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Ben Merkert (41) and Keenan Freeman (25) are two key returning letterwinners in the Tigers' secondary.
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The Wittenberg Tigers bounced back from an injury-plagued 2008 season to put together one of the finest campaigns in the football program's illustrious history in 2009, including a school record-tying 12 victories, a ninth North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) championship in 21 years in the league and a run to the NCAA Division III Tournament quarterfinals. The bar has once again been set high, but the 2010 edition of Wittenberg's football team appears to have many of the necessary pieces in place for another big season.
The Tigers will lean heavily on a defensive unit that ranked No. 1 in the nation in 2009. Seven starters return, led by Wittenberg's first-ever national Defensive Player of the Year, senior end Eddie Vallery (South Solon, Ohio/Madison Plains), who set a school record with 16.5 sacks a year ago. He forced two fumbles and blocked two kicks and made a whopping 22 tackles for loss in 2009. Opponents lost a combined total of 136 yards on those 22 stops.
He has plenty of veterans around him, starting with a pair of first-team All-NCAC linebackers in senior Brad McKinley (Hilliard, Ohio/Davidson) and junior Zach Hurtt (Fort Thomas, Ky./Highlands). They combined for more than 150 tackles in 2009, including 19 for loss. McKinley has 309 career tackles, putting him on pace to become just the third Tiger defender to register 400 stops in the Red & White. Senior Ben Maxwell (Kettering, Ohio/Alter), who has contributed 61 tackles on special teams and in a back-up role the last two years, is a top candidate to fill the third starting spot in 2010.
Vallery also has plenty of help along the defensive front, starting with all-region defensive tackle Adam Kattoua (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington), who contributed 49 tackles, including seven for loss, in 2009. Senior Nic Wolfe (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont) played well at both tackle and end in 2009, while sophomore Justin Bartlett (Washington, Pa./McGuffey) made the most of numerous opportunities in his inaugural collegiate campaign.
The biggest question marks are probably in the secondary, although two standouts do return in that area as well. Senior cornerback Keenan Freeman (Fairborn, Ohio/Greenon) opted to make use of his medical red-shirt year after earning second-team All-NCAC honors a year ago. Junior safety Seth Parker (DeGraff, Ohio/Riverside) made the most of his first season in the starting lineup, contributing 35 tackles and four interceptions. Among the returning letterwinners who will have a crack at the other two currently vacant starting positions are senior safety Ty Whittington (Sabina, Ohio/East Clinton), senior cornerback Ben Merkert (Troy, Ohio/Troy) and sophomore cornerback Jamaal Everett (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont), all of whom saw extensive playing time in 2009.
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Josh McKee (14) and Michael Cooper (2) combined for 119 receptions in 2009.
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Much like the defense, there aren't many holes to plug on offense. But winning football starts with strong quarterback play, meaning that the successor to record-setting signal-caller Aaron Huffman must excel for the Tigers to achieve their goals. The leading candidates heading into camp are junior Ben Zoeller (Louisville, Ky./St. Xavier), who played well in relief of an injured Huffman in the national quarterfinal loss at Wisconsin-Whitewater in 2009, and senior Andrew Durbin (Carmel, Ind./Carmel), who led the Tigers to a 2-2 record as a starter in place of an injured Huffman in 2008.
Whoever is under center, the offensive weapons around him are more numerous than ever. No better place to start than at running back, where senior Corey Weber (Pataskala, Ohio/Watkins Memorial) and junior Connor Warye (Cincinnati, Ohio/Kings) combined to rush for more than 1,800 yards and 15 touchdowns a year ago. While sharing the tailback carries, Weber averaged 5.3 yards and Warye averaged 5.4 yards per carry in 2009, and they combined for an additional 21 receptions and three touchdowns.
Plenty of experience and talent returns up front as well, starting with senior tackle Alex Burwell (Sunbury, Ohio/Big Walnut), who missed the second half of the 2009 season due to injury after earning all-conference honors in 2008. Senior Tony Eich (Columbus, Ohio/Centennial) has started at multiple positions during his injury-riddled collegiate career, as has senior Jake Kerger (Louisville, Ky./St. Xavier), who shifted to tight end in 2009 after injuries shortened the depth chart there. Both are ticketed for significant playing time after accepting medical red-shirts to play the 2010 season.
In addition, seniors Nick Hudepohl (Crescent Springs, Ky./Covington Catholic) and Jeremy Block (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair), a first-team All-NCAC selection, were starters at the guard spots in 2009, and senior Brian Alspaugh (Indianapolis, Ind./Scecina Memorial) was a key reserve at tackle. They will be flanked by 2007 All-NCAC tight end Mat Guida (LaGrange, Ky./Oldham County), who is returning via medical red-shirt in 2010 after missing all but one game over the last two seasons due to injuries.
The wide receiver position is in good hands as well with juniors Josh McKee (New Carlisle, Ohio/Tecumseh) and Michael Cooper (Springfield, Ohio/South), who are both in the top 12 in career receiving at Wittenberg after just two collegiate seasons. Cooper set a school record with 60 receptions in 2009, while McKee added 58, which also broke the old record. In addition, senior wide receiver Anthony Kralich (Kettering, Ohio/Alter) has 52 receptions in his first three collegiate seasons.
Rounding things out, sophomore Sean Williams (Plainfield, Ind./Plainfield) and senior David Rome (Shaker Heights, Ohio/Hawken), a converted soccer player who filled in on short notice in 2008, will battle for the placekicking job. The punting duties will be handled for a third straight year by first-team All-NCAC senior Trevor Cochran (Newark, Ohio/Newark).
2009 Record 12-1
NCAC Record 7-0 (1st)
Letterwinners Returning (43) Offensive: 22, Defensive: 18, Specialist: 3
Letterwinners Lost (19) Offensive: 10, Defensive: 8, Specialist: 1
Starters Returning (13) Offensive: 5, Defensive 7, Specialist: 1
Starters Lost (11) Offensive: 6, Defensive 4, Specialist: 1
Offense: Multiple I
Defense: Multiple 4-3
Letterwinners Returning (43):
Offense (22) - Brian Alspaugh, Logan Beam (2008), Jeremy Block, Alex Burwell, Michael Cooper, Andrew Durbin, Tony Eich, Bill French, Drew Fisher, Mat Guida (2007), Nick Hudepohl, Jake Kerger, Anthony Kralich, Josh McKee, Ian McNeill, Mike Montgomery, A.J. Owen, Alan Trump, Conner Warye, Corey Weber, Billy West (2008), Ben Zoeller
Defense (18) - Billy Alexander, Justin Bartlett, Josh Colbert, Cory Cosby, Fields Davis, Jamaal Everett, Keenan Freeman, Vinny Harshaw, Zach Hurtt, Adam Kattoua, Ben Maxwell, Brad McKinley, Ben Merkert, Seth Parker, Taylor Scherer, Eddie Vallery, Ty Whittington, Nic Wolfe
Specialists (3) - David Rome (2008), Trevor Cochran, Sean Williams
Letterwinners Lost (19):
Offense (10) - Ty Dunham, Clay Hewson, Dillon Hollin, Aaron Huffman, Dan McCormick, Ryan Metzger, Josh Nettleton, Cody Parsell, Jeff Wilbur, Patrick Williams
Defense (8) - Mike Box, Brandyn Brown, Trent Brunic, A.J. Fleig, Kyle Lohrman, Lance Phillips, Jerell Ragland, Taylor Scherer
Specialists (1) - Zack Harris
Starters Returning (13):
Offense (5) - OL Alex Burwell, OL Jeremy Block, OL Nick Hudepohl, WR Josh McKee, TB Corey Weber
Defense (7) - DL Eddie Vallery, DL Nic Wolfe, DL Adam Kattoua, LB Brad McKinley, LB Zach Hurtt, S Seth Parker, CB Keenan Freeman
Specialists (1) - P Trevor Cochran
Starters Lost (11):
Offense (6) - QB Aaron Huffman, WR Patrick Williams, C Dillon Hollin, OL Ryan Metzger, TE Cody Parsell, FB Dan McCormick
Defense (4) - DL Taylor Scherer, LB Kyle Lohrman, CB Brandyn Brown, S Trent Brunic
Specialists (1) - K Zack Harris