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By AARON PETCHAL
TORONTO -- Toronto has established itself as a quality program, and though they are a youthful bunch this season, the Red Knights hope to continue their winning ways and make it to the postseason for the fourth straight season for the second time in school history.
"We've got a great group of kids," Toronto coach Eric Meek said. "We have a lot of kids out for football. We have 47 kids. That is a tremendous number for a little Division 7 school.
"Football has come under attack in the media. It is a tough game. It is a hard game. We put our kids through a lot in June and July, and they become no longer boys but young men. Football is a tough a game. It is a great game.
"We have an extremely young team this year. We only have six seniors, but they are good seniors. They have played a lot of football. We also have kids who have not played a lot of football, but they will play hard.
"The kids are a very-close group.
"Our schedule is definitely challenging this year. We open up with Shadyside. They have a lot of kids back. They aren't the team you want to play early in the season with only having six seniors. It is a case of David vs. Goliath. We are going to get on the bus and go down there with a bunch of young kids looking to pull off the upset and hopefully get the season off on the right foot."
Toronto ended last season with a record of 8-3. The Red Knights advanced to the state playoffs for the third straight season, however, Toronto's season came to a close against Warren JFK for the second straight season as the Eagles shut out the Red Knights, 38-0, in an Ohio Division VII Region 25 first round game. Warren JFK went on to the win the state championship.
The boys from the Gem City lost a lot of talented players from last season's roster, but the cupboard is not bare for the Red Knights.
"We are as young as any team I have coached in 22 years…very few kids have varsity experience, but our kids are winners and I'm confident they will mature and improve as the season progresses," Meek said. "We enter the newly formed Eastern Ohio Athletic Conference and it will be very tough. Our goal is simple: continue the tradition we've built and get back to the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season."
The Red Knights do return 11 starters/lettermen from last year's team -- Jake Keenan (wide receiver/defensive back), Luke Fogle (offensive guard/defensive tackle), Avery Watkins (center/defensive tackle), Nathan Karaffa (quarterback/defensive back), Trent Wright (offensive guard/inside linebacker), Carson Meek (tight end), Nick Sninchak (tight end), Zac Berger (special teams), Zach Stackhouse (special teams) and Juston Patterson.
Nathan Keenan, Jake Keenan, Patterson, Fogle, Watkins and Kanne Larkins are the team's six seniors this season.
Karaffa, a junior, will again start at quarterback for Toronto. Last season, Karaffa completed 73 of 127 passes for 1,155 yards and 11 touchdowns to go along with four interceptions. He also ran the ball 60 times resulting in 273 yards and four touchdowns.
"He is a tremendous athlete," Meek said. "He can do a lot of things. He loves to compete. We have 47 players on the team and we have a young team, and he is going to be the leader. Nathan gets better every time he steps on the field. He is a tremendous athlete. He plays three sports. He is comfortable under pressure. He is cool and collected. He loves to compete.
"He led the team to 444 points in the regular season last year. He did it running and obviously throwing. He is tremendously fast. He makes good decisions. He is going to be big for us the next two years."
Caleb Leasure will be the backup.
Carson Meek and Tristan Thomas will be the top two guys at the fullback position with BJ Pearson and Chris Parker also vying for time.
The top guys at the slot receiver position are Jake Keenan, Patterson and Herrick. Also competing for time are Frank Fulton, Dylan Bozica, Kyre Smith, Garrett Dozier, Jo Jo Savage, Jack Rawson, Doug Whitman and Zac Close. The slot players will also see time at tailback.
Keenan was the team's leading receiver last season. He caught 25 passes for 447 yards and four touchdowns.
"He is a tremendous athlete," Coach Meek said. "He has already got a lot of tremendous scholarship opportunities. He is great with the ball in his hands. He can run the ball. He has not had to run the ball in the past because we have had a lot of guys who could run the ball. He will help us by running the ball and obviously by catching the ball."
The top guys at tight end are Travis Hill, Evan Roche and Nathan Haines.
The top guys at split end are Sninchak, Stackhouse and Brendan Matyas. Also competing for time at the position are Nathan Keenan, Jesse Fulton, Devin Corrao, Brant Reeves and Bryson Anderson.
Avery Watkins will start at center, and Jayden Oleksy and Isaac Miller are also competing for time.
"Avery lettered on the line for us," Meek said. "He is a two-year lettermen on the line. He did not start a lot of games on the line because we had a lot of good linemen, but he played enough to earn a letter."
Fogle and Wright will start at guard with Joe Shook, Seth Watkins, Travis Stoica, Shane Van Steenberg, Cameron Garcia, Ryan Matyas and Dylan Scalise all competing for time.
"Luke is a four-year starter for us," Coach Meek said. "He is strong. He is physical. He can bench almost 400 pounds. He is a tough player."
The tackles will be D'Andre Thompson and Berger with Justin Haynes, Kanne Larkins, RJ Baston, Aaron Andress, Daniel Quaynar and Michael Tizzani all competing for time.
"Offensively, I think we will be more methodical," Coach Meek said. "Last year we had Max Tice and Danny Zdinak who did a lot of damage on the ground. Nate Karaffa also did a lot of damage on the ground. Then, we had Jake Keenan and Ty West out at wide receiver. They were two takk and athletic players. When we went to as one-back set, we put Danny Zdinak out there, and he could fly. We were blessed to have tremendous speed. I think we will be more methodical this year.
"We have some young kids up front. We have a lot of kids who have not played a lot of varsity football, but they are all going to give it their all and hopefully will get the job done."
Toronto has changed its defensive lineup. The Red Knights will be employing a three-man front this season.
Fogle, Berger and Thompson will start up front with Avery Watkins, Larkins, Shook, Garcia, Haynes, Seth Watkins, Van Steenberg, Miller, Haines, Quaynar, Tizzani, Andress and Scalise all vying for time.
The top guys at outside linebacker are Carson Meek, Sninchak and Hill. Also competing for time at the position are Rawson, Close, Ryan Matyas and Roche.
The top guys at inside linebacker are Wright, Thomas, Patterson and Bozica. Parker, Pearson, Oleksy and Stoica are all competing for time there.
Starting in the secondary will be Karaffa, Jake Keenan, Herrick and Stackhouse with Nathan Keenan, Fulton, Brendan Matyas, Smith, Corrao, Dozier, Anderson, Whitman, Savage, Leasure and Reeves all competing for time.
"We might switch guys around from cornerback and safety," Coach Meek said. "We want to utulize our personnel the best we can. Our defense is going to have more of a zone look. We want to keep everything in front of us. We are going to a 3-4."
Karaffa or Patterson will handle the kick off duties. Karaffa or Jake Keenan will kick the extra points.
Karaffa or Wright will handle the punting duties.
Jake Keenan, Patterson and Herrick will return kicks and punts.
This season, Meek will be assisted by Jason Fogle, Jerry Vinci, Al Johnson, Steven Rebich, Matt Karaffa, John Parker, AJ Hunt, Dave Dozier, Rick Hlivko, Bob Unger and Bill Meek.