Fort Loramie: “The expectation is definitely there now”
By Tim Langevin
Fort Loramie
Division VI
Region 24
2009 Record: 10-3
*Players to Watch – WR/DB Cody Albers (5-11, 167, sr.); QB/DB Ryan Humphreys (6-1, 171, jr.); RB/LB Nick Meyer (5-9, 197, sr.); RB/DL Joe Poeppelman (6-3, 218, sr.); OL/DE Brad Drees (6-2, 210, sr.); OL/DL Steven gehret (6-2, 187, sr.); K/WR/DB Kyle Miracle (6-0, 170, jr.); OL/LB Caleb Ranly (6-2, 197, jr.)
*Outlook – Second-year head coach Matt Burgbacher has some big shoes to fill – his own. In 2009, the Redskins earned their first playoff appearance in five years of varsity football and in the process, advanced to the regional finals and a 10-win season.
In his cluttered office surrounded by white boards with Xs and Os, coach Burgbacher said, “The expectation is definitely there now. Our program was young and people weren’t sure about the playoffs. They heard about it. They knew about it, but never experienced it. Last year we got a taste of it. We didn’t just make the playoffs, we advanced to regional finals. The kids got a taste of what high school football is all about. So now, they want more. We took a huge step last year and our ultimate goal is to win a state championship.”
The bad news, Fort Loramie loses eight starters on offense and nine on defense. The good news, they have 11 seniors and 12 juniors to fill the voids. And in the words of Burgbacher, “These kids are ready to step up.”
One player expected to step up is QB Ryan Humphreys. Last season as a sophomore starter, he passed for 850 yards and four TDs in a role “not to lose games”. This season will be a different story. Burgbacher said, “Ryan gained valuable experience as a sophomore. This year we expect big things. He will be our leader on offense. Last year he didn’t have to win us ball games. This year we will put more on his shoulders. We plan to do more with him. Open up the playbook. We want to be more diversified on offense with a 50-50 pass to run ratio.”
Humphreys will have two prime targets in Cody Albers and Kyle Miracle. The ground game will revolve around FB Joe Poeppelman, the heir apparent to Mitch Raterman (1,536 yards and 14 TDs). Last year Poeppelman played defense and recorded 10 sacks, but this season he will be used primarily at FB. He is a speciman at 6-3, 218 pounds and will be a load to bring down.
On defense, LB Caleb Ranly will be the leader and play caller of their 5-2 defensive front. His LB partner Nick Meyer will cause plenty of havoc. “Both these kids learned from Alex Wolfe and Brad Frilling last year and we expect big things from these two,” Burgbacher said.
The 33-year-old coach said, “This being our second season together, we are way ahead of the curve compared to last season at this time. Last year the coaches and players were feeling each other out. Now, the kids, coaches, and myself are all on the same page. We are all accustomed to one another. Everything clicked last season and this season we all have that excitement heading into two-a-days.”
“The neat thing about my coaching staff, four of the five coaches teach in the Fort Loramie school system. That’s important because the kids see us every day in the building and out in the community.”
*Schedule – If the Redskins want to win the Metro-Buckeye League championship, they need to defeat Lehman week 10. Fort Loramie is 0-5 against the Cavaliers. The Redskins start the season with two MAC opponenets in Minster and New Bremen, two teams they defeated last season on the way to a 6-0 start.
A new team has been added to the 2010 schedule in Zanesville Bishop Rosecrans, which finished 8-3 and made the playoffs.
Burgbacher said, “Our first three games will be huge for us. Those games will tell us about our team. Minster and New Bremen will be better and Toledo Christian returns an offense that produced 4,000 yards of total offense between the QB, WRs, and RBs.”
8/27 Minster
9/3 @New Bremen
9/10 @ Toledo Christian
9/17 Troy Christian
9/24 @Yellow Springs
10/1 Dayton Jefferson
10/8 @Bishop Rosecrans
10/15 Dayton Christian
10/22 Summit Country Day
10/29 @Lehman Catholic
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