Serving Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky and Wood Counties
Fourth-year head coach Grant LaPeer will have to replace the production of several key players, but a balanced and talented Oak Harbor roster provides hope for an exciting season.
“It's really going to come down to just a unit of a team,” LaPeer said. “It's not like it's just a junior and senior class this year. We got a freshman starting, we got a sophomore starting, we got a junior starting, we got a senior starting — so it's a very collective group that we're gonna have this year.
“It's not like last year where it was pretty much 90 percent juniors and seniors. Now it's a collective whole. The whole team has to come in (and perform). We have a lot of catching up (to do) with some of the young guys, but they're going to get great experience this year. I think we're going to have a good year, just as a team in general.”
One of the players LaPeer expected to have back was senior Fulton Krupp, who led the team in scoring while earning Division IV All-Ohio recognition last year. However, an injury has derailed his season.
“Either way, even with Krupp being there, we were going to be coming into a rebuilding (year),” LaPeer said. “That senior class we lost was a very leading, strong group. No matter what, we knew that even without Krupp's injury, we were going to be kind of rebuilding and seeing where these guys decide to take it.
“I'm looking now to the sophomore class, the couple that are going to be coming in, to step up even more. So it's one of those things when you lose a very high asset like Krupp, it puts us in a position where a lot of kids in younger classes have to step up (as well as our) senior class.”
The Rockets also lost second leading scorer Noah Clapsaddle, who had nine goals en route to First Team All-Northern Buckeye Conference recognition, and Honorable Mention All-NBC goalkeeper Collin Biehler due to graduation.
Replacing talented players like that, which includes seven seniors, comes down to coaching the young guys, LaPeer said. For example, the staff is working with Billy Zunk, who looks to replace Biehler after he got some experience as the backup over the past two seasons.
Overall, Oak Harbor returns six starters, including three seniors — Owen Gradel, Trace German and Joey Judge.
Gradel will be a fourth-year starter, and Judge is the team’s lone returning First Team All-NBC selection.
“He’s huge for us,” LaPeer said of Judge. “He’s been a crucial defender. He’s gotten noticed by multiple coaches that he has an ability, and he’s a captain this year.”
Junior Aidan Boss will also fill a key role.
“Aidan is taking a huge role this year,” LaPeer said. “He’s taking over for two seniors last year in the center mid, and he’s going to be very crucial in assisting and making plays for us this year.”
Two potential breakout players are Liam Peters and Xavier Flower.
“Those two are sophomores that got their time a little bit as freshmen last year, even breaking into a pretty deep junior and senior starting group,” LaPeer said. “They got in a few more times than most kids, so I’m expecting those two to really step up this year.”
The Rockets are a bit light in numbers on the defensive side, so LaPeer believes they have a more offensive team. With that, he feels that there’s potential in a freshman named JT Antesberger.
“He looks like he's gonna be a possible starter for us this year,” LaPeer said. “It’s going to come down to the wings and seeing how they kind of shake out because that's where a freshman's looking to possibly take a starting spot.”
That increased focus on offense isn’t a slight on the defense, though.
“Even though we're low on numbers in the defense, Joey Judge has done an excellent job, and Billy Zunk had some pretty good experiences playing his freshman year,” LaPeer said. “He actually played nearly half the season due to injuries.
“So, defensively we are quite strong. We were at the 795 Cup (this summer) and we held some teams to only one goal. We’re quite strong and everybody on our team understands that defense comes first and we'll move forward from there.”
Oak Harbor opens its season Aug. 18 at Port Clinton.
“It all comes down to basically just picking up where we left off last year and understanding that we're coming from a position where we know we lost a lot of guys and that we have talent still in the closet,” LaPeer said. “We're just kind of moving forward with what we have. We're asking a lot, but the coaching staff and I really have some faith in these young guys and the guys that are taking over in leadership roles.”
