Serving Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky and Wood Counties
Rookie head coach Shane Dyer was a little nervous at the beginning of his first game as Gibsonburg faced Ottawa Hills in the season opener.
The Green Bears opened the game by forcing the Golden Bears to punt after going three-and-out, and QB Cole Coy threw a 70-yard touchdown pass to Toby Stevens to put Ottawa Hills in front, 7-0.
But Gibsonburg scored 49 consecutive points and cruised to victory.
"It loosened the nerves a little bit, that's for sure," Dyer said. "The first three plays, we went three-and-out, and then they scored. I got nervous, (but) the kids responded, and we ran off 49 points in a row. We played well."
Running backs Grant Smith and Aiden Morant were the key contributors for the Golden Bears. Smith, an All-Ohioan last season, rushed for 223 yards and three touchdowns (79, 24, 11), and Morant caught two passes, both of which were touchdowns.
"We tried to take it easy on Smith because he's got a broken hand,” Dyer said. “He didn't miss a beat, his legs work really well, he had nice moves, he still runs hard and he held onto the ball. All I know is he had a great game.
"(Our) juniors and seniors are leading us. The big difference is that leadership --- they're bringing that to the table. I coached them in junior high, so I know the kids. Their football intelligence is pretty good. They're picking up things quickly."
The Gibsonburg defense held the Green Bears in check, forcing 12 plays to go for negative yards.
"Our defensive line is quick, and we kept them fresh because a lot of them play offense, too," Dyer said. "In our scrimmages, I didn't see that type of play. On Friday, they had fire in their belly."
Dyer, who was coaching football at Gibsonburg Middle School last season, was an assistant coach at Napoleon, Patrick and Henry and Mohawk before he took over the varsity program.
He talked about the reason for him finally becoming a head coach.
"I had kids, some of whom have special needs, so my focus went to (my children)," Dyer said. "I have three kids, and I was taking care of my family, so my priorities changed, (and) I stopped thinking about myself for a little bit. Everyone is doing well and (my children) are older, and I thought I'd go after this job."
On Friday, the Golden Bears face a stiff challenge in Delta, not to mention the fact that they'll have to travel 47 miles to face them.
"It'll be a good game,” Dyer said. “They have a good group of sophomores, it's a pretty good class. Once Coach (Mike) Vicars gets them settled in, he'll dial them in, and it will be an interesting game."
Dyer and Vicars have never coached against one another, but they do know each other.
"When I was at Woodmore and was an administrator, I would go to Genoa sometimes, and I would talk to him," Dyer said. "I got to know Mike a little bit. He'll have them ready to play."
The Panthers are a Division V school while Gibsonburg competes in Division VII. A win for the Bears would earn them a good deal of computer points, especially when you consider that Delta is projected to win its share of games this season.
Vicars is known to area fans for a very successful five-year run he had as the head coach at Genoa from 2007-11, and as the offensive coordinator for a year after that.
In Vicars' five years as the head coach of the Comets, they defeated the Bears each time before joining the Northern Buckeye Conference. Gibsonburg joined the Toledo Area Athletic Conference for eight seasons after that.
The two schools were in the old Suburban Lakes League for 39 years from 1972-2011.
Two years ago, Vicars was the Genoa offensive coordinator, and he ran a lot of T-formation with some spread concepts.
The Panthers beat Defiance Ayersville, 42-8, in the opener behind a great performance by RB Gunner Taylor. Delta out-gained the Pilots in total yards, 314-128, including 234-110 on the ground.
Delta is in one of the best small-school conferences in Ohio, the Northwest Ohio Athletic League, while the Bears compete in the Sandusky Bay Conference River Division.
