The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
MAYFIELD QB READY TO ATTACK SEASON
Senior says Wildcats want to pick up where they left off after 11-1 mark
No excuses.
As the days wind down to the expected beginning of the fall sports season, that is the mindset of Michael Huss, starting quarterback for the Mayfield football team.
Yeah, the Wildcats lost a slew of talent from a team that went 11-1 last fall, including 80 percent of their offensive line, a 1,000-yard rusher in Joey Suchy and standout receivers Joey Isabella and Ben Sherlock.
It’s true that the novel coronavirus has limited what Huss and his teammates could have worked on and accomplished this summer.
But when Aug. 1 arrives, Huss said he and his teammates are going to be ready.
With no excuses acceptable. “Nope. We’re definitely planning on picking up where we left off,” said the 5-foot-9, 173-pound quarterback. “Last year was a blast. We had been playing together since we were young, so playing at the level we did and having the success we did was great.
“We’ll be ready to go.” Huss is coming off a dynamic and star-studded junior season in which he completed 61 percent of his passes for 2,362 yards and 28 touchdowns. He also ran for 237 yards and five scores.
He ran the Wildcats’ spread offense with efficiency and precision, both statistically and as a leader.
Experience helps.
After all, he will head into this season having started 29 straight games. He took over the reins of Mayfield’s offense his freshman year — Game 5 to be exact — when then-starter Jake Dostal went down with an injury.
“I was 14 years old, and my first pass was tipped by Chase Kline and intercepted,” Huss said of his welcome-to-varsity moment provided by Chardon’s all-Ohio linebacker, now a linebacker at Michigan State. “Oh yeah, I had butterflies. But my teammates were there for me, picked me up and we went from there.”
Huss is a much different — and better — quarterback nowadays, one who reads defenses and picks them apart like a surgeon with a scalpel in his hand.
A year ago, he helped lead Mayfield to its first 10-0 regular season since 1984.
After a Week 11 win in the playoffs, the Wildcats fell to Akron Hoban in the waning seconds of the game.
While Huss granted graduation losses were heavy, he warned teams not to take the Wildcats lightly this year.
“We’ve got Joey Dostal and Billy Guzzo back at receiver,” he said. “Timmy Steffense and Josh Pope are at receiver, too. Jack Klika got some experience last year at running back.
“We lost everybody on the line except center Anthony Mangeluzzi, but we’re going to be fine.”
Huss said the offseason work has been good, regardless of COVID-19.
“It’s definitely not what I expected,” he said. “But I’ve been able to train more than I thought I would. It’s been pretty good this whole offseason.”
Part of his offseason that didn’t materialize were camps and college showcases. He had a number of Ivy League camps cancelled because of the coronavirus. Mount Union and Baldwin Wallace, a pair of Division III programs, have told him they want him in their programs, but bigger offers will likely have to come based not on offseason camps, but rather through his accomplishments in his senior season.
“I was disappointed about that earlier,” he said, “but there’s nothing I can do about it. So I’m just going to work toward this season.”
It’s a season he is ready to embark upon.
With no excuses. “Going into my senior year, I know there’s a lot of responsibility on my shoulders,” he said. “I don’t think that’s pressure, though. That’s what I like. I like being a leader and having that responsibility.”