Bellaire High School
Big Reds Think Future Looks Bright With New-Look Roster
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BELLAIRE - Third-year Bellaire head coach Mark Bonar summed up the outlook for his team in one word, "optimistic."
The Big Reds saw nearly a dozen seniors pick up their diplomas in May. Lost to graduation was a talented and deep senior class that included Drew White, Chickie LaMotte, Khalil Kimbrough, Logan Edgar, Dalton Smelko, Joey Nixon, Jason Lemley, Luca D'Aquila, Mac Mac Pettigrew, Austin Wiggins and Lane Clark.
"I'm very, very optimistic coming into the season," Bonar admitted. "The kids have worked very hard over the off season."
Bellaire has 45 kids out this season.
"That is the smallest since I've been here," he said. "Our freshman class has low numbers, but our junior high has 23 seventh-graders and 20 eighth-graders … good numbers there. We've built that (numbers) back up. The future is bright."
The Big Reds have 11 seniors for the second consecutive season, while there are 16 juniors, 10 sophomores and eight freshmen.
"We're going to do a lot of things that we've done in the past, both offensively and defensively," Bonar said. "With this being the third year we've been able to expand a little bit because some of the kids have been in the system for two and three years.
"We are not real deep. We have to be careful we don't get players beat up in practice," Bonar acknowledged. "We need to stay healthy in order to compete, which we did in every game last year."
Coach Mark Bonar discusses the upcoming season
Senior Luke Heatherington (6-1, 160) and sophomore Michael Dipple (5-11, 155) will both take snaps at quarterback, according to Bonar. Heatherington started last season. Freshmen Avery Lednik (5-6, 165) and Levi Bell (5-10, 160) are waiting in the wings.
"Both Luke and Michael have looked good in practice in the things that they do," Bonar explained.
Sophomore Raekwon Pettigrew (6-0, 165) could also see some action under center, but will also carry the ball and catch it.
"He was hurt during camp last year and didn't really figure in the offense," Bonar recalled.
Senior Bradyn Beckett (5-10, 150) is the most experienced running back for the Big Reds. He has seen quality playing time the past two campaigns.
"Bradyn will spend a lot of time in the backfield," Bonar noted. "He's not very big but he runs hard and has good speed."
Another senior, Maurice Webb (6-0, 165) drew high praise from his head coach.
"Maurice is a physical beast," Bonar said. "We plan to use him in a variety of ways."
Junior Joe Turner (5-10, 170), a transfer from Martins Ferry, will add to the Big Reds depth. However, it will only be for the first five games due to OHSAA transfer rules.
"We're high on him," Bonar said. "We think we have some weapons at running back and wideout. We're trying to figure ways to get them all on the field at times"
Sophomore Trevor Dowery (5-8, 175) is also in the mix, as is junior Alex Ney (5-8, 160).
The wideouts include seniors Landon Preston (5-8, 165), Riley Robbins (5-8, 130), Hunter Watson (5-10, 135) and Kole Swierkos (5-11, 150).
Junior Quentin Scott (5-10, 155) who was the center last year has been moved to inside receiver.
"Kole has been battling an ankle injury all summer but he seems to be near full strength."
Also listed at wide receiver are juniors Gavin Alloway (5-6, 120), Kain Shepherd (5-6, 110), Collin Snider (5-10, 155), Quentin Scott (5-10, 155), Scott Balsei (5-8, 145), Gregory Wigginton (5-10, 130) and Jayden Martin (5-7, 140); sophomores Kole Gonglik (5-8, 135), Alex Padgett (6-0, 160), Nathan Wigginton (5-8, 130) and James Porco (5-7, 130); and freshmen Owen Hall (5-8, 140), Aiden Warner (5-8, 140) and Ethan LaRoche (5-10, 135).
Gonglik and Padgett have also drawn the eye of Bonar and his staff.
"Both should get a lot of playing time."
Senior Keegan Davis (6-0, 190) has switched from offensive line to tight end. Others are juniors Kory Davis (5-11, 170) and Graham Campbell (5-9, 165).
There has also been some shuffling along the offensive front as junior Noah Pramik (6-1, 190) has been moved to center.
"He is a big, strong kid," Bonar said of the anchor in the middle of the line.
The guards are senior Jacob Craig (5-9, 215) and junior Kayse Rejonis (5-10, 230).
"Both of those guys are always in the weight room," Bonar continued.
The tackles will be seniors Jaden Powell (6-4, 265) and Brody Holt (6-1, 215).
"All of those guys all have experience from last year. Some of them even started at times," Bonar added. "We had some guys get some valuable playing time last year when guys didn't play because of injuries or other reasons. That should help this year with our depth.
"JP went from 325 pounds last year to 265 this year and looks great," the head coach praised. "He's gotten a lot stronger and we think he will be pretty good."
Also listed as offensive linemen are juniors Stephen Bell (6-0, 225), Mason Palenciek (6-2, 205) and Brett Pfalzgraf (5-8, 320); sophomores Dalton Baker (5-8, 260) and Ethan Dodd (5-9, 270); along with freshmen Laken Scott (5-9, 185), Henry Griesbaum (6-1, 250), and Bryce Metcalf (5-9, 190).
Defensively, Powell and Holt will be two of the down four linemen.
"Brody is another guy that has played all three years that I've been here," Bonar noted.
Also along the front will be Keegan Davis and Kory Davis at ends, with Craig, Rejonis, Baker, Laken Scott, Stephen Bell, Griesbaum, Metcalf, Palenciek, Dodd and Pfalzgraf as down linemen.
Campbell, Pramik, Beckett, Ney, Turner, Dowry and Dipple man the linebacker positions.
"Campbell has started at linebacker since he was a freshman," Bonar pointed out. "He's a hard-nosed kid."
Pettigrew and Webb are two stalwarts in the secondary, which also includes Padgett, Perdue, N. Wigginton, Preston, Porco, Robbins, Hall, Levi Bell, Warner, Quentin Scott, Balsei, LaRoche G. Wigginton, Martin, Lednik, Watson, Gonglik, Alloway, Swierkos, Shepherd and Snider.
"Balsei, our holder last year, is the placekicker right now, but we are working with several others," Bonar said. Heathington returns as the punter.
One tradition that has been partially shelved is the 12:30 Saturday afternoon starts.
Lights have been installed at Nelson Field for the first time and the Big Reds will utilize them on three of their five home games with 7 p.m. kickoffs, including the season-opener on Friday, Aug. 23 when Buckeye Local ventures south on Ohio 7.
"It ought to be fun," Bonar said. "When opposing teams come here and play one game on a Saturday and then won't come back is a shame. Our kids have done it five times every year for a long time.
"My first year in my first go-round at Bellaire in 1976, our first game was Sept. 12," he said while pointing to a program from that game which is posted on the wall inside the fieldhouse. "Now we play a lot earlier in the calendar year and it's a lot hotter," he added. "I'm a traditionalist. I love the grass. I don't want turf, but it was becoming more and more physically dangerous for the kids to continue to play in the hot temperatures early in the season. Lights were a necessary evil, but we'll make the most of it."
There are two new teams on this year's schedule, Buckeye local and Brownsville, Pa.
"Buckeye Local used to be on our schedule. Now we have them back," Bonar said. "We couldn't work anything out with Fort Frye because we only had a one-week window to work with, and then in the fourth game, Shadyside dropped us unexpectedly. That's ridiculous. We'd tried twice to work something out."
Bellaire will once again host Bishop Tonnos of Canada.
"They are a big school with some good players," Bonar said. "We won't know what to expect because we have no tape of film on them. They are a very classy bunch."
The coaching staff remains the same with Ryan McMahon, Adam Quirk, Ben Doyle, Clint Lekanudos, Ty Masciarelli, Tom Tuttle, Clark Scott and Kevin Schmidli. The trainer is Rick Burke, with veteran equipment manager Bee Bee Marinacci.
After an 0-3 start to teams that combined for a 36-5 record, Bellaire finished 5-5 and qualified for the Division VI, Region 23 playoffs where it lost to Nelsonville-York in the first round. However, this season the Big Reds have bumped up to Division V, Region 17.