There are almost 100 football players vying to replace a class of 22 seniors and 17 starters who helped the Lions have their best season in a decade.
“We had a big void to fill, but we challenged our kids in offseason meetings and we had the best offseason we’ve had since I’ve been head coach,” said Corey Toenjes, whose Lions got off to a 3-0 start before finishing 5-5 in 2018.
“The culture here is of hard work and having fun. We have good kids on the team who people want to follow. They’re leaders out here and leaders in the school. We’ve got a great community. We had some games last year with over 3,000 people.”
Seth Fortner, Tanner Campbell, Rylan Depew and Jacob Pirkle accounted for most of the offensive output. Fortner was a dual-threat quarterback who started the last two years. Campbell was the school’s all-state track star who led the offense with 1,130 yards rushing and receiving and 11 touchdowns. All that talent graduated this spring.
“Our senior class isn’t very large, but they’ve turned into leaders and are hungry for their time. The sophomore class is the hardest-working class in the weight room we’ve had,” Toenjes said. “Our junior class has a lot of talent. Combine those three things, we’re very excited where we’re at.”
Junior Trey Davis was Fortner’s understudy last season and now takes over under center.
“He’s like Seth in a lot of ways. They’re both three-sport athletes and Trey learned from Seth last year. (Davis) ran our scout team and ran the JV. He’s going to blossom into the role this year.”
Campbell’s 80-yard touchdown run against Parkway South last year provided the only TD in a 7-3 win by the Lions. Toenjes said the current crop of backs might not possess Campbell’s speed, but they have other qualities. Seniors Landon Kettler and Derrill Reed, junior Brady Cutter and freshman Chase Viehland are all jockeying for time at tailback. Toenjes said Viehland is one of the strongest players on the team. The fullback is junior Jeffery Hughes.
“We’re going to have five or six guys who will run the ball,” Toenjes said. “We’ll have four guys catch the ball and we’re eight or nine deep on the offensive line. We’ve got some guys who are hungry. Our backs might not have Tanner’s speed, but they run hard between the tackles and they block for each other.”
Senior Dalton Hografe is a jumper on the track and field team and Toenjes said he’s the best receiver he’s had. Senior Jack Watson played tight end last year and will line up wide this season. Watson had four interceptions playing defensive back in 2018. Junior Andrew Lenzen is a good route runner at receiver.
Three sophomores started on the offensive line for the Lions in Week 1 last year. This year, junior Adrian Cantu is locked in at left tackle, as is senior Robert Clark at guard. Junior Josh Kunderer is in line to start at center, with sophomores Ian McPherson and Luke Vandaveer at guard and tackle, respectively.
Mammoth nose tackle Kenny Angeles (6-7, 382 pounds) plugs up two gaps on the defensive front. Junior Johnny Daffron is a speed rusher and Toenjes said he’s tough as nails. Senior Ronnie Delashmet plays a strong end. Toenjes said he has 10 players he can rotate in and out on the D-line.
Seniors JoJo Camacho and Austin Moder return at outside linebacker. Camacho made 60 tackles and had a sack and fumble recovery last year. Kettler, Clark and Hughes play inside linebacker.
“They’ll hold the edge and do a lot of blitzes,” Toenjes said of the two outside backers.
Seniors Brennen Hobbs and Jack Watson start at safety and Hografe, junior Andrew Lenzen and Cutter will play cornerback.
“Hobbs is a missile in the run game. We see a lot of jet sweep teams, so he’s going to be a part of taking that away,” Toenjes said.
Lenzen and senior Troy Haynes are battling it out for the kicking and punting duties. Lenzen was the primary punter last year but averaged just 32 yards. Haynes’ only punt traveled 60 yards.
Greg Fortner has taken over the coaching duties on the offensive line and Toenjes is now calling the plays on offense.
For the fourth straight season, Northwest starts its schedule with a game against Francis Howell North. The Lions have won the last two games against the Knights and beat them 34-14 in 2018 on their way to a 3-0 start.
“You’ve had all offseason to think about that Week 1 opponent,” Toenjes said. “We’ve got a pretty good idea who their best players are going to be. They like to throw the ball 40 times a game and we like to run 40 times a game.
“With this much depth, our practices are more intense. We had our Blue and White scrimmage and it was the most intense, hard-hitting game. When we had our starting offense out there, we had eight or nine of our starters on defense out there too. We’re getting good looks in practice every day.”
That’s got our young guys prepared for Week 1.”