Football Preview 2017

Hundred Football Handling Adversity

By CODY TOMER HUNDRED—First-year head coach Shane Minor has already been dealt a heavy blow and the season hasn’t even started yet. Heavy rains and flood waters did severe damage to not only the football field, but to the community as well, making football a secondary concern. “These kids are handling everything very well,” Minor said. “It has been tough for them all here. They have a lot to deal with in their personal lives and some may have to move.” It can be hard enough for a coach to take over the reigns of a program, but Minor is doing all that he can for the ...

Ramsey Takes Helm As Wellsville Coach

By KYLE LUTZ WELLSVILLE — For the past two years, Wellsville has turned in a 5-5 season. This year, the Tigers look to get over the .500 mark and also bring in a new head coach in Rob Ramsey. “The kids are buying in to what the coaches are putting in,” Ramsey said about his first year. “We got a great staff that we have here and we have been accepted by the community pretty well and things are going pretty good.” The Tigers, playing their second year in the OVAC 1A division, have 28 players on the roster, including nine returning letterman. In 2016, Wellsville won ...

Buckeye Trail Set for First Season in IVC

By RICK THORP OLD WASHINGTON — When Donnie Kerns took the Buckeye Trail reins last year one of his first objectives was to change the culture. Following a 6-4 campaign, it appears he’s on his way toward doing that. While the Warriors didn’t qualify for the playoffs in their final season as a member of the Pioneer Valley Conference, they served noticed to area teams they won’t be looked upon as a doormat any longer. ‘‘Last year was a good year,’’ Kerns, a Trail graduate and former Warriors assistant said, ‘‘probably a better than expected year for ...

Red Knights Will Be Young

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 ...

SDSU, Boise State to Make Run in Mountain West

SAN DIEGO (AP) — One week after the NFL’s Chargers announced they were relocating to Los Angeles, San Diego State gave a five-year contract extension to coach Rocky Long, who said the Aztecs were more than up to the challenge of winning over the suddenly spurned fan base. The best way, naturally, is to continue on the course Long has put them on. The Aztecs are coming off consecutive 11-3 seasons that included Mountain West Conference championships and bowl victories. They were ranked in the final poll for the first time, finishing at No. 25 in The Associated Press Top ...

Door Could Be Open for FSU, Louisville in ACC

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Clemson coach Dabo Swinney understands why preseason questions about the Tigers focus more on who’s gone from last year’s team instead of who is filling those roles. The reigning national champions have big holes — the kind that could clear a path for Florida State or Louisville to climb atop the Atlantic Coast Conference’s heavyweight division and win the league title in 2017. “Guys, there’s change every year,” Swinney said during last month’s ACC media days. “It’s a new team.” The Tigers’ thrilling 35-31 comeback win against Alabama ...