BY JON HANLEY

Last season the Warrior football team stole the spotlight within the Mariemont community. First-year head coach Kurry Commins led the tribe to its first playoff appearance since 2006, finishing the regular season with a 5-2 record in the CHL and 7-3 overall. The team was made up of one of the strongest senior classes the program has seen in a while, according to several current seniors on the team. The class included current Ohio Northern offensive linemen Carter Kemper, and Jon Bezney, the 6’6” 295 pound offensive linemen who was deemed a four star recruit by scout.com, and signed to play college ball at Yale.

With the team losing 13 seniors last year, many believed their best days were behind them.

However, this year the warriors accomplished something that hasn’t been done since the year most of the team’s seniors were born: start the season 5-0.

According to MHS Principal and sports enthusiast (and alumnus left tackle of the Warrior football team), Dr. Jim Renner, no team at Mariemont has gone 5-0 in almost two decades. The last time this happened was in 1996 when the Warriors posted a perfect 10-0 regular season record.

Despite losing so much talent, the team was able to start right where they left off in 2013. “Last year we spent most of the season adapting to the new offense. It was the first year as a starter for most of us, so we made mistakes, but this year we’re able to focus on the fine-tuning instead of just trying to learn the plays,” said senior quarterback Kane Coates.

Senior wideout David Cowart agreed with Coates, and also comments on how much the chemistry between the two of them has improved. The two have already connected on 32 passes, 6 of which in the end-zone, for a total of 649 yards.

Although fine-tuned adjustments were still needed in the offensive this year.

According to senior slot receiver Connor Bortz, the team lost most of their bigger players when the seniors graduated in May. However, what this year’s team lacks in size, they make up for in finesse. “We have a bunch of skilled position players, so we adapted over the off-season and focused on our strengths, which are our speed and athleticism,” said Bortz.

“Last year our running game was based on a ground-and-pound, run-it-up-the-middle philosophy. This year we’ve been relying on misdirections, trickery, basically whatever we can do to spread out the defense,” said Bortz.

In 2013 the size of the offensive line gave the Warriors the luxury of being able to run the ball up the middle, and of avoiding throwing the ball into space. Coates almost always takes the snap out of the shotgun formation, and often runs the fast paced no-huddle offense–changes Commins made last year. But now the passing game is much more aggressive, with the Warrior QB forced to quickly get the ball out on the edges to shifty receivers like Bortz and fellow senior, Chris Cascella.

“The offense is pretty similar to what [former college and present NFL coach] Chip Kelly set up at Oregon and currently runs in Philadelphia. Coach Schneiber, our offensive coordinator, actually tells us to watch the Ducks or Eagles when we get the chance.”

Cascella credits the team’s success to the intense conditioning Commins brought down on the team in the summer. “Our team is pretty small this year so we have a lot more players who have to play on both sides of the ball.”

Cascella, who primarily played receiver and tailback last season, adapted a new role role this year as a starting cornerback. He’s also the team’s primary punt returner, and shares kickoff returns with Bortz.

He’s one of many Warriors who’ve proven themselves effective on both sides of the ball. Starting linebacker and senior Parker Sullivan has racked up 53 tackles and a sack, while also splitting time at tight end with Cascella. The team’s size has even forced leading receiver David Cowart to start at free safety. So far his first season on defense has produced 12 tackles and an interception against Hughes.

“We’ve also had to rely more on the younger players than ever before, in order to give the starters a breather here and there,” continued Cascella.

Underclassmen who’ve made a major impact on varsity this year include sophomore Ryan Fields, who’s been seeing a lot of reps at cornerback as well as recording 304 yards and 3 touchdowns on the ground as the 2nd running-back to starter Aaron Urevick. Fields is averaging 6.1 yards per carry.

Sophomore wide-receiver Charlie Zack has also made an impact, already catching 14 passes for 203 yards, plus the 6’2” Sophomore Joe Veeneman has been effective as a starter on the offensive line, according to several players.

Kicker Gunner Nixon, another sophomore, has been nearly perfect on extra point attempts (20 of 21). The part-time varsity soccer player has also been reliable on field goals (4 of 6), with a long of 39 yards.

Cascella also mentioned several freshman who have played major roles on special teams, such as Jacob Gunner and Alec Vianello. Daniel Cascella has also been a nice asset on special teams, according to Bortz.

“People don’t get how huge that is, being able to rely on freshman to step up and handle special teams’ duties. It may be a smaller part of the game, but it’s one of the most tiring.  So it’s pretty big that some of our starters can sit out and get a break,” said Cascella.

The Warriors did suffer two straight losses to Taylor and Madeira, so they will not match the record of the ’96 squad. However, many believe that if the team can forget about the past two weeks and build off of their success, they may outdo them in another sense.

The team is still on track to make it to the Division V playoffs (top 8 in the region), as they are ranked 4th in Region 18 even after the recent losses.

“If they can go 2-1 to finish out the season, we might still be in line to finish the year ranked in the top 4 within the region. A top four spot would guarantee a home playoff game, which would be huge,” said Mariemont Athletic Director Tom Nerl.

“If we can make whoever we end up playing come down here to Kusel, who knows what can happen,” he continued. A playoff victory would put the Warriors past the ’96 team, who according to Renner, lost their first postseason matchup.

On another note, when senior lineman Mark Hamlin was asked to describe what he believes has made the biggest impact on the team’s success this year, he replied, “attractive coaches.” Hamlin was referring to Andy Winkle, the offensive line coach, who has attracted the attention of many of the girls at MHS.