The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Cougars show progress
New faces at skill positions tune up in scrimmage vs. Strongsville
The Lake Catholic football team was 5-5 in 2017, the Cougars’ third consecutive season with a .500 record.
The Cougars attempt to vie for their first playoff berth in seven years, and they’ll count on a handful of new skill players.
Senior Matt Slowey takes over at quarterback, senior Nate Rieple leads the running backs and junior Christian DeMitro brings speed to the receiving corps.
During Lake Catholic’s scrimmage against Strongsville on Aug. 11, Coach Scott O’Donnell saw simple, yet meaningful, progress from the Cougars’ first scrimmage against Perry Aug. 7.
Slowey connected with DeMitro on a long gain over the middle, Rieple and Ben Lausin made explosive plays in the running game and, most importantly, Lake Catholic’s first-team offense didn’t turn the ball over — a hindrance earlier in the week.
“Our goal today was just to get better than we did in our scrimmage on Tuesday,” Slowey said. “Our run game was doing really good today as we had a couple big runs, our line’s kicking (butt) and we’re throwing the ball pretty good, so we’re moving the ball down the field and it’s going pretty good.”
Slowey started three games last season behind Jack Gibbons, now at Baldwin Wallace. Leading receiver Nick Simcak moved on to Walsh University. Top rushers Kevin Conley and D.J. Griffus are at Toledo.
Next to Lake Catholic’s personnel changes, the Cougars compete in Division III this season after they dropped down from D-II this past winter.
Rieple received the majority of the handoffs from Slowey. He was forceful in runs through the line and bounced outside on occasion to push forward against defensive backs.
Lausin scored on a carry up the middle from near the 25-yard line. Aaron Leovic added a splash play with a rush from midfield to the goal line, where Rieple punctuated a touchdown drive.
The Cougars will deploy various backs next to Slowey. Rieple likes the anonymity of the players he expects to step up in the running game.
“It feels good,” Rieple said. “No one knows who we are. Our team knows our names, so it’s going to be good this year.”
On Aug. 11, Rieple was the most impressive of the bunch. He’s a two-way player, expected to anchor the Cougars’ defense from his linebacker position.
“Nate Rieple’s a stud,” O’Donnell said. “He plays linebacker and he plays running back. You don’t even notice he’s out there on both sides. He’s a warrior.”
Opposite Lake Catholic’s improvements, O’Donnell pointed to two red-zone trips that netted zero points. A handoff was stuffed on the final snap of a 10-play drive and the Cougars missed a field goal to cap a 3-and-out in a game scenario.
Defensively, Lake Catholic replaces its entire defensive line. Moreover, the Cougars switched to an odd front after lining up in an even scheme last season.
The defense’s fundamentals were tested by Strongsville’s offense, predicated on a mobile quarterback. The Mustangs’ quarterbacks broke off several long touchdown runs.
Scrimmage rules prevent players from tackling quarterbacks. O’Donnell and his staff will turn to film study to parse between breakdowns and plays that weren’t blown dead when the Cougars’ pass rush entered the backfield.
“If we were there and we didn’t finish it, that’s a separate story,” O’Donnell said. “If we’re not there, then we need to take care of that.”