football field as part of the Northern 8 Conference, which is an eight-man league. The squad will be coached by Ryan Ochmanek.
“We have always said that the safety and well-being of our student athletes will always be top priority,” Stritch President/Head of School Bill Berry said. “This opportunity to compete in an eight-man league provides athletic challenges and competitive opportunities for our team against similarly sized schools, and we are ready.”
The Northern 8 was created in October 2019 when Stryker High School and Toledo Christian Schools agreed to form the league for OHSAA schools to commit to eight-man football. Eight-man football shares the same rules, procedures, and structure as the traditional 11-man game, with minor differences.
Ochmanek has 22 years of experience coaching young players in football, basketball and baseball. Individually, he began playing football in first grade and is a lifelong enthusiast for the sport.
“I am thrilled to be chosen as the Stritch head football coach, and our numbers are strong for competition for the fall,” Ochmanek said. “I want to encourage and mentor our players to be faithful, respectful and hardworking individuals on and off the field while we continue building the entire Stritch football program from academy to varsity.”
In July 2024, Stritch canceled its fall season for the second time in three years because of low participation numbers. The Cardinals, which also canceled their season in 2022, went 5-4 and qualified for the Division VI playoffs in 2021 before finishing 2-8 in 2023 under the direction of Al Thompson. At the time, their schedule included three TAAC schools, but they weren’t eligible to compete for a TAAC championship.
Prior to the trouble in recent years, Stritch competed in football since 1963. They joined the Toledo City League from 1971 until the early 1980s. The Cardinals won the City League’s Blue Division title in 1972, falling to Scott 13-6 in the City League’s Shoe Bowl title game inside the Glass Bowl.
The Cardinals left the City League to join the TAAC in 1995. Aside from 2021, they made the state playoffs in 2020, 2006, 1999 and 1975. The 1975 team advanced to the Class AA state semifinals before falling to Cleveland Holy Name.
Aside from Stritch and Stryker, the teams in the Northern 8 conference include: Sandusky St. Mary CC, Chalker, Holgate, Fremont SJCC, Danbury and Sebring McKinley.
