The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
’Cats ready to build on LC8 title season
Keystone has two candidates to replace Wilhelm Award winner at quarterback
The Keystone Wildcats are hard at work preparing for their 2020 season.
The Keystone Wildcats are hard at work preparing for their 2020 season.
Aftera40-minutefilmsession, theteamtooktothepracticefield to run through drills Aug. 12.
“It feels great,” senior Deghan Rigda said. “I’m glad that we’re out here as a team. It’s been hard to get a lot of the guys together because of COVID. We usually have a lot of team bonding sessions over the summer but it just feels good overall to be with the guys.”
This is head coach Don Griswold’s fourth year at the helm, and it has been an offseason like no other for him and his team.
“A lot of uncertainty ... just the unknown,” Griswold said. “It hasn’t really affected us much. We had 11 practices in July that went really well and our practices (in August) so far have been going well. Other than the unknown, we just try to control what we can control. We can’t get caught up in whether there’s going to be a season or who we’re playing. It truly is unprecedented and it’s fluid. We just show up every day trying to get better.”
Despite the challenges presented to teams in all sports across Ohio that were brought on by the novel coronavirus pandemic, Griswold said the Wildcats’ offseason wasn’t as unusual as you would think.
“When we were allowed to work out again, we started working out again and our July schedule looked very similar to what it looked like when I made in February,” Griswold said. “Not knowing if we’re going to play has been hanging over our heads but it looks like we’re going to play. (The offseason) hasn’t been that crazy, it’s actually been great. Coming out here every day for a couple hours and being with these kids is the most normal that I’ve felt since March.”
The Ohio High School Athletic Association announced a plan last week for a reduced football schedule and expanded playoffs. Griswold likes the plan that the OHSAA came up with and is excited to get going.
“I thought it was a forward-thinking
plan,” Griswold said. “It allows flexibility for those schools that aren’t practicing like we are. I thought it was smart and everyone makes the playoffs but even within that, there’s flexibility. For instance, you can opt out of the playoffs and play up to 10 regular season games if you’d like.”
Keystone will be looking to make some noise once again in 2020. The team posted a 9-1 regular season record last season and went undefeated in conference play. Keystone’s stellar play enabled them to win the inaugural Lorain County League title. Griswold earned top coaching honors in Division IV for the 2019 season.
Junior Gideon Lampron believes his team will have a “target on their backs” heading into 2020. Knowing that, Rigda knows his team can’t get ahead of themselves.
“We take one week at a
time,” Rigda said. “We just prepare ourselves each week and our coaches put in a good plan every single week. We want to do our best and be able to perfect that each time. No matter what, go out there and dominate and be there with our teammates.”
The team hit the practice field in the August heat and separated into their position groups to run drills. On one end of the field, wide receivers and quarterbacks worked on their timing, while running backs worked on their footwork on another end. The linemen used the sleds to perfect their blocking techniques on the opposite side of the field.
Despite rumors swirling about the fate of the high school football season, the Wildcats are doing their best to focus on what’s right in front of them.
“We’ve just been coming out every day to practice and giving it our best,
Lampron said.
Keystone will have a new look under center after Matt Wilhelm Award and Golden Helmet Award winning quarterback Jacob Shackelford graduated. Shackelford passed for 1,341 yards, rushed for 1,061 and accounted for 32 total touchdowns in 2019. The Wildcats also lost 1,200 yard rusher Dylan Naylor to graduation.
The team won’t have to look very far for their replacements. Shackelford’s brother Ryne is in the mix at QB, while Lampron is slated to line up in the backfield this fall.
“Quarterback-wise, it’s either going to be Connor Rodick, Ryne Shackelford or probably a little bit of both,” Griswold said. “They both bring a lot to the table. Rodick is tall, slim and just looks like a college quarterback back there. Ryne is one of the fastest kids in Northern Ohio and their styles compliment one another.”