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The Lima News
High school football: Columbus Grove won't back away from high expectations
By David Trinko,
1 day ago
Columbus Grove’s Trenton Barraza (3) darts for a gain against Bluffton in the Division VI regional final at Findlay last year. Barraza is back for his senior season for the Bulldogs. Jessica Trinko | The Lima News
COLUMBUS GROVE — If you’re a football player at Columbus Grove, you learn not to back away from high expectations.
The football schedule lists every game through the state championship, and the Bulldogs have been to the state semifinals the past two years. With 20 letterwinners back from last year’s 12-3 team, the team isn’t shy about its expectations.
“We expect to get to Week 15 and play Marion Local (in the state semifinal),” said Trenton Barraza, a 6-foot-1, 190-pound senior and four-year letterwinner who plays running back and linebacker for the Bulldogs. “You know, we’re pushing every week for better and better. We want to win one week at a time, but in the back of our heads, we’ve got Week 15 in our head. We need to do everything we can to get to that game and then win more.”
For a team that’s made the playoffs the last four years and won or shared the Northwest Conference title five of the last six seasons, expectations are part of the game. They’ll move down from Division VI to Division VII this year.
“Maybe I shouldn’t say it, but it is kind of the standard here now,” coach Andy Schafer said. “That being said, what we’ve talked about is, ‘How do we raise the standard?’ How do we make it even farther?”
The Bulldogs’ depth certainly helps. They have nine first-year lettermen, nine second-year lettermen and two third-year lettermen. One of those is Barraza, who topped 1,900 yards with 21 touchdowns on the ground last year. He’s already at top form, Schafer said, comparing his field vision now to the Carey playoff game last season. He’s also developed into a stronger leader.
“I felt like he was kind of hitting his stride, hitting his peak in that game,” Schafer said. “There were some big plays with his vision that I hadn’t seen develop, and I’m already seeing it in practice, which is obviously insane to think of.”
The Bulldogs also have quarterback Landon Best (Jr., 5-11, 155 pounds) back. Best started as a sophomore last year and completed nearly 70% of his passes. Receiver Kyle Hopkins (Sr., 6-1, 165) is back too. Brady Basinger (Soph., 6-1, 205) is at tight end or H-back. There were three graduations from the offensive line, including both guards, but their replacements are coming along, Schafer said.
The other three-year letterwinner is Kylan Mayes, a 6-foot, 270-pound offensive and defensive lineman who can’t wait to re-introduce himself to opposing quarterbacks. He said the Bulldogs have been working “at high, high intensity, high effort every day” to achieve their goals.
“We’re just trying to get to the quarterback and get the defensive backs and linebackers a little break,” said Mayes, who topped 70 tackles last year and had four sacks. “It just gives them a break, and it gets the fans excited, gets our team going when we get to the QB.”
They’ll miss some large bodies from last year on the defensive line, Schafer said, but they do have at least two guys back on the defensive line, linebacking corps and defensive backfield.
“I think you just have to adapt,” Schafer said. “That’s where we’re at right now, trying to figure out how we adapt to not having size. That’s one thing a coach can’t coach. Still, I like the way our defense is playing.”
The Bulldogs can’t afford to get off to a slow start like they did last year when they started 1-2 before going on an 11-game win streak. A tough Northwest Conference awaits them, especially with playoff regulars Fort Loramie and Lima Central Catholic joining the league.
“Obviously this year, I think we really just want to start off strong,” Mayes said. “In previous years, we hadn’t been starting off strong. This year, we really want to come out and get off to a big start.”
It’s a tough task, though, with Pandora-Gilboa, Liberty-Benton and Patrick Henry all opening up the year before the NWC gauntlet begins. They wrap up the regular season against Bluffton, which the Bulldogs beat by a touchdown in the regular-season finale and playoffs in 2023.
“We’ve done a lot of team-building activities,” Schafer said. “We’ve had some talks, and we’ve done everything we can to make sure that everybody’s buying in early and understanding the importance of the early games because our schedule is brutal.”
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