Sudden change: Crooksville football is ready to start season after a month of transition

McLUNEY — It has been an eventful month for Crooksville football.

All was according to plan before third-year coach Gage Lotozo was forced to resigned on July 17 due to health concerns. Within a week, Nathan Van Meter — the head golf coach — was hired as a replacement , due partly to no assistant coaches on the current football staff being school employees.

The time since has been for Van Meter to get acclimated to the offensive and defensive systems in place, A former football and baseball star with the Ceramics from 2002-05, who later starred at Muskingum in baseball, Van Meter previously coached football at Miller.

Three weeks later, he's ready to send a team with a strong nucleus of young talent into a season he hopes helps bring a once-proud program back to respectability.

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Offense

Sophomore Brayson Hill started every game as a freshman quarterback, establishing himself as one of the top up-and-coming talents in the Muskingum Valley League.

Hill passed for 1,117 yards and 10 touchdowns and added another 401 yards and four scores on the ground, but the loss of top target Christian Browning figures to loom large in otherwise untested receiving corps.

Browning, who elected to focus on wrestling after injuring his shoulder in early August, caught a team-best 37 passes for 502 yards and 5 TDs last season. He was equally important on defense, where he piled up 84 tackles with three interceptions.

Six players are currently working in the receiver rotation that saw time last season in seniors Jacob Hammer (5-10, 155) and Hunter Hurst (6-1, 175), juniors Eli Sprankle (6-0, 165), Jacob Nelson (5-11, 165) and Gage Love (5-10, 150) and sophomore Riley Wagoner (6-0, 165).

Senior Hunter Browning and sophomore Aiden Harper are the H-backs, while freshmen Kyle Lane (5-9, 140), Drew Dorsey (5-9, 155) and Brody Cottrell (5-10, 165) could also see time.

Hammer is the leading returning with 12 catches.

"Losing Christian you are essentially losing four positions, because it takes four people to replace him," Van Meter said. "Guys are going to have to step up."

The running back corps loses two veterans in Daniel Chapman and Brady Cottrell but returns one of team's fastest players in sophomore Kam Potter (5-11, 175) and junior Eli Harvey (5-10, 175).

Up front, the return of 6-3, 220-pound junior Jace Thompson from multiple injuries suffered the past two seasons will booster a group that starts four sophomores in Chris Taylor (5-10, 195), Ethan Miller (6-0, 205), Dallas Pettit (6-1, 215) and Lincoln Harper (5-10, 250). Senior Ashton Childress (6-1, 195) will see time with Harper at center.

They continue to master new offensive coordinator Zack Whitney's system as the opener approaches on Saturday at Lancaster Fisher Catholic, a team it handled in the opener a year ago.

"The kids are getting used to what we are doing," Van Meter said. "It's a learning process. Anytime you bring in a new offensive coordinator there is going to be new terminology."

Defense

Derrek Fulk, a Ceramic grad who coached under Craig Clarke at Maysville, takes over as defensive coordinator in a 4-4 unit on which Lotozo had major influence.

Thompson will impact that side of the ball as well from his end spot, with senior Kadin Savage (5-10, 280) and Childress teaming up inside and Hurst and Browning on the other end. Taylor and Miller will also see time at tackle in a rotation.

The linebacker corps, an undoubted strength last year with Chapman and Cottrell patrolling the inside, features Hammer and Wagoner on the outside and junior Gavin Mount and Nelson inside. Harvey will also rotate inside.

Hill is the free safety, while Love, Sprankle and junior Easton Matthews will are in the cornerback mix.

Brody Cottrell replaces his brother as the punter, with Hurst handling the placekicking.

Van Meter echoed Lotozo's sentiments when it came to the weight room performance in the offseason, with much credit going to the captains and strength and conditioning coach Matt McIntyre.

The visible gains have been obvious from two years ago, Van Meter said.

"At the Lift-a-Thon I was impressed with the way we performed," Van Meter said. "We've got more kids in the 1,000-pound club (maximum bench, squat and deadlift combined) than we have had in last four years."

Outlook

A year ago, there were plenty of options for home games, but there is just one in the first five weeks — Sugar Grove Berne Union on Sept. 6 — before the meat of the Muskingum Valley League schedule starts in Week 4. Old rival Philo and neighboring Maysville are among the home games.

The team, which is moving up to Division V from VI, was unbeaten in nonleague games in 2023 before suffering seven straight losses in the league.

The lack of league success has weighed over the program and provides a big reason why Van Meter has guarded optimism, even as 15 lettermen and some key playmakers return.

"Given the circumstances, I just want to continue on that path (of growth)," Van Meter said. "We have three nonleague games where we feel like we can compete, but those teams are going to be gunning for us.

"Our message to the kids has been to control what you can control," Van Meter added. "This situation, it hits home. It transitions to life. It's about being consistent day in and day out."

He lamented the general lack of depth on a roster with 37 players, but Van Meter said having a system in place has allowed him to manage and learn the nuances of the entire team.

That, he said, is a credit to what was already established before his arrival.

"With Coach Whitney and Coach Fulk calling the offense and defense, it has made my transition much easier," Van Meter said. "I can learn what they have been teaching so I can implement my own things."

Crooksville 2024 football schedule

Aug. 24 @ Fisher Catholic

Aug. 30 @ Racine Southern

Sept. 6 Berne Union

Sept. 13 @ Meadowbrook

Sept. 20 @ Morgan

Sept. 27 Philo

Oct. 4 West Muskingum

Oct. 11 @ Coshocton

Oct. 18 @ New Lexington

Oct. 25 Maysville

sblackbu@gannett.com; X: @SamBlackburnTR

This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: Sudden change: Crooksville football is ready to start season after a month of transition