MANSFIELD — They couldn’t have realized it at the time, but Mansfield Senior coach Chioke Bradley and Lucas’ Scott Spitler got a five-week head start on the competition.
Bradley and Spitler led their teams to the state finals last fall. The Tygers fell to Trotwood-Madison 14-7 in overtime of the Division III title game while the Cubs lost 28-6 to Marion Local in the Division VII championship.
With the coronavirus pandemic shutting down high school sports until the final week of May, the extra month of practice last year looms even larger now.
“In hindsight, those five extra weeks of practice were huge,” Bradley said Monday as the Tygers gathered for their first summer workout. “You can’t put a price tag on extra weeks of time with the kids, especially the young guys. They got a lot out of it.
“It’s a beautiful thing when you can create extra film study and practice sessions, things young guys need in terms of their growth and development.”
Not surprisingly, both Senior High and Lucas boasted senior-laden rosters last fall. Most of the guys who starred for the Tygers and Cubs in Canton during championship weekend have since graduated, but a handful of underclassmen for both teams saw significant playing time.
“For our kids who graduated this spring, they played 50 games in four years. That’s an entire extra season,” Spitler said. “That means every class under those guys was getting those extra weeks of work, too.
“It’s kind of like what college coaches talk about if they get invited to a bowl game. That time you get to do bowl practice, the second- and third-string guys get more reps and you’re developing depth. In retrospect, those extra five weeks were almost like spring practice but in November and early-December.”
Aveon Grose, a rising junior and one of the top football recruits in the state, was a starting safety for the Tygers last season. The extra field time Grose and the other underclassmen took advantage of last fall has helped lessen the impact of the slide brought about by the inactivity of the past two months.
“Those five extra weeks were a big deal, especially after everything that has happened since then,” Grose said. “For the guys who were a part of it, we understand what it takes to reach that level. For the guys who dressed but didn’t play, they got to keep practicing during those extra weeks and experience what it was like.”
Senior High offensive coordinator Logan Slavinski agreed.
“To be able to practice for five extra weeks, whether they were on scout team or not, they were around the game of football,” Slavinski said. “We were able to have some different discussions that you don’t get to have in the regular season.
“To be able have that extra five weeks, I hope it pays dividends in the end.”
