FOOTBALL 2024: Pirates chasing the big trophy

PERKINS TWP. — Perkins isn't running from the hype. Really, there's no reason to downplay what lies ahead. The Pirates will kick off the 2024 season as one of the favorites to win the Division IV state championship. All the pieces are in place for another deep playoff run. Perkins pushed state champion Glenville to the limit in a regional final last year, giving the Tarblooders their toughest game — by far — in the postseason. The Pirates return plenty of experience, including 19 seniors, and boast high-end talent at the skill positions and on the lines. "Coming off the year we had last year it's silly to try to tamper it down," Perkins coach Jalen Santoro said. "You gotta embrace it. If you want to achieve anything in life you have to talk about it, be about it. "You want to make sure every day has a purpose. It's been elusive around here for a while. You have to talk about it, remind the kids about it." Perkins won a state title 25 years ago, so a precedent has been set. Can these Pirates match the feats of the 1999 team? Santoro is entering his fifth season leading the Pirates and has a 34-13 total record. His teams have improved each season, going a combined 22-3 the last two seasons. "I love it," he said of the job. "From the coaching staff, to the support staff to the chain gang, stat guys, press box guys, from our administrations to the community, they're very supportive of what we do. We take this very seriously and it's been nothing but positive from Day 1." The Pirates must replace record-setting quarterback Logan Lesch, who graduated after throwing for 3,013 yards and 39 touchdowns last season, including four against Glenville. Perkins also will be without star senior receiver Weston Sturzinger, who is out for the season with a knee injury. Sturzinger, who will play college football for James Madison, was a third-team All-Ohio pick last year. Still, there is plenty of talent returning from a team that scored 44 or more points in eight games. "With the talent we have we can do some things we won't be able to do every year," Santoro said. Perkins plays three new opponents in the first four weeks of the season, starting with a home game against Clear Fork. Its crossover games against the SBC Bay Division are against Bellevue and Edison. Santoro said it wasn't easy to put together a schedule after the past two banner seasons. "We called a handful of bigger teams we thought would give us the looks we wanted as far as team size, speed," he said. "We called some bigger D-I teams and tried to get Glenville on the schedule as well. "Being a D-IV team that has a good outlook, it's hard to schedule bigger teams because it's a lose-lose for them. If they win they should've won it. If they lose it looks bad." Offense The Perkins machine will be operated by junior quarterback Sam Schweinfurth, who completed 17 of 20 passes in limited duty last year. Schweinfurth has good size (6-foot-2, 179 pounds) and is a multi-sport athlete who Santoro thinks will embrace the moment. "He knows the offense, he plays a very clean game," Santoro said. "He's not gonna be Logan Lesch, but he does things well in his own right. He distributes the ball very well and moves well in the pocket. "A very smart player and takes care of the ball. He's putting it in the right spot at the right time." Schweinfurth won't have to do it all, of course. Standout senior running back Isaac Bunts returns after rushing for 1,696 yards and 27 touchdowns. "We know what he can do," Santoro said. "He's gotten bigger, stronger, faster." Speedy sophomore Levi Jackson and junior Braxden Martin also will get carries. The Pirates' passing game will revolve around second-team All-Ohio receiver Braylon Collier, who caught 80 passes for 1,164 yards and 18 touchdowns last season. Collier plans to graduate in December and enroll early at Michigan State. "The game continuously slows down for you and that's what you're seeing with Braylon," Santoro said. "He was able to make the big plays and make plays after the catch. He understands where we want him to be while adapting to a new quarterback." Other receivers who are part of the plan include seniors Brady Legando (15 catches, 4 TDs), Julian Kessler and Morgan Ohlmacher, junior Blake Parker and sophomores Bryce Davie, Kaden Dorsey and Connor Smith. Big tight end/quarterback Tim Boals, who checks in at 6-4 and 222 pounds, presents interesting opportunities. "He's a unique player with his size and frame," Santoro said. "He worked his tail off to get as big as he is. You can utilize him in a lot of different spots. He's taken quarterback reps, tight end reps. He's one of those guys who can move around. A good weapon to have." The offensive line has plenty of experience and is anchored by first-team All-Ohio left tackle Haiden Bollini. Kam Frazier will start at left guard and Vinny Strohl returns at center. The right side his huge with guard Eli Sanchez and tackle Joey Ziegler both weighing in close to 300 pounds. "That group has played a lot of football together and they feed off each other," Santoro said. "It's important for them to dissect fronts, communicate and be on the same page." Defense The entire front seven on defense returns and includes a pair of All-Ohio linemen in ends Bollini and Reagan Kaufman (third team). Kaufman totaled 11 quarterback sacks last season. Ziegler and talented John McGlashen will hold down the defensive tackle positions. The linebackers are familiar names to Perkins fans: seniors Mikey Young and Dylan Crabtree and junior Braxden Martin, who registered a team-high 112 tackles in 2023. Crabtree made 97 tackles last season. Young, who will play collegiately at Harvard, made 87 stops with 3.5 sacks. McGlashen and Martin both flashed great potential last year as sophomores. "I think the biggest leap you take is between your sophomores and junior year," Santoro said. "I think you're seeing that with Braxden Martin and John McGlashen. They like to get after it. High-motor kids." Senior cornerback Joey Diederich leads a versatile secondary. Jackson is a cornerback/rover and Legando also is a key on the back end. Ohlmacher, Davie and Dorsey also will be counted on in pass coverage. "There are a handful of guys who have had reps and have been good at the JV level or the varsity level when we mixed them in," Santoro said. "Now they're getting a chance to play full time." Special teams Junior Grant Hickman will take over from reliable Noah Normington-Slay as placekicker. "He's been going to camps and is ranked in Ohio as a kicker," Santoro said of Hickman. "He's one of the those kids who has bought in to being a kicker and I think it's something he wants to do at the next level. He's always trying to perfect his craft." Collier punted last year (just seven attempts) and will handle that spot again this season. 2024 schedule Aug. 23: Clear Fork Aug. 30: at Padua Franciscan Sept. 6: at Rocky River Sept. 13: Harvest Prep Sept. 20: at Bellevue Sept. 27: Clyde Oct. 4: at Edison Oct. 11: at Norwalk Oct. 18: Sandusky Oct. 25: Columbian 2023 results (12-1) Perkins 81, Woodward 0 Perkins 62, Elyria Catholic 19 Perkins 59, Rocky River 28 Perkins 49, Bellevue 0 Perkins 31, Clyde 7 Perkins 49, Edison 14 Perkins 52, Norwalk 3 Perkins 31, Sandusky 14 Perkins 55, Columbian 28 Playoffs Perkins 44, Vermilion 6 Perkins 28, St. Marys Memorial 21 Perkins 38, West Holmes 21 Glenville 36, Perkins 26 2024 roster No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Year 0 Mikey Young&emsp;TE/LB&emsp;6-1&emsp;200&emsp;12 1&emsp;Braylon Collier&emsp;WR/DB&emsp;6-0&emsp;173&emsp;12 2&emsp;Braxden Martin&emsp;RB/LB&emsp;5-8&emsp;156&emsp;11 3&emsp;Morgan Ohlmacher&emsp;WR/LB&emsp;5-10&emsp;182&emsp;12 4&emsp;Weston Sturzinger&emsp;WR/DB&emsp;6-1&emsp;177&emsp;12 5&emsp;Joey Diederich&emsp;WR/DB&emsp;6-1&emsp;171&emsp;12 6&emsp;Dylan Crabtree&emsp;RB/LB&emsp;5-10&emsp;165&emsp;12 7&emsp;Tim Boals&emsp;TE/DE&emsp;6-4&emsp;222&emsp;12 8&emsp;Anthony Wilken&emsp;TE/LB&emsp;5-11&emsp;173&emsp;12 9&emsp;Evyn Straub&emsp;TE/LB&emsp;6-1&emsp;196&emsp;11 10&emsp;Brady Legando&emsp;WR/DB&emsp;5-11&emsp;179&emsp;12 11&emsp;Sam Schweinfurth&emsp;QB&emsp;6-2&emsp;179&emsp;11 12&emsp;Julian Kessler&emsp;WR/DB&emsp;6-1&emsp;161&emsp;12 13&emsp;Blake Parker&emsp;WR/DB&emsp;6-2&emsp;164&emsp;11 14&emsp;Grant Hickman&emsp;K&emsp;6-1&emsp;165&emsp;11 15&emsp;Dom Hauke&emsp;WR/DB&emsp;5-11&emsp;158&emsp;10 17&emsp;Bryce Davie&emsp;WR/DB&emsp;5-8&emsp;150&emsp;10 18&emsp;Isaac Bunts&emsp;RB/LB&emsp;5-9&emsp;200&emsp;12 19&emsp;Kaden Dorsey&emsp;WR/DB&emsp;6-1&emsp;154&emsp;10 20&emsp;Levi Jackson&emsp;RB/DB&emsp;5-10&emsp;172&emsp;10 21&emsp;Kaden Legando&emsp;WR/DB&emsp;6-1&emsp;169&emsp;10 22&emsp;Mason Adams&emsp;WR/DB&emsp;5-11&emsp;164&emsp;11 23&emsp;Preston Bleile&emsp;WR/DB&emsp;6-0&emsp;122&emsp;10 24&emsp;Connor Smith&emsp;WR/DB&emsp;5-7&emsp;140&emsp;10 25&emsp;Landon Flores&emsp;RB/LB&emsp;5-7&emsp;151&emsp;10 26&emsp;Sam Oprzadek&emsp;TE/LB&emsp;5-8&emsp;163&emsp;10 34&emsp;Titus Normington-Slay&emsp;K&emsp;6-1&emsp;145&emsp;10 50&emsp;Bob Hutchinson&emsp;OL/DL&emsp;5-11&emsp;215&emsp;11 52&emsp;Vinny Strohl&emsp;OL/DL&emsp;6-0&emsp;217&emsp;12 54&emsp;Leland Plue&emsp;OL/DL&emsp;5-8&emsp;176&emsp;10 55&emsp;Kam Frazier&emsp;OL/DL&emsp;5-10&emsp;177&emsp;12 56&emsp;Reagan Kaufman&emsp;OL/DL&emsp;6-0&emsp;189&emsp;12 59&emsp;Cam Frisch&emsp;OL/DL&emsp;5-10&emsp;168&emsp;12 62&emsp;Aiden Arquette&emsp;OL/DL&emsp;5-9&emsp;170&emsp;12 64&emsp;Kaiyon McKinney&emsp;OL/LB&emsp;5-11&emsp;221 65&emsp;Joey Ziegler&emsp;OL/DL&emsp;6-4&emsp;296&emsp;11 66&emsp;Dylan Grant&emsp;OL/DL&emsp;6-2&emsp;283&emsp;11 70&emsp;Eli Sanchez&emsp;OL/DL&emsp;6-4&emsp;295&emsp;11 71&emsp;Haiden Bollini&emsp;OL/DL&emsp;6-1&emsp;222&emsp;12 72&emsp;Wyatt Wolery&emsp;OL/DL&emsp;5-7&emsp;191&emsp;10 75&emsp;Javier Keys&emsp;OL/DL&emsp;6-2&emsp;234&emsp;10 76&emsp;Christian James-Smith&emsp;OL/DL&emsp;6-2&emsp;180&emsp;10 77&emsp;Graden Kochendoerfer&emsp;OL/DL&emsp;5-10&emsp;200&emsp;12 78&emsp;Nate Jones&emsp;OL/DL&emsp;5-8&emsp;209&emsp;11 86&emsp;Deshaun Harper&emsp;TE/DL&emsp;6-0&emsp;198&emsp;11 99&emsp;John McGlashan&emsp;OL/DL&emsp;6-1&emsp;231&emsp;11