FOOTBALL 2024: Streaks rely on strong senior class

SANDUSKY — The momentum has been building at Sandusky, and the Blue Streaks' senior class wants to finish the job. The Streaks have 19 seniors who have played a lot of football. Many of them started as sophomores. "They started off as sophomores three years ago and we kind of put the team on their backs a little bit," first-year head coach Jamaris Brown said. "They've grown up; now is their time. It's always good to have a good group of seniors." Despite putting a lot of experience on the field, Sandusky will have new starters at two key positions: quarterback and running back. Junior Dale Johnson, who at 6-foot-4 will have no trouble seeing over the line, will start at quarterback after throwing for 263 yards and four touchdowns in limited time last year. "He's grown a little bit," Brown said. "He was a little on the skinnier side last year. You can tell his confidence is up this year." Johnson steps in for senior Jason Henlon (2,270 total yards, 24 touchdowns) who will move out to receiver. Henlon might not be available early due to an injury. Sandusky will have new running backs, too, after Jamarion Alexander graduated. He rushed for 1,146 yards and 18 touchdowns last year. But there's plenty of talent coming back from a team that went 6-5. Four losses were by 7 points or fewer, including a 31-29 loss in the playoffs to Medina Buckeye. "We were 6-4 (regular season) but it could've easily been 9-1 or 8-2," said Brown. "We're trying to preach to them to get after it right away so we can start the season right and finish it off." Brown takes over for Lucas Poggiali, who now works at Margaretta. Brown was associate head coach and defensive coordinator the past two seasons. The Streaks moved up to Division II in the OHSAA's latest divisional breakdowns. Sandusky is the area's only D-II team. Sandusky will play in Region 6 and its first three games are against Division II Oregon Clay, D-II Fremont and D-I Lorain. The Streaks lost 33-32 last year at Clay and dropped a 21-15 decision to Ross before breaking through with a 30-23 win over Lorain. Sandusky's current seniors came into high school as part of a 29-man freshman class. Plenty of talent remains. "The core has stuck around and they want to see a great last ride," Brown said. "As a coach I'm going to push them to wherever they want to get to. "Everything we have is good enough to get to where we're trying to go." Brown will call the defense while assistant Joe Magee will call the shots on offense. The Streaks hosted a Meet the Team Night recently and Brown came away encouraged about what he heard. "The community came out and they seem to be behind us," he said. "Just talking to the parents, they constantly tell me they're behind us." Offense Johnson won't have a designated quarterback coach to start the season. Former Sandusky star Javez Alexander was hired for the job but has stepped down from that position. Johnson will have plenty of talent surrounding him as he transitions to full-time varsity starter. "Tremendous arm," Brown said. "He's been in the system a couple years and has the ability to galvanize the troops. He's not a 'me' person. He wants to get guys involved and wants the whole team to be successful. "With the weapons we have outside that could be very beautiful." Sandusky's top three wide receivers combined for 84 receptions last season. Senior Amir Aaron caught 38 passes for 611 yards and six touchdowns. He also could see time in the backfield to maximize his touches. "He's electric. He will bounce around everywhere," Brown said. "We've got some ballplayers who need to ball in their hands and he is definitely one of them." Aa'Zoriyon Bonner returns at receiver after tying Aaron for the team lead with six touchdown receptions. Dre' Campbell (27 catches, 263 yards) is another talented senior target. "Those guys take pride in their blocking," Brown said of his receivers. "They're selfless guys and want to see the success of the team first." Sandusky also benefits from the return of senior Rocco D'Amico, who was injured last year. He will play a hybrid tight end position and play on or off the line of scrimmage. "He definitely embraces that D'Amico name," Brown said. "Every D'Amico I've coached here has always given 100 percent effort. It's great to have him back pushing our young guys and being a leader." Brown is going with running back by committee. He said sophomore Davion Jackson and seniors Makyveon Lately and Quen Tavion Fisher are among the backs who will get carries. Brown said he's still "trying to find consistency" with the offensive line. Senior Tait Maillard will start at left tackle with three-year starter DayVon Scott at right tackle. Senior Dominik Richardson and sophomore Blaine Costante will start at guard and senior Casey O'Rork is the center. Junior Kymirr Hunter and Brayden Peugeot will provide depth on the line. "Getting protection and getting those easy yards on the run will be critical for us," Brown said. "If we can find a way to do that, as a defensive coordinator I would not want to go against us. Too much to cover." Defense Five of Sandusky's top seven tacklers return from last year, led by Bonner (76) and Dennarius Walk (70). Landon Parker (68), Campbell (58) and Lately (49) are other key names on a defense that must replace graduated linebacker Zander Johnson, who made a team-high 114 tackles and 12.5 sacks. The four-man front will include inside guys Richardson and Scott and ends Donovan Gant and Bryson Fleming. Gant, a talented junior, had four sacks last year. "He's just been getting better and better," Brown said. "He's gotten bigger and stronger. Even got a little bit faster." Fisher and sophomore Terrance Randleman also could see reps on the line. D'Amico and Walk will anchor the linebackers. Walk, who had two forced fumbles, is back after suffering a serious hip injury late in the 2024 season. The defensive backs in Sandusky's 4-2-5 alignment include Bonner and Parker as safeties who can move into the box for run support. Aaron and Campbell will start at cornerback while Lately and freshman Donte Shipp Jr. also contributing at safety. The Streaks gave up more than 30 points in four of 11 games. Special teams Senior Will Thomas, who made 26 of 34 extra points last year, returns as the Streaks' placekicker. Gant and Bonner are getting looks at punter. Both worked at that position last year with Bonner averaging 35.4 yards per boot. ----- 2024 schedule Aug. 23: Oregon Clay Aug. 30: at Fremont Ross Sept. 6: at Lorain Sept. 13: Padua Franciscan Sept. 20: Vermilion Sept. 27: at Tiffin Columbian Oct. 4: Norwalk Oct. 11: Clyde Oct. 18: at Perkins Oct. 25: at Port Clinton 2023 results (6-5) Clay 33, Sandusky 32 Ross 21, Sandusky 15 Sandusky 30, Lorain 23 Sandusky 34, Padua Franciscan 27 Sandusky 62, Vermilion 28 Columbian 42, Sandusky 35 Sandusky 48, Norwalk 12 Sandusky 32, Clyde 22 Perkins 31, Sandusky 14 Sandusky 37, Port Clinton 13 Playoffs Medina Buckeye 31, Sandusky 29 2024 roster No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Yr. 2 Jason Henlon&emsp;QB/DB&emsp;5-11&emsp;165&emsp;12 3&emsp;Aa'Zoriyon Bonner&emsp;WR/DB&emsp;6-4&emsp;175&emsp;12 4&emsp;Dre' Campbell&emsp;WR/DB&emsp;5-11&emsp;165&emsp;12 5&emsp;Makyveon Lately&emsp;WR/DB&emsp;5-10&emsp;165&emsp;12 6&emsp;Landon Parker&emsp;RB/DB&emsp;5-9&emsp;175&emsp;12 7&emsp;Quen Tavion Fisher&emsp;RB/LB&emsp;5-8&emsp;175&emsp;12 8&emsp;Dale Johnson&emsp;QB/DB&emsp;6-4&emsp;185&emsp;11 9&emsp;Amir Aaron&emsp;WR/DB&emsp;5-10&emsp;170&emsp;12 10&emsp;Rocco D'Amico&emsp;WR/LB&emsp;5-9&emsp;175&emsp;12 11&emsp;Hunter Straub&emsp;WR/DB&emsp;6-0&emsp;175&emsp;11 12&emsp;Keylan Howell&emsp;WR/DB&emsp;5-11&emsp;170&emsp;11 13&emsp;Raymond Peake&emsp;QB/DB&emsp;5-8&emsp;165&emsp;10 14&emsp;Terrance Randleman&emsp;TE/DE&emsp;6-2&emsp;175&emsp;10 16&emsp;Troy Hawk&emsp;RB/LB&emsp;5-9&emsp;170&emsp;10 17&emsp;Terrell Ruiz&emsp;WR/DB&emsp;5-8&emsp;164&emsp;10 18&emsp;Trae Watson&emsp;WR/DB&emsp;5-7&emsp;160&emsp;11 20&emsp;Quinton Harvey&emsp;RB/DB&emsp;5-10&emsp;175&emsp;11 21&emsp;Logan VanScoy&emsp;WR/DB&emsp;5-10&emsp;160&emsp;11 22&emsp;Donovan Gant&emsp;TE/LB&emsp;6-3&emsp;220&emsp;11 23&emsp;TJ Edwards&emsp;RB/LB&emsp;5-8&emsp;175&emsp;10 24&emsp;Davion Jackson&emsp;RB/LB&emsp;5-9&emsp;180&emsp;10 25&emsp;Dennarius Walk&emsp;RB/LB&emsp;5-10&emsp;170&emsp;12 28&emsp;Omar Alejo&emsp;RB/DB&emsp;5-9&emsp;165&emsp;10 31&emsp;Donte Shipp Jr.&emsp;WR/DB&emsp;6-0&emsp;170&emsp;9 32&emsp;Keelan Lockhart&emsp;WR/DB&emsp;5-10&emsp;171&emsp;12 35&emsp;CJ Yancy&emsp;RB/DB&emsp;5-8&emsp;170&emsp;10 45&emsp;Kaylil Gundlach&emsp;K/P&emsp;5-5&emsp;140&emsp;9 50&emsp;Q'Marion Hunter&emsp;OL/DL&emsp;5-11&emsp;244&emsp;10 51&emsp;Blaine Costante&emsp;OL/DL&emsp;5-10&emsp;190&emsp;10 52&emsp;Dominik Richardson&emsp;OL/DL&emsp;6-1&emsp;245&emsp;12 53&emsp;JaMarion Parker&emsp;OL/DL&emsp;5-10&emsp;210 12 54&emsp;Tate Maillard&emsp;OL/DL&emsp;6-3&emsp;220&emsp;12 57&emsp;Lazarus Young&emsp;OL/DL&emsp;5-10&emsp;205&emsp;10 58&emsp;Brayden Peugeot&emsp;OL/DL&emsp;5-10&emsp;226&emsp;10 59&emsp;Jose Guzman&emsp;OL/DL&emsp;6-1&emsp;267&emsp;12 60&emsp;Cartiare Pickens&emsp;OL/DL&emsp;6-2&emsp;240&emsp;12 61&emsp;Sir Williams&emsp;OL/DL&emsp;5-10&emsp;180&emsp;11 62&emsp;DayVon Scott&emsp;OL/DL&emsp;5-11&emsp;250&emsp;12 64&emsp;Kymirr Hunter&emsp;OL/DL&emsp;6-2&emsp;255&emsp;11 68&emsp;Casey O'Rork&emsp;OL/DL&emsp;5-10&emsp;230&emsp;12 70&emsp;Jaxson Fouse&emsp;OL/DL&emsp;5-10&emsp;245&emsp;11 76&emsp;Tristen Richards&emsp;OL/DL&emsp;5-11&emsp;245&emsp;11 77&emsp;Robert Siler&emsp;OL/DL&emsp;6-0&emsp;210&emsp;12 80&emsp;Ahmaj Woolfork&emsp;WR/DB&emsp;6-3&emsp;175&emsp;10 81&emsp;Issiah Johnson&emsp;WR/DB&emsp;5-10&emsp;170&emsp;10 89&emsp;Cain Nesbitt&emsp;TE/LB&emsp;5-11&emsp;170&emsp;10 95&emsp;Bryson Fleming&emsp;TE/DE&emsp;6-4&emsp;185&emsp;11 98&emsp;Will Thomas&emsp;K/P&emsp;6-0&emsp;175&emsp;12