Panthers will push for perfection

SANDUSKY — St. Mary Central Catholic's football team has grown up. The Panthers are entering their seventh year as an 8-man football program, and the 2025 edition could be their best ever. SMCC went 9-2 last year, losing only to powerhouse Toledo Christian, which has bumped up to 11-man football this year. SMCC head coach Toby Hammond, entering his 47th year coaching high school football, has a talented seven-man senior class to build around. "This group of seniors, when they were freshmen I think we had 17 guys so a lot of them had to play and they weren't ready and we didn't win a game," Hammond said. "When they were sophomores, we went 6-4. Last year, we went 9-2. Hopefully this year we better that." The Panthers have 32 players on a roster that is heavy with sophomores and juniors. "We've got a good senior class and the junior class can fill in as needed. That's a good combination," Hammond said. "When you get a junior and senior class back to back like that, you've got a chance." SMCC scored 30 or more points in eight of its nine wins last year. The Panthers were shut out twice by Toledo Christian, ending the season with a 24-0 loss in the Northern 8 championship game. "We went 9-2 and the team that beat us twice isn't on the schedule anymore," Hammond said. "I told the kids our No. 1 opponent this year is complacency, that all we've gotta do is show up." Cardinal Stritch, a private school located in Oregon, Ohio, has replaced Toledo Christian in the Northern 8. SMCC will play Stritch twice — including the August 22 opener at Clay High School — and those two games will be the Panthers' only Friday night dates. SMCC's two non-league games will be against Kennedy Catholic in Hermitage, Pennsylvania, and Morenci, Michigan. Hammond expects Chalker to push the Panthers for the N8 championship. "We still got kids playing, we still got cheerleading going on, we still have the band able to do stuff," Hammond said. "The old guard wants to see 11-man again. I understand that, but that's not reality." Offense The Panthers return most of their starters. That includes senior running back Bryan Gibson, who rushed for 1,132 yards and 16 touchdowns last year while averaging 8.1 yards per carry. "He's quick and fast," Hammond said. "He's probably one of our better receivers. We've just gotta get him the ball." Josh Will and sophomores Rylan Wikel and Anarion Stanford provide depth at running back. Senior quarterback Grant Swain returns as another reliable starter. Swain rushed for 935 yards and 12 touchdowns last year and threw for 411 yards and five scores. "He's not so little anymore," Hammond said. "He's probably one of our more physical runners. He was big at beating Holgate at the end of the year and Chalker in the playoffs. I don't think they accounted for him as a runner." Cullen Dillard and Cayden Wikel are backups at QB. Will (497 yards, 9 touchdowns) will get the start at the wing position with Cayden Wikel and Noah Michel as backups. "We count on that wing spot to do a lot of things," Hammond said. "They gotta be able to block, run and catch the ball. We need good athletes there." SMCC uses two tight ends to give a five-man look on the line, something most 8-man teams do not do. The Panthers don't generally line up wide receivers, preferring to throw to the tight ends. "We use tight ends a lot. Nobody else runs two tights," Hammond said. "We lost Reid (Wikel) and (Brayden) Gill (to graduation), so the big thing is replacing those two." Gabe Burch, a 6-foot-3, 245-pound senior will be one tight end. Ben Jones and Eli Dinsmore will get looks one the other side. They will generally be used as blockers. The Panthers attempted only 61 passes last season. "We ran the ball 90 percent of the time," Hammond said. "It caught up to use against good teams like Toledo Christian. We've gotta be able to throw the ball more. But I think the easiest way to win is run the ball and don't turn the ball over." John Burch, a 6-4, 275-pound sophomore, will start at center. Seniors Brian Serna and Eian Etchill are slated to play guard along with Lucas Kotnik. Defense Leading tackler Trace Smith returns at linebacker. He made 86 tackles and had seven quarterback sacks as a junior. The return on six starters will soften the blow of losing Reid Wikel and Gill, who Hammond called the "heart and soul" of the Panthers' 2024 defense. Etchill will be the other starting linebacker. Serna and Swain will provide depth at the position. Up front, Gavin Ebner anchors the three-man line at nose guard. Ben Jones and John Burch will back him up. Gabe Burch, who registered 16 QB sacks and forced four fumbles last year, starts at one end spot. "Not too many people are gonna block him 1 on 1, which frees up people," Hammond said of Burch. Jackson Grimm, a 6-4, 180-pound junior, will protect the other edge. "In 8-man, you can get the edge a lot quicker than in 11-man, so you better have two good ends," Hammond said. Dinsmore and Kotnik are other ends. Will and Cayden Wikel, who intercepted a team-high five passes last year, are slated to start at cornerback. Rylan Wikel, Grayor Opfer and Noah Michel also will work into the rotation. Gibson will start at the safety position with Dillard giving him breaks. "Those backups can play all three positions (in the defensive backfield)," Hammond said. 2025 schedule Aug. 22: at Cardinal Stritch, 7 p.m. Aug. 30: Sebring McKinley, 5 p.m. Sept. 6: at Kennedy Catholic (Pa.), 4 p.m. Sept. 13: Stryker, 7 p.m. Sept. 20: at Danbury, 7 p.m. Sept. 27: Fremont SJCC, 7 p.m. Oct. 4: at Southington Chalker, 6 p.m. Oct. 10: Cardinal Stritch, 7 p.m. Oct. 18: Morenci (Mich.), 7 p.m. Oct. 24: at Holgate, 7 p.m. 2024 results (9-2) SMCC 40, Fremont SJCC 6 SMCC 35, Sebring McKinley 0 SMCC 55, Stryker 22 SMCC 43, Danbury 14 SMCC 31, Fremont SJCC 13 SMCC 26, Southington Chalker 14 SMCC 35, Morenci (MI) 22 Toledo Christian 28, SMCC 0 SMCC 40, Holgate 0 Playoffs SMCC 41, Southington Chalker 6 Toledo Christian 24, SMCC 0 2025 roster No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Yr. 1 Brian Serna G/LB 5-10 175 12 2 Cayden Wikel WR/DB 5-11 140 11 3 Eli Dinsmore TE/DE 6-0 170 11 4 Noah Michel WR/DB 6-2 155 11 5 Trace Smith TE/LB 6-0 170 11 6 Cullen Dillard QB/DB 6-0 175 10 7 Josh Will RB/DB 5-11 160 11 8 Jackson Grimm G/DE 6-4 180 11 9 Grant Swain QB/LB 5-10 155 12 10 Gavin Ebner G/DL 5-10 155 11 11 Eian Etchill G/LB 6-0 205 12 12 Ben Jones TE/DL 6-1 165 11 14 Benny Byington WR/DB 5-11 140 11 16 Steven Benedict WR/DB 5-11 160 10 17 Grayor Opfer WR/DB 5-10 140 10 18 Bryan Gibson RB/DB 6-0 165 12 20 Rylan Wikel RB/DB 5-9 145 10 21 Yeidell Polanco TE/DE 6-0 170 9 22 Dalton Morando G/LB 5-9 190 9 23 Tyson Demore TE/LB 5-11 175 10 24 Jace Lane WR/DB 5-10 135 9 26 Sirocco Lynch TE/LB 5-11 140 10 30 Braylon Torres G/DL 6-0 235 10 31 Joey White TE/DE 5-11 155 9 32 Anarion Stanford RB/LB 5-9 180 10 33 Gabe Burch TE/DE 6-3 245 12 35 Vince Barone G/DE 5-10 155 10 60 John Burch C/DL 6-4 275 10 65 Matteo Di Rosa G/LB 5-10 195 10 67 Lucas Kotnik G/DE 6-0 205 11 74 Adam Burch C/DL 5-11 250 9 75 Crew Trumpower G/DL 6-2 255 12