Serving Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky and Wood Counties
Head coach Ken James enters his 41st season at Northwood with an experienced, veteran team.
“We're excited about the crew we have,” James said. “We've got guys who are good teammates. We're in a position where we feel like if we stay healthy, we have a good chance to be competitive. But we also know that we're going to be in a fight every week. It’s just the way the schedule pans out. We've got Edison and Norwalk St. Paul right after we play Lake and Rossford. There's no time to take a breath.”
The Rangers feature 14 seniors this year, led by quarterback Tyler Osley, who enters his third year as the starter.
“We expect him to have a good year,” James said. “He's going to play like a senior. He's got a lot of skill guys back with him.”
Also back among the senior class are guys like safety Aaron Torres, Second Team All-SBC fullback Skyler Rita and receivers Valyric Goings and John Sawyer.
Rita was a big part of the team’s rushing attack last year, Goings also played a lot at corner and Sawyer will shift to running back to help offset the graduation of Jason St. Claire. Out wide, sophomore Al Johnson could see considerable time in place of Sawyer.
On the defensive line, the versatile Jayden Zuraski is back along with fellow seniors Chase Peart and Killian Burnham. All three were starters a year ago, and they were joined by Rita, who played a lot at defensive end. That group will be joined there by juniors Carter Whitely and Carter Rita.
Jaymin Cannon, a senior running back/safety, also returns. He was a starter last year before an injury ended his season.
“We have varsity experience back at every position, although it doesn’t guarantee anything” James said. “We're going to try to get through camp as healthy as we can and focus on being fundamentally good at what we do. And then we'll kind of go from there. What we want to try to do is be good enough where, as we get toward the end of the season, we're in a position to compete for the playoff spot and a league title in the last few weeks.”
The offensive line is stacked with veterans. Senior right tackle Evan Rodriguez will once again pair with Honorable Mention All-SBC junior left tackle Terrance Stull, while senior Marquez Osley is back at guard along with junior Devin Wilkerson.
The center spot is the youngest on the line, as sophomore Jay Zaborski will likely slot in there. He started a few games last season, and he’ll replace Alex Ellis, who earned Honorable Mention All-SBC recognition before graduating and moving on to play at Ohio Northern University.
Ellis and St. Claire are the only two starters lost on the offense, and James is excited about his team’s depth on the line.
“We’re getting our timing down on offense, and we’re getting better on defense, making plays on the ball and getting guys lined up right,” James said. “We feel like we should be better on defense this year as we have a lot of guys back. Offensively, same thing. We should be more productive, but we lost our center and a really good running back who was a big part of the passing game. Guys have to step up and get the job done.”
Other seniors include cornerback Nino Villolovos, linebacker Chris Chernisky and defensive end Skiilaur Savage.
Another key upperclassman back is junior Ethan Leonard, who will play inside linebacker and handle the kicking duties, and he could also play quarterback if needed.
James is excited about his special teams unit.
“We feel real good kicking-wise,” James said. “Ethan hit a 40-yard field goal last year. He's been looking really good punting and kicking the ball. Special team-wise, we’re a little faster, so we feel like we're going to have some solid coverage teams. We have good long snappers, too. We have a couple spots we have to fill there, but we feel really, really good about the kicking game.”
Junior DeAndre Curry returns as a two-way player at halfback and corner, where he started all last year. Kevin O’Donnell, last year’s leading tackler who was named Honorable Mention All-SBC, will once again join Leonard in the linebacker unit.
At safety, St. Claire is gone, but junior Steven Fowler returns after getting a lot of time there last year.
“We're going to push our guys as hard as we can to get them past their comfort zone and make them better than what you think you can be,” James said. “If we get that done, and our effort's great and we're great teammates, we'll let the results be whatever they are.”
Overall, the Rangers only lost five players to graduation and returned nine starters on each side of the ball. Among those not back are defensive lineman Amadeo Munoz and Second Team All-SBC cornerback Nick Reinhardt.
“We feel good about the skill guys we have, and we feel good up front on offense, and some of those guys will end up doubling up, moving across and rotating on the defense,” James said.
As he enters his 41st year, James is just enjoying the ride.
“Right now, there's probably a pretty good betting pool on when I'm going to retire,” he said. “I get asked that quite a bit right now. And honestly, I don't know.”
