I am the Program Director at 1410 WING ESPN Radio in Dayton, Ohio...also host of Dayton Sports Scene weekdays at 5p! Find me on Twitter @ESPNMark!
GWOC South Preview
by Mark Neal,posted Aug 17 2012 11:51AM
High School football season on 1410 ESPN Radio will begin Friday Augsut 24th as the Fairmont Firebirds take on the Alter Knights. This will mark the 2nd season of GWOC Football on 1410 ESPN Radio. We will get you ready with our GWOC Coaches Show Sunday August 19th at 6p. Eric Frantz and I will talk to all 18 Head Coaches as well as GWOC Commish Eric Spahr.
Today is the 3rd of my 3 part GWOC Division Preview...today is the GWOC South
1. Lebanon Warriors: The Warriors finished 2011 at 7-3 and with a share of the GWOC South Championship. Head Coach Shawn Lamb returns enough talent in 2012 to win a 3rd GWOC South crown over the past 4 seasons. His QB, Senior Luke Morgan, returns to lead the offense. Morgan threw for over 1600 yards and 14 TDs a season ago. His #1 receiver, Senior Austin Wolf also returns. RB Aaron Abbott and is 1800+ yards is gone, and will be greatly missed. The Warriors seem to be the class of the GWOC South, and could certainly be a player come playoff time in D-1. Week 1 @ Kings will show us right away what Lebanon has on the squad. 8-2 in 2012...losses to Kings and Centerville
2. Springboro Panthers: The Panthers had a rough season for their standards in 2011. 3-7 hasn't been the norn during the 5 years Ryan Wilhite has been in charge...year #6 should be much better. All-GWOC QB Josh Little has graduated, but his top two targets return for 2012 to lead the Panther offense. Wide Receivers Jake Johnson and Jack Schaaf combined for 99 catches and 22 TDs in 2011. Schaaf will transition to QB for 2012. He will be protected up front by, among others, Sean Welsh, who is an Iowa commit. If the defense can shore things up, Springboro should hover around .500. My guess is 5-5 in 2012
3. Xenia Buccaneers: Longtime Head Coach Bob Delong leads a solid Bucs squad who was better than their 3-7 record showed a season ago. The offense showed signs at times, just couldn't finish every Friday night out strong. This team did beat a good Lebanon team 32-7 last year, after all. Moving to QB in 2012 is David Roberts...a duel threat in every sense of the word. He has played RB, WR, DB, and now some QB in his time. He has a bunch of people to get the ball to as well. Tyler Lee and Zane Moore will give Roberts toys to play with for sure. The schedule is managable, but a 4 game stretch that includes @ Troy, vs Wayne, @ Springfield, and vs Lebanon will be rough seas for the Buccaneers to sail through. 5-5 in 2012
4. Fairborn Skyhawks: On the heels of a share of their 1st championship in seemingly a million years, the Skyhawks must replace plenty off the offense. Do everything QB Kendrick Williams is no longer around, and neither are his top receivers, Devon Hamilton and Billy Jackson...all graduating. Where will the offense come from in 2012? Head Coach Roy Thobe will lean on Spoh QB Kyle Keeton, among others...welcome to the GWOC my man! He will have Pittsburgh commit Carson Baker blocking upfront...all 6'5" 315 of him! Last year was great for the program, but follow up seasons have rarely been in the cards for the gem of Greene County. Sorry, it is my Alma Mater, but 3-7 or 4-6 is probably realistic for 2012.
5.Miamisburg Vikings: 2011 wasn't very memorable for the Burg. They went 2-8 and saw longtime Head Coach Tim Lewis hang up his whistle. Lewis was a positive influence on the program, and will be greatly missed. It's time to start a new and try to win more in 2012. The man in charge of overseeing that is Steve Channell. The bottom line is the offense must improve. Leading rusher Zak Kruer returns and should help that cause. Stability and health at the QB position will also be a key for 2012. Miamisburg will have another tough one in 2012...3-7 should be what they end up with in the end. Hey, that's an improvement from 2011!
6. West Carrollton Pirates: The Pirates are officially a member of the GWOC in football as of this season, and it will be a tough task. New Head Coach Chris Newman takes over a team that went 3-7 as an independant, but sees its schedule improve exponentially. Players like Chad Vannest and do it all Connor Myslowski will aid in that transition for the offense. TE/LB Blake Craig also returns and will make an impact in 2012. The schedule has a few wins mixed in, it's whether they can sneak a few more in this season. It will be a 3-7 season in 2012, but either way, you are now officially in the GWOC, welcome aboard!
