'14 Football Preview: Clinton-Massie Falcons
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
The Clinton-Massie Falcons are coming off 29 wins in their past 30 games and two consecutive Division IV State championships, and they still aren't satisfied.
That's right, the reigning two-time Division IV state champions want to battle their way to a third straight state title, and they have another quality group of seniors and returning starters to lead them back to the promised land.
The Falcons, who also have won no less than a share of the South Central Ohio League football championship for the past eight seasons, enter the '14 season with 15 seniors and 14 returning starters.
Of those returning starters, there are eight back on the defensive side of the ball and six on offense.
Head coach Dan McSurley, who will be entering his 19th season as the head coach of the Falcons, said the leader of the offensive line is 6-3, 280-pound senior center Jake Garrison.
As head coach of the Falcons, McSurley's team has made the playoffs 13 times, including the past 12 seasons.
Also back on the offensive side of the ball are senior wide receivers Isaiah Stiverson and Tommy Williams, along with senior fullback Jared Halley and junior quarterback Hunter Fentress, who passed for nearly 1,600 yards and 16 touchdowns in '13.
"Offensively, I think we have more weapons," McSurley said. "Hunter, right now – I've coached for 29 years, and he's throwing probably the best, most catchable passes I've ever had at Clinton-Massie.
"Hunter's forte is now he's able to run the triple option, where last year, being a 10th grader, we didn't really put him in a situation where he had to run a triple option. He would run it maybe three or four times a game, and now that could be our number-one play, just because of his experience. At the same time, he can throw the ball well, too."
McSurley spoke about a couple of his running backs.
"I think the kid this year that people are going to be like 'oh my gosh, who is this kid?' is (junior) Davey Tunon," McSurley said. "He's going to be one of the four backs. Zach Santoro can also play running back, and I have two outstanding senior fullbacks in (Jared) Halley and Dylan Collins.
"I think those guys, those core backs … hopefully we'll be able to utilize them throughout the year and keep them fresh if we do make the playoffs, like we kind of did with Bayle (Wolf) last year."
Then there is senior running back Chayse Wolf, who rushed for 1,444 yards and 21 touchdowns last season, splitting time with his brother Bayle Wolf, who produced big numbers during his four years with the Falcons.
"Chayse had to carry the load (last season) when his brother was out," McSurley said. "I'm sure he felt that pressure. I think he came into his own as a football player the second half of the Kettering Alter game.
"I think when we played for that regional championship, he was pretty nervous. I could tell he was a little apprehensive. Then, it seemed like something just switched in him in the regional championship game where he just came into his own."
The defense of the Falcons has senior ends Sam Burnham and Ryan Evans returning, while Halley is back at middle linebacker. But the biggest group returning for the Falcons for a shot at a three-peat is their secondary.
Clinton-Massie has their entire secondary back in '14, including Zach Santoro, Stiverson, Devin Salley, Aaron Gullette and Wolf.
"We held the national leader in offense last year, Kenton, to 20 points in the state semis, and all those secondary guys are back," McSurley said. "They've had that big-time game experience against the number-one offense in the United States.
[[In-content Ad]]"They held Cardinal Mooney to 21 points and also held Kettering Alter to 14 points. Those guys have seen different styles of offense and came up big."
One big addition for the Falcons to their defense is on the coaching side with former Falcon and University of Cincinnati cornerback Drew Frey coaching an already stacked defensive backfield.
"I think the biggest addition to our program is going to be the addition of Drew Frey to our coaching staff," McSurley said. "Drew was a two-time All-Big East free safety at UC. He played for Butch Jones, (Brian) Kelley … He's had to compete against Tebow, SEC, played in big-time bowl games, and he's just an invaluable addition to our staff. We really feel pleased about having him come in.
"I asked him, 'Drew, how can you help us the most?' He said, "Coach, that's all I did was break down film. He was really the quarterback of the secondary for over four years. He's got all that experience that he's bringing to the kids, and then he's got street cred with the kids because everybody knows who he is and they're obviously going to value what he's telling them."
Also new to the Falcons' coaching staff is former Wilmington College head coach Barry Wulf, and McSurley said Coach Seaver will be coaching the linebackers this season.
Conditioning will be another important key to the season for the Falcons.
"We want to become as fit as we can possibly become. We obviously lift, we run, we condition, we do little things like flexibility," McSurley said. "Obviously, we've got skill kids, we've got guys who know how to play football, so it's just basically keeping them healthy throughout the year and each week getting a little stronger and trying to peak at the exact right time."
McSurley didn't forget the special teams, as that was a big part of their title run last season.
"Without our punter Zach Santoro, as well as he punted throughout the playoffs, there's no way we would've been the state champion," McSurley said. "A lot of people forget about the punter, but his punting in that state playoff run was just absolutely outstanding. He's booming them right now.
"Our kicker Callum Jones is just 40 points away from the all-time high school scoring record from a kicker. Our special teams are going to put a lot of pressure on punt teams because we've got a lot of guys that that's what they've done since their sophomore year. Our special teams should be one of the strongest points of our whole team."
Even with the two state championship rings on their fingers and the two state championship trophies displayed in their trophy case … the Falcons are still hungry and aren't satisfied by any means.
"We've got a chip on our shoulder. I'm coaching with a chip on my shoulder. I think I'm probably more motivated this year than ever before," McSurley said. "We only have two assistants, myself, and the rest of them are kind of volunteer-type coaches. So I'm really out-coached in every game I go into.
"I'm a guy that right now is coaching my rear end off because hey, I've got something to prove. I'm motivated. The kids are motivated. When the kids start winning rings, man, it's just contagious. I think these kids, they've got something to prove. It's like the next class in doesn't want to be the class that takes a step backwards … that's called 'tradition.'"
That's right, the reigning two-time Division IV state champions want to battle their way to a third straight state title, and they have another quality group of seniors and returning starters to lead them back to the promised land.
The Falcons, who also have won no less than a share of the South Central Ohio League football championship for the past eight seasons, enter the '14 season with 15 seniors and 14 returning starters.
Of those returning starters, there are eight back on the defensive side of the ball and six on offense.
Head coach Dan McSurley, who will be entering his 19th season as the head coach of the Falcons, said the leader of the offensive line is 6-3, 280-pound senior center Jake Garrison.
As head coach of the Falcons, McSurley's team has made the playoffs 13 times, including the past 12 seasons.
Also back on the offensive side of the ball are senior wide receivers Isaiah Stiverson and Tommy Williams, along with senior fullback Jared Halley and junior quarterback Hunter Fentress, who passed for nearly 1,600 yards and 16 touchdowns in '13.
"Offensively, I think we have more weapons," McSurley said. "Hunter, right now – I've coached for 29 years, and he's throwing probably the best, most catchable passes I've ever had at Clinton-Massie.
"Hunter's forte is now he's able to run the triple option, where last year, being a 10th grader, we didn't really put him in a situation where he had to run a triple option. He would run it maybe three or four times a game, and now that could be our number-one play, just because of his experience. At the same time, he can throw the ball well, too."
McSurley spoke about a couple of his running backs.
"I think the kid this year that people are going to be like 'oh my gosh, who is this kid?' is (junior) Davey Tunon," McSurley said. "He's going to be one of the four backs. Zach Santoro can also play running back, and I have two outstanding senior fullbacks in (Jared) Halley and Dylan Collins.
"I think those guys, those core backs … hopefully we'll be able to utilize them throughout the year and keep them fresh if we do make the playoffs, like we kind of did with Bayle (Wolf) last year."
Then there is senior running back Chayse Wolf, who rushed for 1,444 yards and 21 touchdowns last season, splitting time with his brother Bayle Wolf, who produced big numbers during his four years with the Falcons.
"Chayse had to carry the load (last season) when his brother was out," McSurley said. "I'm sure he felt that pressure. I think he came into his own as a football player the second half of the Kettering Alter game.
"I think when we played for that regional championship, he was pretty nervous. I could tell he was a little apprehensive. Then, it seemed like something just switched in him in the regional championship game where he just came into his own."
The defense of the Falcons has senior ends Sam Burnham and Ryan Evans returning, while Halley is back at middle linebacker. But the biggest group returning for the Falcons for a shot at a three-peat is their secondary.
Clinton-Massie has their entire secondary back in '14, including Zach Santoro, Stiverson, Devin Salley, Aaron Gullette and Wolf.
"We held the national leader in offense last year, Kenton, to 20 points in the state semis, and all those secondary guys are back," McSurley said. "They've had that big-time game experience against the number-one offense in the United States.
[[In-content Ad]]"They held Cardinal Mooney to 21 points and also held Kettering Alter to 14 points. Those guys have seen different styles of offense and came up big."
One big addition for the Falcons to their defense is on the coaching side with former Falcon and University of Cincinnati cornerback Drew Frey coaching an already stacked defensive backfield.
"I think the biggest addition to our program is going to be the addition of Drew Frey to our coaching staff," McSurley said. "Drew was a two-time All-Big East free safety at UC. He played for Butch Jones, (Brian) Kelley … He's had to compete against Tebow, SEC, played in big-time bowl games, and he's just an invaluable addition to our staff. We really feel pleased about having him come in.
"I asked him, 'Drew, how can you help us the most?' He said, "Coach, that's all I did was break down film. He was really the quarterback of the secondary for over four years. He's got all that experience that he's bringing to the kids, and then he's got street cred with the kids because everybody knows who he is and they're obviously going to value what he's telling them."
Also new to the Falcons' coaching staff is former Wilmington College head coach Barry Wulf, and McSurley said Coach Seaver will be coaching the linebackers this season.
Conditioning will be another important key to the season for the Falcons.
"We want to become as fit as we can possibly become. We obviously lift, we run, we condition, we do little things like flexibility," McSurley said. "Obviously, we've got skill kids, we've got guys who know how to play football, so it's just basically keeping them healthy throughout the year and each week getting a little stronger and trying to peak at the exact right time."
McSurley didn't forget the special teams, as that was a big part of their title run last season.
"Without our punter Zach Santoro, as well as he punted throughout the playoffs, there's no way we would've been the state champion," McSurley said. "A lot of people forget about the punter, but his punting in that state playoff run was just absolutely outstanding. He's booming them right now.
"Our kicker Callum Jones is just 40 points away from the all-time high school scoring record from a kicker. Our special teams are going to put a lot of pressure on punt teams because we've got a lot of guys that that's what they've done since their sophomore year. Our special teams should be one of the strongest points of our whole team."
Even with the two state championship rings on their fingers and the two state championship trophies displayed in their trophy case … the Falcons are still hungry and aren't satisfied by any means.
"We've got a chip on our shoulder. I'm coaching with a chip on my shoulder. I think I'm probably more motivated this year than ever before," McSurley said. "We only have two assistants, myself, and the rest of them are kind of volunteer-type coaches. So I'm really out-coached in every game I go into.
"I'm a guy that right now is coaching my rear end off because hey, I've got something to prove. I'm motivated. The kids are motivated. When the kids start winning rings, man, it's just contagious. I think these kids, they've got something to prove. It's like the next class in doesn't want to be the class that takes a step backwards … that's called 'tradition.'"