'13 Team Preview: Washington Blue Lions
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
Washington Blue Lion head coach Corey Dye looks back at the past winter and spring with a smile on his face, along with a sense of accomplishment by his football team, as they've already begun the '13 season with improvement by their work in the weight room.
"Going back to the winter, we had an awesome winter workout," the fifth-year head coach said. "We had a lot of kids make a lot of strength gains.
"I do what's called a 1,000-pound club, and we had one guy actually reach the 1,000 pounds. DJ Merricks was able to achieve 1,000 pounds. He's been working really hard in the offseason to achieve that, and it's a really big accomplishment."
That dedication by not only Merricks, but his fellow teammates, could prove to dividends on the gridiron this fall as the Blue Lions are looking to get over the .500 mark this season with many players returning from a team that finished 5-5 one year ago overall and 4-3 in the South Central Ohio League.
The Blue Lions also went a bit "old school" with their conditioning this summer, as they have a total of 58 players in the program this season.
"As far as the summer camp, goes, we brought back a new tradition. It's called Cherry Hill," Dye said. "We went over to the hill and ran for three days. We did conditioning up and down the hill.
"It's a really tough conditioner. We brought that back, and the kids responded well with it. Really, it's something that brings the kids together. We thought it was really important to do, and it's a big accomplishment for the kids, so it was a huge success."
Washington has around 13-15 starters back on the team, and for that simple reason alone, the Blue Lions will enter the '13 campaign with more experience than they did at the start of last season. Washington enters the season with 13 seniors.
In their five wins last season, the Blue Lions defeated Adena (32-13), East Clinton (46-43), London (28-7), Madison-Plains (42-41) and Hillsboro (39-0).
"Last year, we had a lot of young starters," Dye said. "We had a lot of guys that had zero varsity experience. They were young. We started a couple freshmen. We even started quite a few sophomores and juniors.
"There was a lot of growing that needed to be done, and when you have to try to play as a freshman right off the bat, the game seems like it's 100 miles an hour out there. I think that in turn is going to help us out, because some of the freshmen that we started are now kind of like juniors because they've adjusted to the speed. The sophomores are like seniors, so we're hoping with the experience they were able to get, it's really going to help us out, and it's going to pay off."
In '12, the Blue Lions scored 244 points, while their defense allowed 344 in 10 games.
One of the Blue Lions' top returning players is senior quarterback Josh Williams (a three-sport athlete), who will be beginning his second full season as the starting QB, though he made some starts at the position his sophomore season.
"Josh is going to lead our offense," Dye said. "He's our quarterback. He's got a tremendous arm and is a very accurate passer – probably one of the best pure passers we've had come up through Washington Court House in a long time."
Another key player for the Blue Lions is running back Tye Smith, as the junior returns from a season of 1,300 yards on the ground with 26 touchdowns.
"Tye is a key player in our offense," the WCH head coach said. "He's got a lot of speed, and that's one thing about our guys this year. This is one of the fastest teams I've ever coached. We've got a lot of team speed at the receiver and running back positions and tight end."
Senior Travis Leisure at tight end is described as a "fast and elusive player" by Dye, saying "Travis has good hands and is able to catch the ball in space and do a lot of damage."
[[In-content Ad]]
Wide receiver Braden May is another player the Blue Lions need to perform well on the field this season.
"Braden has worked really hard the last couple years and developed himself into a football player," Dye said. "He's gotten a lot stronger in the weight room, which was always a concern of his, and he's put the time in to make himself stronger and faster."
Malik Pettiford, Kyle Garrett and Alec Sparkman are described as fast runners and good athletes. Senior Nathan Wilson is a two-way starter, with Dye stating Wilson is one of the toughest players he's coached as the senior is returning to the field from an shortened junior season due to an injury.
"It's nice because you know that with the experience they had the year before, you've watched them grow as players. I know they're going to be a lot better. They understand the offense," Dye said. "Defensively, we're doing some different things, but offensively, they understand it and they know it. With that experience, it's going to make the offense a lot better, a lot more sound, and really give them a lot more confidence in what they're doing."
Speaking of the offense, the line for Washington is also said to be improved.
"We've got a young line again, but we've worked really hard in the offseason getting them stronger and faster in the weight room," Dye said. "We've got a couple new offensive line coaches that are doing a great job with them, as Shawn Riley, our offensive line coach last year, retired.
"We've got most of our o-line back. We had to replace three linemen, Cameron Shaw and Tyler Riley graduated and Trevor Mustard this year – he's opted not to play [to concentrate on track & field]. It's a really good group, a smart group, strong group."
The defense for the Blue Lions will have a different look as they've had replace more on that side of the ball.
"We've got some guys that didn't play last year back on the team," Dye said. "We've got three seniors that didn't play last year that are playing this year, and I'm really glad they're out.
Some of the defensive players Dye spoke of were Leighton Brown, DJ Merricks, Cody Clay, Mason McCane, Seth Haines, Aaron Greer, Cole Massie, Noah Noll, Heath Cassidy, Gaerhett Ferguson, Travis Leisure, Austin Wilson, Garett Long, Mason Smith and at kicker, Noah Mesker.
"The nice thing about this team is that we've got guys that aren't necessarily starting on offense but could start first on defense," Dye said. "We've got quite a few guys that are still fighting for positions. We're doing some things differently on defense to be more aggressive.
"It's a nice thing (to have depth) because the last couple years, we've had to play so many two-way starters, and that's tough to do. This year, we've got a lot more starters that we've created. We're not quite a two-platoon, but we're very close to being two-platoon."
Dye said he loves being around this group.
"This team, the thing I like most about this team is they're a hardworking group," he said. "They're very coachable, and they're nice to be around. I love being around them. They're very enthusiastic. They love to compete, and they're doing a great job."
"Going back to the winter, we had an awesome winter workout," the fifth-year head coach said. "We had a lot of kids make a lot of strength gains.
"I do what's called a 1,000-pound club, and we had one guy actually reach the 1,000 pounds. DJ Merricks was able to achieve 1,000 pounds. He's been working really hard in the offseason to achieve that, and it's a really big accomplishment."
That dedication by not only Merricks, but his fellow teammates, could prove to dividends on the gridiron this fall as the Blue Lions are looking to get over the .500 mark this season with many players returning from a team that finished 5-5 one year ago overall and 4-3 in the South Central Ohio League.
The Blue Lions also went a bit "old school" with their conditioning this summer, as they have a total of 58 players in the program this season.
"As far as the summer camp, goes, we brought back a new tradition. It's called Cherry Hill," Dye said. "We went over to the hill and ran for three days. We did conditioning up and down the hill.
"It's a really tough conditioner. We brought that back, and the kids responded well with it. Really, it's something that brings the kids together. We thought it was really important to do, and it's a big accomplishment for the kids, so it was a huge success."
Washington has around 13-15 starters back on the team, and for that simple reason alone, the Blue Lions will enter the '13 campaign with more experience than they did at the start of last season. Washington enters the season with 13 seniors.
In their five wins last season, the Blue Lions defeated Adena (32-13), East Clinton (46-43), London (28-7), Madison-Plains (42-41) and Hillsboro (39-0).
"Last year, we had a lot of young starters," Dye said. "We had a lot of guys that had zero varsity experience. They were young. We started a couple freshmen. We even started quite a few sophomores and juniors.
"There was a lot of growing that needed to be done, and when you have to try to play as a freshman right off the bat, the game seems like it's 100 miles an hour out there. I think that in turn is going to help us out, because some of the freshmen that we started are now kind of like juniors because they've adjusted to the speed. The sophomores are like seniors, so we're hoping with the experience they were able to get, it's really going to help us out, and it's going to pay off."
In '12, the Blue Lions scored 244 points, while their defense allowed 344 in 10 games.
One of the Blue Lions' top returning players is senior quarterback Josh Williams (a three-sport athlete), who will be beginning his second full season as the starting QB, though he made some starts at the position his sophomore season.
"Josh is going to lead our offense," Dye said. "He's our quarterback. He's got a tremendous arm and is a very accurate passer – probably one of the best pure passers we've had come up through Washington Court House in a long time."
Another key player for the Blue Lions is running back Tye Smith, as the junior returns from a season of 1,300 yards on the ground with 26 touchdowns.
"Tye is a key player in our offense," the WCH head coach said. "He's got a lot of speed, and that's one thing about our guys this year. This is one of the fastest teams I've ever coached. We've got a lot of team speed at the receiver and running back positions and tight end."
Senior Travis Leisure at tight end is described as a "fast and elusive player" by Dye, saying "Travis has good hands and is able to catch the ball in space and do a lot of damage."
[[In-content Ad]]
Wide receiver Braden May is another player the Blue Lions need to perform well on the field this season.
"Braden has worked really hard the last couple years and developed himself into a football player," Dye said. "He's gotten a lot stronger in the weight room, which was always a concern of his, and he's put the time in to make himself stronger and faster."
Malik Pettiford, Kyle Garrett and Alec Sparkman are described as fast runners and good athletes. Senior Nathan Wilson is a two-way starter, with Dye stating Wilson is one of the toughest players he's coached as the senior is returning to the field from an shortened junior season due to an injury.
"It's nice because you know that with the experience they had the year before, you've watched them grow as players. I know they're going to be a lot better. They understand the offense," Dye said. "Defensively, we're doing some different things, but offensively, they understand it and they know it. With that experience, it's going to make the offense a lot better, a lot more sound, and really give them a lot more confidence in what they're doing."
Speaking of the offense, the line for Washington is also said to be improved.
"We've got a young line again, but we've worked really hard in the offseason getting them stronger and faster in the weight room," Dye said. "We've got a couple new offensive line coaches that are doing a great job with them, as Shawn Riley, our offensive line coach last year, retired.
"We've got most of our o-line back. We had to replace three linemen, Cameron Shaw and Tyler Riley graduated and Trevor Mustard this year – he's opted not to play [to concentrate on track & field]. It's a really good group, a smart group, strong group."
The defense for the Blue Lions will have a different look as they've had replace more on that side of the ball.
"We've got some guys that didn't play last year back on the team," Dye said. "We've got three seniors that didn't play last year that are playing this year, and I'm really glad they're out.
Some of the defensive players Dye spoke of were Leighton Brown, DJ Merricks, Cody Clay, Mason McCane, Seth Haines, Aaron Greer, Cole Massie, Noah Noll, Heath Cassidy, Gaerhett Ferguson, Travis Leisure, Austin Wilson, Garett Long, Mason Smith and at kicker, Noah Mesker.
"The nice thing about this team is that we've got guys that aren't necessarily starting on offense but could start first on defense," Dye said. "We've got quite a few guys that are still fighting for positions. We're doing some things differently on defense to be more aggressive.
"It's a nice thing (to have depth) because the last couple years, we've had to play so many two-way starters, and that's tough to do. This year, we've got a lot more starters that we've created. We're not quite a two-platoon, but we're very close to being two-platoon."
Dye said he loves being around this group.
"This team, the thing I like most about this team is they're a hardworking group," he said. "They're very coachable, and they're nice to be around. I love being around them. They're very enthusiastic. They love to compete, and they're doing a great job."