“Last year was a rebuilding year for the team. We were very young and did not have a lot of field experience. But this year we have 11 seniors with us. We are more experienced this year and we have grown both mentally and physically. I feel positive about the upcoming season,” said Crestview Head Coach Chad Coffman. Coffman is returning for his fourth season as the head coach.
“Quarterback Nick Wheeler has a year under his belt. He threw for over 1,000 yards last year. So we are looking forward to this season because he also has some great kids to throw the ball to,” said Coffman. “We have some key guys on the team that can really run the football,” said Coffman.
“Last year, running back Jay Hill ran for 14 touchdowns. Along with Jay, running back Aaron King has been doing nice work on offense,” said Coffman. Both players are returning to the team as seniors. “We are really focusing on running the football this year,” said Coffman.
“We want to display the great defense tradition that Crestview football is known for,” said Coffman. Senior Logan Campbell will be a part of carrying on that tradition. “Logan Campbell has been a leader with defense. He has played through injuries and can be depended on,” said Coffman. Along with Campbell, Gavin Montgomery and Brett Chance will be lending a hand to defense, too. Both Montgomery and Chance are seniors.
“Our players have improved tremendously. They are bigger, stronger, and faster. The 11 seniors we have returning have been great leaders. I always tell them to lead by example and they have been putting forth that effort every chance they get,” said Coffman. Along with progress, there are challenges that Crestview will face.
“We do not have a lot of depth; our numbers are not high this year. However, even without high numbers I keep telling the team we just need to get over that hump and do what it takes to win football games,” said Coffman.
“Our offense will primarily try to run the ball this year. That is what we have been practicing and it has gone well. One of our goals this season is to make our defense more aggressive. When the defense is aggressive, we win football games more and that is what we want,” said Coffman.
The coaching staff of Crestview football still has veteran guidance, but a couple new additions have been implemented. “We still have Don Keener and Tim Kuhn who are veterans of Crestview. Along with Kuhn and Keener, Luke Rogers and Joe Aichele have been added to the coaching staff and they also played football in college,” said Coffman “They are both nice additions to the staff and it’s great to get some new faces to work with the team,” said Coffman.
Northwestern roughed up Crestview in the season opener by a score of 50 – 21. Up next, the Cougars travel to Loudonville this Friday and host Wynford next week. “Those teams are going to be extremely challenging,” said Coffman.
