2016 Medina County high school football preview

Fall 2016 Forecast Magazine 1

Several months from now, high school football teams from across Ohio will square off in state champi-onship games. It takes a lot of talent, hard work, and sometimes, a little luck to get there.

Getting there is the goal of every team this time of year. Of course, some know they have a betterchance than others of making a championship run, but they all want to be the last team standing.

With that thought in mind, we are proud to bring you another season of Forecast Magazine, highlight-ing local high school athletes. Inside, you’ll find in-depth analysis, a host of features and schedules youcan use all season long. Once again, you’ll hear the games on AM 930 WEOL and www.weol.com.

Plus, look for the inside scoop on the Ohio State University Buckeyes and the Cleveland Browns.And remember…your home for OSU football and basketball is AM 930 WEOL!We are proud to cover and support our local teams and appreciate the assistance of high school athletic

directors, coaches and staffs who help us with our outstanding broadcast schedule. And we thank ourterrific sponsors who make the games and this magazine possible.

Friday night lights? You bet!

Craig R. AdamsOperations Manager/News DirectorWEOL AM 930

2 Fall 2016 Forecast Magazine

ABOUT THE COVER In his senior season Trevor Thome helped lead the Buckeye

Bucks to their third consecutive Patriot Athletic ConferenceStars Division title and a perfect 10-0 regular season record.While it was always a “Team first” mentality for the downhillrunning back, Thome amassed 978 rushing yards, 444 receivingyards and set school record with 29 touchdowns and 176points. Along with being named the Medina Gazette MVP, theYork Township native was named Division III All-Ohio Second-Team. In the 2016-2017 season, Thome will look to carry theball with the same gusto at NCAA D-III Mount Union.

Medina County High School Football Preview.........pg. 3

Ohio State Football Preview......................................pg. 10

Cleveland Browns Preview........................................pg. 15

FOOTBALL SCHEDULES

Tri-C Medina County Match-Ups ...............................pg. 5

Area High Schools ........................................................pg. 6

Ohio State Buckeyes ..................................................pg. 11

Ohio Colleges..............................................................pg. 12

Cleveland Browns ......................................................pg. 15

WEOL FORECAST MAGAZINEFALL 2016 PREVIEW

A Publication of AM930 WEOLVolume 3

Station ManagerTim Alcorn

EditorMatt Douglass

Feature EditorsBrad Bournival

Rob Polinsky


By: Brad BournivalAs camp breaks for the 2016

high school football season,Medina County coaches willlearn quickly what they havein their teams.

From Black River, whichstarted out 2015 with threewins in its first four games,but fell to the wayside, toWadsworth, who has replacedlongstanding coach GregDennison with Justin Todd,there are storylines every-where.

Last year, Buckeye andHighland reached the play-offs, but lost in the firstround.

Here’s a look at the sevenarea schools:Black River

With 173 career wins, AlYoung is Medina County’s all-

time career leader and athree-time Patriot AthleticConference champion (2010,2011, 2013).

But 4-6 doesn’t cut it in Sul-livan Township. That said, hehas a ton of talent back and islooking to climb the moun-tain once again.

Junior fullback/linebackerJacob Campbell (6-foot, 190)is back and looking toimprove on a 785-yard, 13-touchdown season from ayear ago. He’s not the onlyone with a resume as 6-2, 250-pound senior starter MikeHazlett is back at quarter-back.

Last season, the Pirates puta little bit of air under the ballas Hazlett threw for 677 yardsand six touchdowns in thewing-T offense.

Everyone knows Black Rivergoes as its line goes andguard/linebacker CurtisRoupe (6-2, 250) is returning.In 2015, he made 76 tacklesand helped the Pirates rushfor 233.0 yards a game.Brunswick

The 2015 campaign wasn’tnice to a Blue Devils teamreturning no starters. It led toa 3-7 season, but Brunswickpicked up some needed expe-rience.

Coach Luke Beal is backand looking to return hissquad to the playoffs after aone-year hiatus.

Fullback/linebacker AlexGillespie (6-0, 230), Runningback/defensive back JakeMartin (6-1 185) and runningback/defensive back NolanSmerekovsky (5-9, 170) will be

leaned on heavily as Beal con-tinues to reshape Brunswick’slook.

Gillespie led the Blue Devilsin rushing when the then-junior rushed for 751 yardsand three touchdowns, whileMartin, also a senior, had 700combined yards from scrim-mage.

Smerekovsky was one offthe county lead in passbreakups with 10. The seniorwill be relied on to help in thesecondary in a Greater Cleve-land Conference leagueknown for passing.Buckeye

The Bucks came close towinning their first playoffgame in school history, butlost 35-28 in triple overtime to

2016 Medina County high school football preview

See PREVIEW, page 4

Ron Schwane

Highland Hornets take the field.


West Geauga.This season is a different

animal as Gazette MVP TrevorThome and Gazette SeniorAthlete of the Year Nate Poli-dori have graduated from ateam that ran the table in theregular season to win the PACStars Division.

Two-way senior linemanHunter Gray (6-1, 240) is backand needs to be the glue foran offense missing most of itskey starters from 2015.

Senior linebacker DustinMcCoullough (5-9, 195)returns and his 79 tackles willbe key to stopping the run-happy Stars Division.

The biggest question comesin how fast junior quarterbackAdam Fauver can learn theoffense and step into theshoes of Polidori, who waskey in the Bucks offense lastyear.Cloverleaf

The Portage Trail Confer-ence was supposed to bringthe re-emergence of the Colts,but they struggled to a 1-9mark under first-year coachJustin Vorhies.

But it’s a year later andVorhies is ready to turn thepage.

He has a weapon in seniorwide receiver/cornerbackNick Soika (5-11, 175), whohad 34 receptions for 429yards last year. Junior middlelinebacker Cory Stallings (5-9,175), who took over as astarter in week four shouldhelp defensively. He made 62tackles and had eight tacklesfor loss as a sophomore.

Junior guard/defensive endDeric Tober (6-2, 215) bringsathleticism and is a hard-nosed defensive end, return-ing 24 tackles and a sack fromlast season.Highland

Mike Gibbons was sup-posed to struggle with theshadow of Tom Lombardo lastseason.

The first-year coachanswered all questions byleading the Hornets to a 6-5season and Division III,Region 4 playoff appearance.

Defense will be the name ofthe game this season forHighland with some bignames back.

Senior defensive back ChrisBurnside (5-10, 195) was sec-ond on the squad with 75tackles and had five sacks lastseason, while his senior coun-terpart Chris Petrilla (5-11,185) was third on the teamwith 70 tackles. Two-way linemen Joey

D’Amico (5-10, 280) is backand looking to improve on anAll-Suburban League cam-paign when he was a sopho-more.Medina

The Bees showed tremen-dous improvement last yearwith a 4-6 campaign thatincluded a 31-14 win overGCC playoff representativeElyria.

All-Ohio running backJimmy Daw (6-4, 215) is backas a senior and has the eye ofDivision I college programs.He rushed for 1,078 yards andwas second in the county with18 touchdowns.

Three-year starting seniorNick Pankow (6-0, 190) willsee time at safety and widereceiver this season after anhonorable mention All-Gazette campaign. Junior

Dylan Fultz (510, 175) returnsas a corner/slot receiver.

Fultz had over 1,000 yardsof total offense last seasonand scored eight touchdowns.Wadsworth

The question becomes howwill the Grizzlies replace 2014first-team All-Ohio back DanWeinerman and adapt to Toddas their coach?

Junior Joey Baughman (6-0,185) should slide over fromhis spot as an All-Gazettehonorable mention corner-back and take over at quarter-back for the graduated Con-nor Montgomery.

Senior wide receiver/defen-sive back Craig Palidar (6-0,185) brings back 65 tacklesfrom last season and if seniorlinebacker Alex Jones (6-1,190) can come back frominjury, defense shouldn’t be aconcern for the Grizzlies.

PREVIEWFrom page 3

Photo provided

Buckeyes Hunter Gray

Photo provided

Wadsworth defense.

Black River Pirates 8/26 Western Reserve...................Away9/2 Northwestern .......................Away9/9 McDonald ...........................Home9/16 Brooklyn ...............................Away9/23 Columbia ...........................Home9/30 Keystone ............................Home10/7 Buckeye.................................Away10/14 Brookside..............................Away10/21 Firelands..............................Home10/28 Wellington...........................Home

Brunswick Blue Devils8/26 Highland............................Home9/2 Austintown-Fitch .................Away9/9 Brecksville.............................Away9/16 Solon ..................................Home9/23 Elyria ...................................Away9/30 Medina...............................Home10/8 Shaker Heights .....................Away10/14 Euclid...................................Home10/21 Mentor.................................Home10/28 Strongsville ...........................Away

Buckeye Bucks8/26 Revere ...................................Away9/2 Rocky River .........................Home9/9 Cloverleaf ............................Home9/16 Fairview ................................Away9/23 Clearview ............................Home9/30 Wellington ............................Away10/7 Black River ..........................Home10/14 Firelands .............................Away10/21 Keystone..............................Home10/28 Brookside..............................Away

Cloverleaf Colts8/26 Northwest .............................Away9/2 Keystone ............................Home9/9 Buckeye.................................Away9/16 Coventry..............................Home9/23 Norton...................................Away9/30 Woodridge...........................Home10/7 Akron-Springfield ................Away10/14 Ravenna .............................Home10/21 Field ......................................Away10/28 Streetsboro..........................Home

Columbia Raiders8/26 Independence ......................Away9/2 Wellington .........................Home9/9 Northwestern .......................Away9/16 Brookside ............................Home9/23 Black River ..........................Away9/30 Lutheran West.....................Home10/7 Clearview ............................Away10/14 Brooklyn ...............................Away10/21 Fairview...............................Home10/28 Oberlin ................................Home

Copley Indians8/26 Twinsburg .............................Away9/2 Firestone .............................Home9/9 Lake .....................................Home9/16 Barberton..............................Away9/23 Revere..................................Home9/30 Tallmadge .............................Away10/7 Highland .............................Away10/14 Aurora..................................Home10/21 Roosevelt ..............................Away10/28 Bedford................................Home

Firelands Falcons8/26 Edison..................................Home9/2 Brooklyn..............................Home9/9 Vermilion ............................Away9/16 Clearview ..............................Away9/23 Oberlin ................................Home9/30 Brookside ............................Away10/7 Wellington...........................Home10/14 Buckeye .............................Home10/21 Black River............................Away10/28 Keystone ...............................Away

Green Bulldogs8/26 Stow .....................................Home9/2 Howland ...............................Away9/9 Collinwood..........................Home9/16 McKinley .............................Home9/23 GlenOak ................................Away9/30 Ellet......................................Home10/7 Perry ....................................Home10/14 Hoover ..................................Away10/21 Jackson ................................Home10/28 Lake.......................................Away

Highland Hornets8/26 Brunswick ...........................Away9/2 Ashland ...............................Home9/9 North Royalton ...................Home9/16 Revere..................................Home9/23 St. Charles ...........................Home9/30 Aurora ...................................Away10/7 Copley ................................Home10/14 Tallmadge .............................Away10/21 Barberton..............................Away10/28 Roosevelt .............................Home

Keystone Wildcats8/26 Cuyahoga Heights ..............Home9/2 Cloverleaf ............................Away9/9 Galion ..................................Home9/16 Lutheran West.....................Away9/23 Fairview...............................Home9/30 Black River ..........................Away10/7 Brookside ............................Home10/14 Wellington ............................Away10/21 Buckeye.................................Away10/28 Firelands..............................Home

Medina Battling Bees8/26 Lakewood .............................Away9/2 Kenston ...............................Home9/9 Wadsworth ..........................Away9/16 Elyria....................................Home9/23 Strongsville .........................Away9/30 Brunswick ...........................Away10/7 Mentor.................................Home10/14 Shaker Heights....................Home10/20 Euclid ....................................Away10/28 Solon....................................Home

Nordonia Knights8/26 Mayfield ..............................Home9/2 Bedford .................................Away9/9 Dover.....................................Away9/16 Hudson................................Home9/23 Stow.......................................Away9/30 Brecksville ...........................Home10/7 Cuyahoga Falls .....................Away10/14 North Royalton ...................Home10/21 Twinsburg ...........................Home10/28 Wadsworth ...........................Away


Oberlin Phoenix8/26 New London.........................Away9/2 Brookside ............................Home9/9 John Adams.........................Home9/16 Wellington...........................Home9/23 Firelands ...............................Away9/30 Clearview ............................Home10/7 Fairview ................................Away10/14 Lutheran West.....................Home10/21 Brooklyn..............................Home10/28 Columbia ..............................Away

Revere Minutemen8/26 Buckeye ...............................Home9/2 Valley Forge ..........................Away9/9 Normandy ............................Away9/16 Highland ...............................Away9/23 Copley ...................................Away9/30 Roosevelt .............................Home10/7 Aurora..................................Home10/14 Garfield Heights..................Home10/21 Tallmadge .............................Away10/28 Barberton ............................Home

Strongsville Mustangs8/26 Avon ......................................Away9/2 Hudson................................Home9/9 Brush ...................................Home9/17 Shaker Heights .....................Away9/23 Medina...............................Home9/30 Euclid ....................................Away10/7 Solon....................................Home10/13 Mentor ..................................Away

10/21 Elyria .....................................Away10/28 Brunswick ...........................Home

Tallmadge Blue Devils8/26 Ravenna ................................Away9/2 Ellet......................................Home9/9 Garfield................................Home9/16 New Philadelphia.................Away9/23 Roosevelt ..............................Away9/30 Copley .................................Home10/7 Barberton..............................Away10/14 Highland ...............................Away10/21 Revere..................................Home10/28 Aurora ...................................Away

Wadsworth Grizzlies8/26 Ashland.................................Away9/2 Wooster.................................Away9/9 Medina...............................Home9/16 Stow.......................................Away9/23 Cuyahoga Falls....................Home9/30 North Royalton ...................Home10/7 Twinsburg .............................Away10/14 Brecksville.............................Away10/21 Hudson................................Home10/28 Nordonia .............................Home

Wellington Dukes8/26 Chippewa .............................Away9/2 Columbia ............................Away9/9 New London .......................Home9/16 Oberlin..................................Away9/23 Brooklyn..............................Home

9/30 Buckeye ...............................Home10/7 Firelands ...............................Away10/14 Keystone..............................Home10/21 Brookside ............................Home10/28 Black River............................Away



By Rob PolinskyUrban Meyer will begin his fifth season

as the head coach at Ohio State LaborDay weekend Saturday September 3rd vs.Bowling Green at 12pm at Ohio Stadiumin Columbus. Should be an interestingday for Coach Meyer who was previouslythe head coach at Bowling Green back in2001 and 2002. Meyer is 50-4 at OSUincluding 12-1 overall and 7-1 last seasonin conference play. After the openinggame vs. BG the Bucks host Tulsa beforeheading to Norman Oklahoma to take onBob Stoop’s Oklahoma Sooners. Thatshould be a great matchup between twoof college football’s all time perennialpowers. After a bye week the Bucks openconference play at home vs. Rutgers onOctober 1st.

OSU returns thirty nine letter winnersfrom ’15 but just six starters, three oneach side of the ball. The returning

offensive starters include captains, quar-terback J.T. Barrett and center Pat Elflein,along with guard Billy Price. The defen-sive starters that return are CaptainRaekwon McMillan at linebacker, cornerback Gareon Conley and Defensive EndTyquan Lewis. Losing sixteen of twentytwo starters OSU has a lot of rebuildingto do and will have plenty of young menvying for playing time including RunningBack and Wide Receiver. With 5th yearsenior Bri’onte Dunn recently beingkicked off the team, that means OSU willhave no running backs with any gameexperience on the roster. Highlyrecruited redshirt freshman Mike Webberalong with true freshman AntonioWilliams should both see the field. AtWide Receiver/ H-Back junior CurtisSamuel and senior Dontre Wilson return.There are several others looking to break

See OSU on page 11

2016 Ohio State football preview

Photo Provided

The Ohio State football team.

Photo Provided

Tracy Sprinkle

into the lineup includingTerry McLaurin, Parris Camp-bell, James Clark and JohnnyDixon among others. Lorain’sRashod Berry is being consid-ered at Tight End. The Offen-sive Lineman needs to findthree new starters from lastseason. According to OSUJamarco Jones, Isaiah Prince,Evan Lisle and DemetriusKnox could win jobs. On thedefensive line Elyria’s TracySprinkle along with MichaelHill and Donovan Mungercould start inside. TyquanLewis, Sam Hubbard andJalyn Holmes are on the ends.At Line Backer who will benext to Raekwon McMillan isthe question. Juniors ChrisWoodley and Dante Bookerare considered the favorites todo so. Seventy five percent oflast year’s starting DefensiveBack’s are gone leaving

Gareon Conley the onlyreturner. Some young Defen-

sive Back’s looking to winspots includes Marshon Latti-more, Damon Webb, DenzelWard, Cam Burrows, ErickSmith and Malik Hooker.

As young and inexperi-enced as OSU is this seasoncould be Meyer’s greatestchallenge since coming toOSU. Combining that withwhat could be their toughestschedule in years it will beinteresting to see how long ittakes this young group to gel.Some of the highlights in BigTen play have OSU going toWisconsin and Penn State onconsecutive Saturdays inOctober. In November theyentertain Nebraska beforegoing to East Lansing to playMSU. Remember that the

Spartans gave OSU their onlyloss a year ago in Columbus.They close the regular seasonout at home vs. Michigan.

Paul Keels will be in his19th year as the Voice of theBuckeyes, Jim Lachey returnsfor his 20th season as coloranalyst. New to the broadcastcrew is Matt Andrews who willserve as sideline and lockerroom reporter. Skip Mosic isback for his 32nd season,serving as pregame and half-time host. As always WEOLAM 930 is your Lorain, Med-ina and Western CuyahogaCounties home of OSU foot-ball. All broadcasts originateninety minutes prior to thescheduled kickoff time withthe pregame show.


OSUFrom page 10

Photo Provided

Urban Meyer

Photo Provided

Mike Weber


2016 COLLEGE FOOTBALLUniversity of Akron Ashland University Baldwin-Wallace University

Date Opponent Time Date Opponent Time Date Opponent Time9/3 VMI 6:30pm 9/1 Mercyhurst 6pm 9/1 Defiance 7pm9/10 at Wisconsin 3:30pm 9/10 Wayne State 7pm 9/17 at John Carroll 7pm9/17 at Marshall 12pm 9/17 Findlay 7pm 9/24 Mount Union 6:30pm9/24 Appalachian State TBA 9/24 at Ferris State 3:30pm 10/1 at Marietta 1:30pm10/1 at Kent State 3:30pm 10/1 at Tiffin 1:30pm 10/8 at Wilmington 2pm10/8 Miami (OH) 3pm 10/8 Northwood 1pm 10/15 Muskingum 1:30pm10/15 Western Michigan TBA 10/15 at Lake Erie 1pm 10/22 Otterbein 2pm10/22 at Ball State 3pm 10/22 at Ky. Wesleyan 1pm 10/29 at Capital 1:30pm10/27 at Buffalo 7:30pm 10/29 at Michigan Tech 1pm 11/5 at Heidelberg 1:30pm11/2 Toledo 7:30pm 11/5 Walsh 1pm 11/12 Ohio Northern 1:30pm11/9 Bowling Green 8pm 11/12 at Ohio Dominican 12pm11/22 at Ohio 7pm

Bowling Green State University Capital University Case Western Reserve UniversityDate Opponent Time Date Opponent Time Date Opponent Time9/3 at Ohio State 12pm 9/3 at Wittenberg 7pm 9/3 Chicago 12pm9/10 North Dakota 3pm 9/17 at Muskingum 7pm 9/17 at Grove City 7pm9/17 Middle Tennessee 12pm 9/24 Wilmington 7pm 9/24 at Waynesburg 1:30pm9/24 at Memphis TBA 10/1 at Otterbein 2pm 10/1 St. Vincent 6pm10/1 Eastern Michigan 3pm 10/8 Ohio Northern 1:30pm 10/8 at Bethany (WV) 2pm10/8 at Ohio 2pm 10/15 Mount Union 1:30pm 10/15 Theil 1pm10/15 at Toledo 3:30pm 10/22 at John Carroll 1:30pm 10/22 Geneva 6pm10/22 Miami TBA 10/29 Baldwin Wallace 1:30pm 10/29 at Washington (Mo) 1pm11/9 at Akron 8pm 11/5 at Marietta 1:30pm 11/5 at Westminster (Pa) 1pm11/15 Kent State 6pm/7pm 11/12 Heidelberg 1:30pm 11/12 Carnegie Mellon 2pm11/25 Buffalo TBA

University of Cincinnati University of Dayton Denison UniversityDate Opponent Time Date Opponent Time Date Opponent Time9/3 Texas State 3:30pm 9/3 Central State 7pm 9/3 at Marietta 7pm9/10 at Kansas 2:30pm 9/10 Robert Morris 1pm 9/17 at Oberlin 6pm9/17 at Tennessee 12pm 9/17 at Duquesne 12pm 9/24 Wooster 1pm9/24 Gardner-Webb TBA 9/24 at San Diego 7pm 10/2 Ohio Wesleyan 1pm10/1 at Miami (Oh) 2pm 10/1 Drake 1pm 10/8 at Hiram 7:30pm10/8 Bowling Green 2pm 10/8 Morehead State 1pm 10/15 Wittenberg 7pm10/15 Eastern Michigan TBA 10/15 at Jacksonville 12pm 10/22 Allegheny 2pm10/22 at Kent State TBA 10/22 at Butler 1pm 10/29 at DePauw 2pm10/27 at Toledo 7:30pm 10/29 Stetson 1pm 11/5 Wabash 1pm11/3 Buffalo 6pm 11/5 Valparaiso 1pm 11/12 at Kenyon 1pm11/15 at Central Michigan 6pm 11/12 at Marist 1pm11/22 Akron 7pm

Heidelberg College Hiram College John Carroll UniversityDate Opponent Time Date Opponent Time Date Opponent Time9/3 Cortland St. 12pm 9/3 at Westminster (Pa) 7pm 9/3 at Wisconsin-Oshkosh 2pm9/17 Ohio Northern 7pm 9/17 Kenyon 1pm 9/17 Baldwin Wallace 7pm9/24 at John Carroll 1:30pm 9/24 at DePauw 1pm 9/24 Heidelberg 1:30pm10/1 Muskingum 1:30pm 10/1 Wabash 1pm 10/1 at Wilmington 1:30pm10/8 at Mount Union 1:30pm 10/8 Denison 7:30pm 10/8 Marietta 1:30pm10/15 at Otterbein 7pm 10/15 at Ohio Wesleyan 1pm 10/15 at Ohio Northern 6pm10/22 Marietta 1:30pm 10/22 at Wittenberg 1pm 10/22 Capital 1:30pm10/29 at Wilmington 1:30pm 10/29 Allegheny 1pm 10/29 at Muskingum 1:30pm11/5 Baldwin Wallace 1:30pm 11/5 at Wooster 1pm 11/5 Otterbein 1:30pm11/12 at Capital 1:30pm 11/12 Oberlin 1pm 11/12 at Mount Union 1:30pm

Kent State University Kenyon College Malone CollegeDate Opponent Time Date Opponent Time Date Opponent Time9/3 at Penn State 3:30pm 9/3 Sewanee 12pm 9/3 Taylor 2pm9/10 NCarolina A&T State 6pm 9/10 Oberlin College 1pm 9/10 at Truman State 1pm9/17 Monmouth 3:30pm 9/17 at Hiram 1pm 9/17 Notre Dame (Oh) 2pm9/24 at University of Alabama TBA 9/24 Allegheny 1pm 9/24 at Robert Morris (Pa) 7pm10/1 Akron 3:30pm 10/1 at DePauw 1pm 10/1 at St. Francis (Pa) 1pm10/8 at Buffalo 3:30pm 10/8 at Ohio Wesleyan 2pm 10/8 Alderson Broaddus 2pm10/15 at Miami (Oh) TBA 10/15 Wabash 1pm 10/15 College of Faith 2pm10/22 Ohio TBA 10/29 at Wooster 1pm 10/22 at Walsh TBA10/29 at Central Michigan TBA 11/5 at Wittenberg 1pm 10/29 Univ. of God’s Chosen 2pm11/8 Western Michigan 7:30pm 11/12 Denison 1pm 11/5 at Kentucky Wesleyan TBA11/15 at Bowling Green 6pm/7pm 11/12 at West Alabama 3pm11/25 N. Illinois TBA


2016 COLLEGE FOOTBALLMarietta College Miami University Mount Union College

Date Opponent Time Date Opponent Time Date Opponent Time9/3 Denison 7pm 9/3 at Iowa 3:30pm 9/10 at N.C. Wesleyan 12:30pm9/17 at Mount Union 1:30pm 9/10 Eastern Illinois 3:30pm 9/17 Marietta 1:30pm9/24 at Muskingum 1pm 9/17 Western Kentucky 3:30pm 9/24 at Baldwin Wallace 6:30pm10/1 Baldwin Wallace 1:30pm 9/24 at Cincinnati TBA 10/1 at Ohio Northern 1:30pm10/8 at John Carroll 1:30pm 10/1 Ohio 2:30pm 10/8 Heidelberg 1:30pm10/15 Wilmington 1:30pm 10/8 at Akron 3pm 10/15 at Capital 1:30pm10/22 at Heidelberg 1:30pm 10/15 Kent State TBA 10/22 Wilmington 1:30pm10/29 Ohio Northern 1:30pm 10/22 at Bowling Green TBA 10/29 at Otterbein 1:30pm11/5 Capital 1:30pm 10/29 at Eastern Michigan TBA 11/5 at Muskingum 1pm11/12 at Otterbein 1:30pm 11/4 Central Michigan 6pm 11/12 JohnCarroll 1:30pm

11/12 at Buffalo TBA11/22 Ball State 7pm

Muskingum College Oberlin College Ohio UniversityDate Opponent Time Date Opponent Time Date Opponent Time9/3 at Waynesburg 1:30pm 9/3 at Kalamazoo 1pm 9/3 Texas State 3:30pm9/17 Capital 7pm 9/10 at Kenyon 1pm 9/10 at Kansas 2:30pm9/24 Marietta 1pm 9/17 Denison 6pm 9/17 at Tennessee 12pm10/1 at Heidelberg 1:30pm 9/24 Ohio Wesleyan 6pm 9/24 Gardner-Webb TBA10/8 Otterbein 1pm 10/1 at Allegheny 1:30pm 10/1 at Miami (Oh) 2pm10/15 at Baldwin Wallace 1:30pm 10/8 at Wabash 1pm 10/8 Bowling Green 2pm10/22 at Ohio Northern 1:30pm 10/15 Wooster 3pm 10/15 Eastern Michigan TBA10/29 John Carroll 1:30pm 10/29 Wittenberg 3pm 10/22 at Kent State TBA11/5 Mount Union 1pm 11/5 DePauw 1pm 10/27 at Toledo 7:30pm11/12 at Wilmington 1:30pm 11/12 at Hiram 1pm 11/3 Buffalo 6pm

11/15 at Central Michigan 6pm11/22 Akron 7pm

Ohio Northern University Ohio Wesleyan University Otterbein CollegeDate Opponent Time Date Opponent Time Date Opponent Time9/10 at Utica (NY) 12pm 9/3 at Mary Hardin-Baylor 7pm 9/3 at Buffalo 12pm9/17 at Heidelberg 7pm 9/17 Wittenberg 7pm 9/17 at Wilmington 7pm9/24 at Otterbein 1:30pm 9/24 at Oberlin 6pm 9/24 Ohio Northern 1:30pm10/1 Mount Union 1:30pm 10/1 at Denison 1pm 10/1 Capital 2pm10/8 at Capital 1:30pm 10/8 Kenyon 2pm 10/8 at Muskingum 1:30pm10/15 John Carroll 6pm 10/15 Hiram 1pm 10/15 Heidelberg 7pm10/22 Muskingum 1:30pm 10/22 at DePauw 1pm 10/22 at Baldwin Wallace 2pm10/29 at Marietta 1:30pm 10/29 Wabash 1pm 10/29 Mount Union 1:30pm11/5 Wilmington 1:30pm 11/5 at Allegheny 1pm 11/5 at John Carroll 1:30pm11/12 at Baldwin Wallace 1:30pm 11/12 Wooster 1pm 11/12 Marietta 1:30pm

Tiffin University University of Toledo Wilmington CollegeDate Opponent Time Date Opponent Time Date Opponent Time9/1 at Grand Valley State 7pm 9/2 at Arkansas State 9pm 9/3 at Bluffton 1:30pm9/10 Davenport 1:30pm 9/10 Maine 7pm 9/17 Otterbein 7pm9/17 Hillsdale 3pm 9/17 Fresno State 3pm 9/24 at Capital 7pm9/24 at Wayne State 12pm 9/30 at Brigham Young 10:15pm 10/1 John Carroll 1:30pm10/1 Ashland 1:30pm 10/8 at Eastern Michigan 3pm 10/8 Baldwin Wallace 2pm10/8 at Walsh University 12pm 10/15 Bowling Green 3:30pm 10/15 at Marietta 1:30pm10/15 Michigan Tech 1:30pm 10/22 Central Michigan TBA 10/22 at Mount Union 1:30pm10/22 University of Findlay 1:30pm 10/27 Ohio 7:30pm 10/29 Heidelberg 1:30pm10/29 Northwood Univ. 1pm 11/2 at Akron 7:30pm 11/5 at Ohio Northern 1:30pm11/5 at Lake Erie College 1pm 11/9 at Northern Illinois 8pm 11/12 Muskingum 1:30pm11/12 Northern Michigan 1:30pm 11/16 Ball State TBA

11/25 at Western Michigan TBA

Wittenberg University College of Wooster Youngstown State UniversityDate Opponent Time Date Opponent Time Date Opponent Time9/3 Capital 7pm 9/3 at Washington & Jefferson 1pm 9/1 Duquesne 7:30pm9/17 at Ohio Wesleyan 7pm 9/10 Allegheny 7pm 9/10 at West Virginia 2pm9/24 Wabash 1pm 9/17 DePauw 2pm 9/17 Robert Morris 4pm10/1 at Wooster 2pm 9/24 at Denison 1pm 10/1 South Dakota 4pm10/8 DePauw 1pm 10/1 Wittenberg 2pm 10/8 at Illinois State 3pm10/15 at Denison 7pm 10/15 at Oberlin 3pm 10/15 UNI 7pm10/22 Hiram 1pm 10/22 at Wabash 1pm 10/22 at South Dakota State 3pm10/29 at Oberlin 3pm 10/29 Kenyon 1pm 10/29 Indiana State 4pm11/5 Kenyon 1pm 11/5 Hiram 1pm 11/5 at North Dakota State 3:30pm11/12 at Allegheny 1pm 11/12 at Ohio Wesleyan 1pm 11/12 Southern Illinois 12pm

11/19 at Missouri State 3pm


By: Matt DouglassWith memories being the

theme of this year’s Forecastmagazine, it goes without say-ing that good memories havenot been something that Cleve-land Browns fans have beenable to dwell on since theirreestablishment in the NFL in1999. Since that time, theBrowns fans have only seen oneplayoff appearance, havewatched 24 total starting quar-terbacks fail to do much of any-thing, been introduced 16 headcoaches, been lead to believethat seven different GeneralManagers would turn this teamaround and even groaned thename of two different owners.

As the Browns enter the 2016– 2017 season, the pressure toput a winning product on thefield maybe stronger than ever.With the Cavaliers ending a 52year championship drought inCleveland, and the Indiansshowing the city what a winningbaseball team can do, theBrowns are close to becoming athird fiddle in this footballcrazed town.

There is no question that firstyear head coach Hue Jacksonwill be feeling the brunt of thepressure when he leads theorange and brown on to LincolnFinancial Field for the Browns’opening game against thePhiladelphia Eagles on Septem-ber 11. In January, the formerBengals Offensive Coordinatorwas introduced as the team’snew coach. During his 14 sea-sons in the NFL, Jackson hashad stints in Washington, Balti-more, Oakland (where he wasnamed head coach in 2011 but

was fired after an 8-8 finish),and Cincinnati, where he tookover as Offensive Coordinator in2014. The Los Angeles nativewas also with the Bengals as aWide Receiver coach from 2004– 2006 where he coached thedynamic duo of Chad Johnsonand TJ Houshmandzadeh, whotore through the league duringthat time. Recently, it wasannounced that Chad Johnsonwill be joining his former coachas an Assistant Wide Receivercoach.

Along with the change athead coach, the Browns havealso split ties with GM RayFarmer and the position of Gen-eral Manager. Instead theBrowns will turn to Sashi Brownwho was named the team’sexecutive VP of football opera-

tions. Cleveland may be takinga bit of a chance on this one;Brown has never worked at aposition like this in majorsports. He is a former attorneyand business advisor. He didformally work with the Jack-sonville Jaguars as a member oftheir Board of Directors. Afterbeing hired by Cleveland in Jan-uary, one of Browns first moveswas to bring in Paul DePodestaas the team’s Chief Strategy Offi-cer. That name should soundfamiliar to MLB fans and BradPitt fans alike. DePodesta was aformer General Manager of theLos Angeles Dodgers and wasportrayed by Jonah Hill in themovie Moneyball. Many skep-tics say that analytics are noteffective in football, but itseems that the Browns clearly

believe in DePodesta’s work.Along with Jackson, Brown andDePodesta will have the finalsay in who suits up for Cleve-land when the season starts.

On the field, there have beena number of changes as well.This offseason Hue Jacksonplayed a prominent part inbringing Robert Griffin III toCleveland. The former Redskinsquarterback had a falling outwith his previous team andappears to have new vigor as hejoins the Browns. While the lastthree seasons in the league havenot been kind to the formerHeisman winner, due in largepart to injuries, the Brownsbelieve that the 2012 NFLRookie of the Year can release

Cleveland Browns 2016 Season Preview

See BROWNS on page 16

Photo Provided

Joe Thomas


his skills if given the chance. Ofcourse, in order to do that hewill need to stay upright, andthat is where the offensive linecomes in.

Before the 2015 season, theBrowns offensive line wastouted as being one of the bestthe league had to offer. With thedeparture of center Alex Mackand Mitchell Schwartz, this lineis not as durable as it once was.After signing a seven year 80million dollar deal Joe Thomaswill once again be the strong-hold of the offense. The ques-tion is, who will take over forthe missing pieces? While manythought Alex Mack would leave,it was also believed that 2015first round draft pick CameronErving would be the player tofall into that position, however,after a less then stellar rookieseason it looks like John Grecowill be the Browns’ new snap-per. Greco played a majority ofthe 2014 season at centerbecause of Mack’s leg injury.Erving may find himself at theguard position after showingimprovement there at the endof last year.

At running back, Duke John-son will be a favorite. Isaiah

Crowell’s controversial socialmedia posts about the policehave the third year back on thinice.

RGIII will have a new groupof receivers to throw to this sea-son after the Browns partedways with Dwayne Bowe andformer Buckeye Brian Hartline.This year the need for receiverswas issued in the draft. TheBrowns added some muchneeded speed with first roundpick Corey Colemen out of Bay-lor and fourth rounder RicardoLouis out of Auburn. Whilethose guys handle the deep ball,Jordan Payton and Rashard Hig-gins will also be use in offensivearsenal. The middle of the fieldwill once again be patrolled bypro-bowl tight end GaryBarnidge.

On the defensive side of theball, Joe Haden leads what willbe a new look secondary in2016. Rahim Moore, IbraheimCampbell, Jordan Poyer androokie Derrick Kindred will allbe vying for two starting safetypositions.

At linebacker, Demario Daviscomes over from the Jets to tryand add some much neededhelp on the inside. Browns vet-erans Barkevious Mingo, PaulKruger and Christian Kirkseywill help led the pack. RookiesJoe Schobert and Emmanuel

Ogbah will look to make anearly impact on opponents run-ning games and quarterbacks,as well.

On the defensive line, anaccident in the gym unfortu-nately has ended the year ofDesmond Bryant before theseason has begun. Filling thishole will not be easy for theBrowns, as the former Harvardgrad led the team with six sacksand 24 tackles. Danny Shelton’sfirst year is in the books andwhile things could have beenworse, there is no question the

coaches and Shelton himself areexpecting a better output in2016.

It certainly seems that after a3-13 season in 2015 the Brownshave no way to go but up, and ifthe team wants to stay relevantin a city that is quickly catchingthe nation’s attention for theplay of its NBA and the MLBteams, there is little time for theBrowns to waste. If the Brownsdon’t make a run to the postsea-son in the near future, Cleve-land’s title of Brownstown justmight get a new name.

BROWNSFrom page 15

Photo Provided

Hue Jackson with Cody Kessler

2016 Medina County high school football preview

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