Ohio Dominican has familiar foes in new league
The voice on the other end of the line was scratchy and hoarse, and no one on the Ohio Dominican football team could blame second-year coach Kelly Cummings for having raised his voice a lot during preseason practices.
The Panthers return 45 letterwinners from a team that finished 7-4, but the new challenge is transporting that winning edge to the brand new Great Midwest Athletic Conference.
If the GMAC looks familiar, it’s because Hillsdale, Findlay, Walsh, Lake Erie and Malone have followed Ohio Dominican from the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
“At the end of the day, it’s still football,” Cummings said. “We’re excited about the new league. This is a challenge to play at the same level. The great thing is that we don’t have to make that 15-hour trip to Northern Michigan (University) anymore. Saginaw (Valley State) was only eight hours.
“These schools in our conference are just like us with regard to size and academics. Everybody asks me about leaving the GLIAC, and I say there is no real change. We’re playing a lot of those teams that came with us. We have quality on our schedule.”
The Panthers should have firepower behind senior quarterback Grant Russell of Newark (2,730 yards, 23 touchdowns passing) and receiver Cory Contini (69 receptions). Senior left tackle Zack Williams of Hilliard Darby is a star.
Otterbein looks to be improved
Otterbein was 5-5 in 2016, but coach Tim Doup is bullish about a team that has 19 seniors and star quarterback Logan Stepp of West Jefferson.
“This senior class, I’ll tell you, is so tightknit,” Doup said. “They are all in. They have brought this team together. They understand how difficult the OAC is. This senior class is on a mission. They do want to succeed. The biggest things are we’ve got to stay healthy and we’ve got to go one game at a time and to stay focused.”
Ohio Athletic Conference coaches have picked the Cardinals to finish fifth, and that is a compliment in a stocked league.
“This is going to be a conference that will be good top to bottom,” Doup said. “I left OAC media day and said, ‘Wow, everybody has a lot of key players back.’ The league is major league up.”
Capital gets boost from returnees
Capital hasn’t had this much optimism since 2007, when it last made the Division III playoffs.
The Crusaders were 4-6 last season, including a victory over Otterbein, under Chad Rogosheske last season. This season, eight starters return on each side of the ball, including quarterback Thomas Wibbeler and receiver David Barnett.
“I do think we feel better about things simply because of numbers,” said Rogosheske, entering his second season. “We have 103 players this year. Last year we had 72. We have depth and competition at a lot of positions.
“Year 2 is a different world in that the players are much farther along with technique and expectations. The separation between returners and young players last year was minimal. This year, there is more of a gap. The young guys can look up and say, ‘This is how things must be done.’ ”