McDonald set to debut revamped offense this fall

MCDONALD, Ohio (WKBN) – It doesn’t happen all that often in the McDonald football program , but the Blue Devils have experienced three straight seasons below .500, which has prompted head coach Dan Williams and his staff to completely overhaul the offense.

“We’re sort of going to a throwback look sort of this year back into the Wing T, and the kids were excited about that — brought a lot more excitement to our program,” Williams said.

All the attention during McDonald camp has been on the new look on offense as they transition to the Wing T.

“I mean, the Wing T, I love it. We have the fastest line. We have really strong, skilled, so much depth,” senior offensive lineman and linebacker Gionni Carkido said. “You know, I think we’re going to really catch some teams off surprise.”

“It opens up a lot of opportunities for us to move the ball on offense. We have some solid skill kids in the back, so we’ve got a lot of speed up front,” senior James Hipple said. “We got a lot of strong kids that are going to help move that line forward.”

That change did involve moving some things around, junior Drew Zajack spent time at quarterback last year while rushing for 705 yards and 14 touchdowns, and will transition to a full-time ball carrier, along with pieces spread out all around him.

Those pieces include quarterback Kyle Puckett, Tobias Domitrovich at tailback and 6-foot-3 wideout Jordan Perry in the mix.

“When you’re spread offense, a lot of times it’s quarterback and the tailback. It’s a two-man and two-headed monster, and the Wing T gives you a lot more deception,” Williams said. “It gets you a lot more guys involved in the offense. It’s going to put a lot of pressure on defenses here as we face some teams throughout the season, and we’re just hoping the kids pick up on the system quickly and efficiently.”

They have the talent to pick it all up as well, with eight starters back on both sides of the ball, like three-year starter James Hipple, who led the defense with 100 tackles last year.

“The past few seasons, we haven’t done our best. We’re slowly working up, and this year we just need to really secure that spot back in,” Hipple said.

That will be put to work right away to start the new season, as they face a familiar foe in Week 1.

“I mean Week 1 we’re ready. Champion’s as a Wing T team, we run it right back and we’re going to see who’s better at it,” Carkido said.

The Blue Devils open up the season on the road in Week 1 as they travel to take on the Flashes on Friday, Aug. 23.

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