2023 McClain Tigers Football Preview

GREENFIELD – The 2023 McClain Tigers return talented players with a quest to have more success compared to last season, but in doing so they will have to play some of their best football with a core of players ready and prepared to move the program forward in a positive direction.

In 2022, the Tigers — who are led by second-year head coach Keith Penwell — finished with a 4-6 overall record, winning four non-conference games in the first five weeks of the season. McClain defeated Adena (28-14), Northwest (36-35), East Clinton (42-7) and Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy (48-14).

This season, the Tigers have 43 players on their roster, returning most of their team from a season ago.

“I feel like we’re farther ahead than we were last year, just when it comes just down to running the offense,” Penwell said.

“Last year, the defense was new, the offense was new, everything was new. I feel like we’re a little bit ahead of where we were last year.

“Obviously, we’re going to need some guys to step up. We lost some key figures last year, but for the most part, we do return mostly everybody. I’ve got a couple guys out right now that’s going to be a staple in our offense and defense, but we hope to get them back real soon.”

The McClain Tigers will have Division IV All-Ohio honorable mention selection Andrew Potts back for his senior season, and he’s coming off a junior year where he was outstanding on the football field.

Potts as a running back finished the ’22 campaign with 1,412 yards and 14 touchdowns on 187 carries, using a hard-nosed north-to-south running style.

The 6-foot, 200-pound running back averaged 7.5 yards per carry last season, and he also set the Tigers’ single-game rushing record last season, finishing with 360 yards and four touchdowns on 22 carries in just three quarters during a 48-14 win over Cincinnati Hills Christian on Sept. 16 at McClain Field. Potts also had five catches last season for 89 yards.

Also returning is Division IV All-Ohio honorable mention selection Kaden Penwell for his senior season. Penwell (5-10, 170 pounds) played running back, wide receiver and was just an all-around athlete for the Tigers in ’22 on the offensive side of the football.

Offensively, the dual-threat Penwell had 110 carries for 477 yards with three rushing scores in ’22, and he added eight receptions for 219 yards and two touchdowns last season as well.

On defense, Penwell at outside linebacker finished with 65 total tackles, including four tackles for loss. He also had two fumble recoveries and four pass deflections his junior season. Penwell played quarterback in a wildcat formation for McClain late in the season due to injuries.

Coach Penwell spoke about both Potts and Penwell, as it is no secret they are the backbone of the McClain offensive attack.

“Andrew is one of those guys, he’s north and south, and he has what I call game speed. He doesn’t look like he’s going to be that fast, but once he breaks loose, he’s faster than what most people think, and it’s hard to catch him,” Penwell said. “I mean, he’s got good game speed.

“Kaden is one of those versatile guys. We’re going to try and get him the ball in the open field, we’re going to try and throw a pass to him or we’ll hand it off to him. He is more of a cut guy, so he can make people miss, and so can Andrew, but that’s kind of Kaden’s thing. Those guys are dynamic, and it’s nice to have them back there.”

Returning to quarterback for his senior season is Drake Stapleton, who in five games last season — he was injured for the final half of the ’22 season — finished with 695 yards passing. After Stapleton’s injury, the Tigers’ passing game totaled around 25 yards for the remainder of the season.

“Drake Stapleton is back. Drake actually broke his leg in week five last year,” Penwell said. “Drake is going to be a senior, so it’s nice to have him back healthy. We’ve got to keep him that way.”

Cade Sponcil will also be a senior this season, and the 6-foot offensive lineman/outside linebacker had a solid season in ’22 at linebacker, finishing with 81 tackles, and was the top offensive lineman for the Tigers his junior season.

Another standout ready for his senior season for the Tigers is Max Eikenberry, who during his junior season as a wide receiver had 14 catches for 336 yards with three touchdowns. On defense, as a defensive back, Eikenberry — who played in eight games — totaled 26 tackles, had two pass deflections and four interceptions.

The rest of McClain’s seniors are: Seth Weller, Gunnar Bode, Eldon Scott and Jayden Allison.

Juniors for the Tigers are: Riley Cummins, Owen Sykes, Connor McCune, Cohen Six, Conner Frazier, Cameron Medley, T.D. Matesic, Blake Shrout, Gabe Gilbert, Jhett Watson, Zeke Sexton and Tanner O’Connor.

The sophomores for MHS include: Eli Douglas, Austin Ruddle, Cole Rapp, Dalton Rowland, Carlos Gonzalez, Levi Warren, Clayton Gipson, Tristan Dowden, Jacob Mick, Andrew Roeder, Kaleb Fryer and JJ Calhoun.

Freshmen on the McClain roster are: Leiland Bond, Charlie Gipson, Boden Leeth, Joshua Smith, Cole Walker, Julian Swan, Noah Sponcil, Kevin Hickok, Jacek Valor, Peyton Alexander and Ty Morrison.

Taking a closer look at the offensive line and tight end spots, the Tigers will have Sykes at tight end this season, the position he played last season offensively. Also returning are Bode, Cade Sponcil and Allison on the offensive line.

“We’re looking for big things out of Owen Sykes this year as we want him to be a much bigger contributor this year offensively and defensively,” Penwell said. “We’ve got Cade Sponcil back. He’s our left guard. We got our center back Jayden Allison. We’ve got our left tackle back, Gunnar Bode, and we’ve got some guys that are competing for open spots on the line, guys like Gabe Gilbert, Zeke Sexton, Conner Frazier and Kaleb Fryer. Those guys are really getting after it.

“Those guys are playing for spots, and they’re looking pretty good right now,” Penwell continued. “They know that they’re competing for those spots, and I like it. I like to go fighting for it, but we need more than just three there. I need other people to step up and say, ‘hey, I want to be a part of this,’ so we’re looking for some other guys to step up and earn some Friday night light time.”

The receivers for McClain see the return of Eikenberry, who tore his ACL against Miami Trace in ’22, plus also back is McCune. Weller will be a receiver for the Tigers as well, playing for the Tigers his senior season after being the kicker last season. There will also be Matesic and Medley at receiver.

As for the defense, it all starts up front in the trenches, where Penwell wants to have a rotation of players on the defensive line, allowing for more “breathing room” during the long 10-game season for his players.

“I’m hoping to play multiple people on the d-line spot to give those guys some breathing room, some breaks,” Penwell said. “Jayden (Allison) and Conner Frazier, they both were defensive tackles last year. Andrew Potts is a strong end for us. We got kids battling to be quick end, and that’s going to be a spot that someone can earn.

“I don’t know who’s going to win that yet. Cohen Six is fighting for it, and Gunnar Bode has been playing a little quick end for us, trying to get some defensive time, and another player battling for defensive time is Blake Shrout.

“We’ve got to contest the pass better. I mean, that’s the bottom line,” Penwell said. “I felt like we did a pretty decent job at stopping the run last season, but we’ve got to contest the pass better.”

Getting pressure on the opposing quarterback will come from the play of linebackers and even safeties, as the McClain head coach talked about those players and how they have worked so far.

“Our linebackers are pretty much the same as last year except for losing Emerson Yates. We got Kaden Penwell and Cade Sponcil. They’re solid linebackers. Owen Sykes is going to play linebacker and safety out of our defense, and Carlos Gonzalez and Andrew Roeder are also competing at linebacker,” Penwell said. “We’ve got Max Eikenberry playing free safety, and we got Seth Weller and Tanner O’Connor competing for the free safety spot as well. They’re getting after it.

“Our strong safeties include Riley Cummins, as he was there last year. I thought he had a great year for us. Eli Douglas is playing well, and so is Dalton Rowland.

“At cornerback, Cam Medley returns, and TD Matesic is looking really good out there. We’ve got some other young guys competing out there as well that might be able to help out on Friday night.”

This season, the first five non-conference games of the 2023 season will see MHS open at home against the Adena Warriors, followed by two consecutive away games at Northwest and Paint Valley. From there the Tigers will host East Clinton, then go on the road to face Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy.

The start of the FAC season will have McClain host Miami Trace (Sept. 22), followed by a game at Chillicothe (Sept. 29), vs. Washington (Oct. 6), at Jackson (Oct. 13) and vs. Hillsboro (Oct. 20) during the annual Rotary Bowl game.

In FAC play last season, the Tigers were 0-5, with their lone FAC win coming in 2018.

“The FAC is tough,” Penwell said. “I mean, there’s no easy week. It’s very competitive.”

Looking to the Week 3 showdown, McClain will face Paint Valley for the first time since 2010, renewing a traditional rivalry game that brings a lot of emotion for both communities as they are separated by roughly 16 miles via Route 41 – as there will new tradition of a state Route 41 trophy presented to the winner of the game. McClain won the most recent meeting in 2010 by a 42-7 score at McClain Field.

“It’s always been a good rivalry (vs. Paint Valley),” Penwell said. “Fans usually come out and pretty well pack the house. It’s always been that way.”

As for what’s important for the Tigers to have success this season, Penwell spoke about two things, that being staying healthy and winning the turnover battle.

“We mainly need to stay healthy and make sure we win the turnover battle,” Penwell said. “We’ve got to stay healthy.”

Ultimately, Penwell wants his team to compete at their highest level and leave everything on the field each Friday night.

“I want us to just compete,” Penwell said. “I want them to go out and compete and give their best every time they’re out there. If we go out and play our best game, and don’t win, well, I can accept that. But I want to see these guys compete. They need to play for each other. They’ve worked too hard not to do it.

“We are excited and ready to play. There’s nothing like Friday Night Lights.”

McClain opens the season Aug. 18 at home vs. Adena.