CALEDONIA — River Valley finished 4-7 last year. With better luck and more consistent play, maybe the Vikings reverse that into 7-4 as close games and wild finishes were the norm in football in 2023.
"We had a good offseason in the weight room and at our 7-on-7s over the summer," second year head coach Matt Waddle said. "We competed all summer long and feel that we took positive steps forward, getting better each time we were out."
With an All-Ohioan at quarterback in Chase Ebert and an All-Ohioan at inside linebacker in Tyson Waddle , the Vikes have two enviable piece in which to build their offense and defense around.
So here are three things to know about River Valley football in 2024:
Look back at last year's Vikings: River Valley football guide: New coaches, players looking to leave marks in 2023
Schedules: Who's playing who? The area's top six changes to the 2024 football schedules
1. Winning the close ones
Three times they lost by eight points or less. Marion Harding was a winnable game , and Tiffin Columbian played from ahead all night, but the Vikes were rarely out of touch either. Likewise, two of their four wins came by four points and one point , and then there was the shootout with Pleasant that RV pulled off .
Those are lessons to be learned from for 2024.
"We expect our seniors and juniors to lead our team this year," Waddle said. "We have many returning letter winners from a year ago, and we are expecting our upperclassmen to lead this team."
2. Offensive firepower potential
The Vikings were one of three teams in the Mid Ohio Athletic Conference to average more than 30 points per game in 2023. And with Ebert (6-foot-1, 195 pounds) back for his senior year along with nice complimentary components, scoring shouldn't be an issue this season.
"We feel that the strength of our offense is our passing game and having some veteran receivers and second-team All-Ohio quarterback Chase Ebert," Waddle said.
Ebert threw for 2,176 yards on 206 completions and 361 attempts. He had 18 touchdowns and seven interceptions, plus ran for 780 yards and nine more scores to rank in the top 10 in the MOAC in both. All-Ohio receiver Keyan Shidone and 50-reception wideout Ayden Kenney graduated, but Carter Park (Sr., 5-9, 170), Logan Creps (Jr., 6-5, 175), Luke Axline (Sr., 6-1, 170), Eli Snyder (Jr., 6-0, 165) and Eyan Axline (Sr., 6-1, 185) will give Ebert plenty of talent to track downfield.
The offensive line needs to replace big and strong graduates in Ethan Lyon, Jared Slone and Brady Cookson, and Treyton Mercer, who was third in the MOAC in scoring, is gone at running back.
Carter Logan (Jr, 6-5, 260) and Jackson Kloha (Jr., 6-3, 240) are back as tackles, but Diego Sanchez (Sr., 5-8, 220), Luke Crawford (Jr., 5-9, 225) and Cohan Celler (Jr., 6-2, 240) will fill the interior of the line.
"Our concerns on offense are finding the right mix of guys to round out our line up front and find an every down back. We feel we have a good number of backs that can run the ball for us but finding one to carry the load is what we are trying to figure out," Waddle said. "Another concern is a lack of depth at many of the positions."
Among that depth that could impact games include: receiver Jaxon Caudill (Sr., 6-1, 170), receiver Jayden McCullough (Sr., 5-10, 180), receiver Ellis McFarland (So., 5-10, 160), running back Honour Jennings (Sr., 5-10, 200), running back Noah Weber (Jr., 5-10, 190), tight end Harrison Bradley (Jr., 6-4, 220), lineman A.J. Thorpe (Jr., 6-1, 190) and lineman Jayden Emans (So., 5-10, 220).
3. Shoring up the D
The Vikings gave up 31.9 points per game in the regular season and 33.9 in the MOAC, which ranked last in the league. Five times they gave up more than 40 points in a game, which put a lot of pressure on the offense to keep up with opponents.
Nevertheless, Waddle is confident that side of the ball will be better as their back seven are all returning starters, including his son in the middle.
"(We) also feel that our overall team speed on defense is solid as well," the coach said. "The defense returns nine starters from a year ago, so (we're) going to rely on the experience that this group brings back. (Our) concern is the D-line, as we do not have a ton of size or depth upfront."
Waddle (Sr., 5-10, 215) was a second-team All-Ohio pick after leading the MOAC with 166 tackles. He added 12 tackles for loss. Hayden Kanagy (Sr., 5-10, 190) will lineup at inside linebacker, too, after recording 114 tackles, but Mercer was an All-Ohio linebacker who graduated.
In the backfield will be Caudill, Kolton Long (Jr., 6-0, 160), Luke Axline, Addison Babb (Sr., 5-9, 180) and Snyder. The line will be manned by Harrison Bradley (Jr., 6-4, 220), J.J. Walton (Jr., 6-1, 220), Ryan Green (Sr., 6-0, 190) and Sanchez. Adding depth on defense will be Thorpe, Jennings, Emans, Weber and Noah Wirik (Jr.).
Soccer standout Hudson Pollock is again handling the punting and kicking duties for RV.
RV's outlook
With Ebert and Waddle, they have the key components needed to accomplish things on the goal sheet like improve every day and post a winning record. If they are to achieve the loftier goals like win the league and at least a couple of playoff games, the newcomers and last year's role players need to assert themselves.
"Our seniors have done a great job of leading all summer long into camp and two-a-days, and we expect that to continue throughout the season," the coach said.
rmccurdy@gannett.com
419-610-0998
X @McMotorsport
Instagram @rob_mccurdy_star
River Valley Football Primer
● League: Mid Ohio Athletic Conference.
● Playoff Division: IV, Region 14.
● Head Coach: Matt Waddle (second season, 4-7).
● Assistants: LJ Scott (offensive coordinator, running backs), Ethan Bell (slot receivers), Tyler Granlee (split receivers), Rich Jenkins (offensive line), Chris Grunden (offensive line), Dan Arndt (defensive coordinator, defensive line), Ramie Large (defensive line), Aaron Blackledge (inside linebackers), Cooper Graham (defensive ends), Kade Lang (cornerbacks), Cody Urez (safeties), Pat Street (chaplin), Kevin Reeder (equipment manager), Dan Childs (equipment manager), David Silverstein (trainer).
● Playoff Appearances: 10 (2001, 02, 11, 12, 13, 16, 20, 21, 22, 23).
● Playoff Record: 2-10.
● Last Year: 4-7, 3-4.
● Letter Winners Returning: 26.
● Starters Returning: 7 offense, 9 defense.
● Base Offense: Spread.
● Base Defense: 4-2-5.
2024 Schedule
Aug. 23 Ashland
Aug. 30 at Madison Comprehensive
Sept. 6 at Buckeye Valley
Sept. 13 Ontario
Sept. 20 at Pleasant
Sept. 27 Marion Harding
Oct. 4 at Shelby
Oct. 11 Highland
Oct. 18 Galion
Oct. 25 at Clear Fork.
2023 Results
Ashland, L 20-26 OT
Madison Comprehensive, W 42-0
Tiffin Columbian, L, 45-56
Ontario, L 21-56
Pleasant, W 64-43
Marion Harding, L 13-27
Shelby, W 28-24
Highland, W 38-37
Galion, L 35-42
Clear Fork, L 0-8
*Van Wert, L 30-48
* denotes playoff game
This article originally appeared on Marion Star: 2024 River Valley Football Guide: Vikings hope to change fortune in close games
Most Popular
Comments / 0