Football Feature: McClain Tigers
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
Four seniors in the McClain Tigers' football program have had success on the football field and within the football program itself. For that success, they've earned the honor of being the captains for the Tigers this fall, as they start what is their final year of high school football.
These four seniors were a part of a team that last season won seven times, as the Tigers are starting to turn the corner in the South Central Ohio League.
The four captains are Dylan Trefz, Thomas Schrader, Chris Sellman and Nate Cornett, as two are linemen, one is a bruising running back and the other is a three-year starting quarterback.
On the line are Trefz and Cornett as they battle in full contact each snap with their opponents, but they take great pride in their work.
"We are the biggest people on the field," Trefz said of offensive line. "We've got to protect our quarterback and our running backs. We're the protectors.
"It's a great feeling when you make a hole big enough for a Mack truck to fit through, but it's also a bad feeling if the hole collapses. Everything is on you. Everyone overlooks the offense on a good play, but as soon as something blows up, it's all on the o-line."
"It's an awesome feeling to start off the play," Cornett said. "You have to open up the hole, and like they said, I learned a lot from the seniors before me. Philip Thompson kind of helped me last year."
"Last year was a big year for us," Trefz said. "Our o-line was solid. We had Brandon Davis, Philip Thompson and Devin Trefz, my brother, up there. I think we have some underclassmen stepping in this year that are just as solid as those guys, so I think we're going to be just as good, if not better."
As for Sellman, an All-Ohio special mention player in '12, he spoke about what it is like to play running back and middle linebacker.
"The running back position is not always going to be easy," he said. "There's tough times, and there's easy times. The toughest time is when you've got to pick up a ball you can't see … you've just got to get there. You've got to protect the quarterback's blind side at all times.
"As for middle linebacker, I love to hit. You've just got to step up, be the man, fill the gap. Last year, Coach Penwell taught me a lot. I wouldn't be the person I am if it wasn't for him."
Then there is Schrader, also an All-Ohio special mention, who is the three-year QB.
"As a quarterback, I like being in control of things on the offensive side," he said. "Our line gets the play started, but then it goes to me, and most of the time I'm pointing people where to go and being in control of the offense.
"At free safety, I'm just kind of back there … a lot of times I have to be a touchdown saver, and sometimes you have to step up and fill a hole, almost like a linebacker. I also like free safety because you have more freedom on defense. I get to kind of roam around and do my own thing."
Each player had their own way they began to play the game. Trefz began in the sixth grade because he was somewhat tired of soccer. Schrader played flag football as a youth, and Cornett played in the fifth grade at the urging of friends.
As for Sellman, he credited a family member for his start.
[[In-content Ad]]
"Needless to say, if it wasn't for my older brother, I probably wouldn't be here playing football today," he said. "I learned a lot from him."
Being selected captains has let each of these four players think about what being a leader truly is.
"It just shows that people think that you can lead them to whatever they need to be," Trefz said. "Our goal is to make playoffs. They chose us as the leaders to get us there."
"Being a captain, to me, just means that people see us as being a leader of the team, not only leading by words but also leading by actions," Schrader said. "It shows that you can be the one that the younger guys and even some of the older guys can look to for advice, or when they're down and out, you have to lead them and pick them up so we can do good things as a team."
"You're always getting looked up to," Sellman said. "Sometimes you may fall down, and one of your other captains will pick you up. Sometimes other players will fall down, and you're going to pick them up."
"It's an awesome feeling to have somebody look up to you and to have these other guys," Cornett said. "It's an honor."
Even with the aforementioned seven wins last year, the Tiger captains weren't completely satisfied with the results.
"I think we fell short as a team, but this year … I think we learned a lot from last year," Sellman said.
"We had a great year last season, but we lost some good guys," Schrader said. "But because of that 7-3 season, I think some other guys decided they'd step up and try to fill those spots because they want to be a part of history as well. I think that's the main point from last year."
That "history" is being the first team for McClain to reach the postseason in football.
"I'm looking forward to leading the team, going out senior year with a bang," Schrader said. "Hopefully we can make some history and be the first team from McClain to go to the playoffs. We're going to give it our all and do our best to lead the team there."
"Our goal is to lead our team to the playoffs," Trefz said. "Nobody's been to the playoffs in Greenfield history, for football, anyway, and I just want to lead the team to the playoffs."
As they looked back one time before their season began, the four seniors answered the question "What does it mean to be a McClain Tiger?"
"It's the greatest honor, being a captain of the McClain Tigers football team," Trefz said. "We'll look back on this and just remember how great it was to play for the school."
"Being a McClain Tiger to me is a huge honor," Schrader said. "Not everybody who grows up in Greenfield gets to play football and wear a McClain jersey. We've had a lot of great people before us wear these jerseys, and it's just a huge honor to have people look up to you."
"I think it's an honor to have this jersey on my back, and it means a lot to be a McClain Tiger," Sellman said. "There's nothing more I can say about it. It's something special everybody should have."
"It's an honor to wear the McClain jersey," Cornett said. "As I look in the halls in there and see all those pictures, I think about those people that have come before us."
These four seniors were a part of a team that last season won seven times, as the Tigers are starting to turn the corner in the South Central Ohio League.
The four captains are Dylan Trefz, Thomas Schrader, Chris Sellman and Nate Cornett, as two are linemen, one is a bruising running back and the other is a three-year starting quarterback.
On the line are Trefz and Cornett as they battle in full contact each snap with their opponents, but they take great pride in their work.
"We are the biggest people on the field," Trefz said of offensive line. "We've got to protect our quarterback and our running backs. We're the protectors.
"It's a great feeling when you make a hole big enough for a Mack truck to fit through, but it's also a bad feeling if the hole collapses. Everything is on you. Everyone overlooks the offense on a good play, but as soon as something blows up, it's all on the o-line."
"It's an awesome feeling to start off the play," Cornett said. "You have to open up the hole, and like they said, I learned a lot from the seniors before me. Philip Thompson kind of helped me last year."
"Last year was a big year for us," Trefz said. "Our o-line was solid. We had Brandon Davis, Philip Thompson and Devin Trefz, my brother, up there. I think we have some underclassmen stepping in this year that are just as solid as those guys, so I think we're going to be just as good, if not better."
As for Sellman, an All-Ohio special mention player in '12, he spoke about what it is like to play running back and middle linebacker.
"The running back position is not always going to be easy," he said. "There's tough times, and there's easy times. The toughest time is when you've got to pick up a ball you can't see … you've just got to get there. You've got to protect the quarterback's blind side at all times.
"As for middle linebacker, I love to hit. You've just got to step up, be the man, fill the gap. Last year, Coach Penwell taught me a lot. I wouldn't be the person I am if it wasn't for him."
Then there is Schrader, also an All-Ohio special mention, who is the three-year QB.
"As a quarterback, I like being in control of things on the offensive side," he said. "Our line gets the play started, but then it goes to me, and most of the time I'm pointing people where to go and being in control of the offense.
"At free safety, I'm just kind of back there … a lot of times I have to be a touchdown saver, and sometimes you have to step up and fill a hole, almost like a linebacker. I also like free safety because you have more freedom on defense. I get to kind of roam around and do my own thing."
Each player had their own way they began to play the game. Trefz began in the sixth grade because he was somewhat tired of soccer. Schrader played flag football as a youth, and Cornett played in the fifth grade at the urging of friends.
As for Sellman, he credited a family member for his start.
[[In-content Ad]]
"Needless to say, if it wasn't for my older brother, I probably wouldn't be here playing football today," he said. "I learned a lot from him."
Being selected captains has let each of these four players think about what being a leader truly is.
"It just shows that people think that you can lead them to whatever they need to be," Trefz said. "Our goal is to make playoffs. They chose us as the leaders to get us there."
"Being a captain, to me, just means that people see us as being a leader of the team, not only leading by words but also leading by actions," Schrader said. "It shows that you can be the one that the younger guys and even some of the older guys can look to for advice, or when they're down and out, you have to lead them and pick them up so we can do good things as a team."
"You're always getting looked up to," Sellman said. "Sometimes you may fall down, and one of your other captains will pick you up. Sometimes other players will fall down, and you're going to pick them up."
"It's an awesome feeling to have somebody look up to you and to have these other guys," Cornett said. "It's an honor."
Even with the aforementioned seven wins last year, the Tiger captains weren't completely satisfied with the results.
"I think we fell short as a team, but this year … I think we learned a lot from last year," Sellman said.
"We had a great year last season, but we lost some good guys," Schrader said. "But because of that 7-3 season, I think some other guys decided they'd step up and try to fill those spots because they want to be a part of history as well. I think that's the main point from last year."
That "history" is being the first team for McClain to reach the postseason in football.
"I'm looking forward to leading the team, going out senior year with a bang," Schrader said. "Hopefully we can make some history and be the first team from McClain to go to the playoffs. We're going to give it our all and do our best to lead the team there."
"Our goal is to lead our team to the playoffs," Trefz said. "Nobody's been to the playoffs in Greenfield history, for football, anyway, and I just want to lead the team to the playoffs."
As they looked back one time before their season began, the four seniors answered the question "What does it mean to be a McClain Tiger?"
"It's the greatest honor, being a captain of the McClain Tigers football team," Trefz said. "We'll look back on this and just remember how great it was to play for the school."
"Being a McClain Tiger to me is a huge honor," Schrader said. "Not everybody who grows up in Greenfield gets to play football and wear a McClain jersey. We've had a lot of great people before us wear these jerseys, and it's just a huge honor to have people look up to you."
"I think it's an honor to have this jersey on my back, and it means a lot to be a McClain Tiger," Sellman said. "There's nothing more I can say about it. It's something special everybody should have."
"It's an honor to wear the McClain jersey," Cornett said. "As I look in the halls in there and see all those pictures, I think about those people that have come before us."