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By MIKE MORRISON
CALDWELL -- Second-year head coach Grant Gaydos and his Caldwell Redskins would like to pick up right where they left off at the end of last season.
After dropping five of their first six games to begin the season, Caldwell came on strong by winning three of their final four, including a dramatic 31-30 win over arch-rival Shenandoah in their season finale.
"I think the way we finished last year was huge. We really started off slow and I kind of attribute that to a new coaching staff meshing with some inexperienced players," Gaydos said. "It took a little learning curve but we finished strong and hope we can continue that into this season."
The Redskins graduated four key players from last year's team, including lineman Sheldon Archer and Simon Shuster, the versatile Jason Allen and first team All-Ohio running back Dalton Ivey, who piled up nearly 2,000 rushing yards last year to go along with an impressive 21 touchdowns.
Ivey accounted for 141 total points on a team that scored 213 the entire season.
"We've got a full backfield and every one of them is capable so there is not going to be just one major contributor to replace Dalton," Gaydos said. "They all kind of have their own niche so hopefully we can kind of spread it out and have kind of a multiple attack."
Gaydos will turn to another Ivey in Drew Ivey (5-foot-11, 175 pounds) to lead his offense as the junior will return as quarterback after rushing for more than 400 yards last season as a sophomore.
"He is going to bring toughness and he is going to bring attitude," Gaydos said. "He got a lot of experience last season as did a lot of our sophomores and that should help us this year."
Joining Ivey in the Caldwell backfield will likely be seniors Caden Brownfield (5-7, 238) and Jacob Steward (6-2, 180) as well as juniors Dalton Wheeler (5-7, 150) and Cole Garvin (5-8, 170).
Gaydos feels like he has plenty of candidates to man the line and will use scrimmages and practices to find the best positions for each of his lineman.
Among those figuring to be in the mix are senior Trevor Hayes (5-10, 205), a quartet of juniors in Jeremy Ditch (6-4, 235), Brenden Sailing (6-4, 220), Mason Wiley (6-1, 210) and Mason Hanson (5-9, 220) as well as sophomores Bradley Michael (5-10, 172) and Doug Strode (6-3, 250).
Juniors Zeke Liston (6-2, 165) and Tommy Mitchell (5-10, 175) figure to take the bulk of the snaps at tight end with help from junior Chris Bjork (5-8, 155) and freshman Dawsison Moore (5-11, 155).
When the Redskins elect to put the ball in the air, Ivey will have several viable options including the versatile Steward and Garvin as well as junior Michael Gerard (5-8, 130).
Senior Alex Starcher (5-5, 125) and juniors Zeke Liston (6-2, 165) provide depth at the receiver position.
The Liston brothers both have soccer experience and could well end up handling the kicking duties.
The Redskins will likely continue their tradition of a power running game offensively while playing a 4-4 defense in 2017.
"We go into every season thinking 50 percent run and 50 percent pass," said Gaydos, whose team will play their first two games on Saturdays before playing their first Friday night game Sept. 8 when they play host to Bishop Rosecrans. "It just never seems to work out that way as we have a tradition of running the football."
With 32 kids on the roster Caldwell will be forced to use most of their kids on both sides of the ball especially on the line as many of the same kids will change sides when the Redskins are on defense.
Ivey and Brownfield will fill a pair of the linebacker spots joined by Garvin and Wheeler.
Gerard, Zeke Liston and Steward will likely man the secondary when Caldwell opens at Fairfield Christian.
After several years of stingy defense, the Redskins took a step backward last season when it yielded more than 35 points per game.
Aug. 26: at Fairfield Christian 7 p.m.
Sept. 2: at Bellaire 12:30 p.m.
Sept. 8: Bishop Rosecrans 7 p.m.
Sept. 15: Monroe Central 7 p.m.
Sept. 22: at Shadyside 7 p.m.
Sept. 29: Conotton Valley 7 p.m.
Oct. 6: Frontier 7 p.m.
Oct. 13: at Fort Frye 7 p.m.
Oct. 20: at Barnesville 7 p.m.
Oct. 27: Shenandoah 7 p.m.
PREDICTION
Win 5, Lose 5
Seniors
Caden Brownfield, Zeb Liston, Alex Starcher, Jacob Steward
Juniors
Gavin Cole, Jeremy Ditch, Michael Gerard, Mason Hanson, Drew Ivey, Zeke Liston, Tommy Mitchell, Brenden Sailing, Mason Wiley, Dalton Wheeler
Sophomores
Chris Bjork, Trevor Hayes, Bradley Michael, Doug Strode