BEREA, OHIO -- The 2013 Baldwin Wallace University football team will battle for the top spot in the nation's most prestigious NCAA Division III conference, the Ohio Athletic.
12th-year Head Coach John Snell returns a number of key student-athletes from his last three teams that produced a 22-8 record, including a 7-3 slate a year ago and an 8-2 mark and a No.24 ranking in 2011. Snell returns 41 lettermen, including three All-OAC and five Academic All-OAC players.
The key on offense is the return of four starters plus a previous starter and a bevy of runners and receivers. On defense, BW returns at least 15 players who saw time as a starter at one time or another during the past two seasons.
The offense will be built around junior "wildcat" quarteback Michael Slack (Casselberry, Fla./Pine Castle Christian Academy), who gave Snell diversity from graduated All-OAC passing signal-caller Ryan O'Rourke. Slack completed just 3-of-6 passes for 32 yards but ran for 194 yards in 37 attempts with three touchdowns. He will have plenty of folks to both run the ball and to throw to.
Slack will receive strong protection from his offensive line as four starters return. They are senior second-team All-OAC guard Jason Cook (Streetsboro), senior guard Alex Lovasz (North Ridgeville), senior Academic All-OAC center Zac Wojciechowski (Cambridge) and junior tackle Sean Hemlick (Uniontown/Lake). In addition, senior tight end Bo Heinemann (Berea) is utilized a great deal in the running game.
On the ground, junior Academic All-OAC running back Nolan Sordyl (Gurnee, Ill./Warren Township) and sophomore Issac Reed III (Lehigh Acres, Fla.) are the most experienced returning ball carriers. Sordyl rushed for 266 yards with two touchdowns and Reed had 147 yards and four scores. Also look for senior track All-American and speedster Kevin Johnson (Maple Heights/St. Ignatius) to have a bigger role on offense this year. Johnson had six catches for 62 yards and one TD in 2012. Unfortunately junior Sebastian Zuluaga, who had a team-leading 435 yards and four TD's a year ago, was injured playing rugby during spring and is lost for the balance of his career.
At least four senior experienced receivers return in first-team All-OAC pick Josiah Holt (Elyria/Grafton Midview), Academic All-OAC Gabe Adams (Hudson), Mike McGervey (Canton/St. Thomas Aquinas) and Cory Lanterman (Streetsboro). Holt caught 41 passes for 642 yards with five TD's and had 255 yards on the ground with two scores. Adams caught 11 balls for 211 yards and McGervey had five catches for 66 yards and one score. Lanterman, who transferred from Division II Slippery Rock, broke his ankle in the second game last year after catching four passes for 119 yards and two TD's. His return gives BW minimally three big-time speedsters. In addition, sophomore tight end Darryl Jones (Cleveland/Villa Angela-Saint Joseph), who is is both a large target and big blocker caught four passes for 41 yards with one TD. Senior Clint Detmer (Napolean), who had two catches in 2102, and junior Kevin Krakora (Avon) are each looking for more playing time.
Senior second-team All-OAC kicker Chris Mohler (Kent/Roosevelt), who tallied 58 points as he connected on 37-of-40 extra points and 7-of-12 field goals, is back but will be challenged by a pair of talented newcomers.
On the defensive line, senior defensive end Sam Gordon (Broadview Heights/University School) senior defensive tackle Addison Carbone (Hudson), senior defensive tackle Jon Hofer (Akron/Springfield) and junior defensive ends Thomas Iverson (Wadsworth) and Luke Riemenschneider (Rocky River) all return and have experience. Gordon had 28 tackles and three sacks, Hofer had 21 tackles, Iverson tallied 12 and Riemenschneider added 25 tackles in 2012. Carbone, who missed all but one game in 2012 due to an injury, has 34 career tackles and 2.5 sacks.
Senior middle linebacker Michael Stacchiotti (Girard) was the top linebacker with 72 tackles last season and returns to anchor the corps. Look for seniors Dave Flegal (Akron/Richfield Revere) , Matt Torgler (Orrville/Dalton) and senior Lucas Roberts (Berea/St.Ignatius) to push for starting roles. Flegal had 22 tackles, Torgler added 20 and Roberts contributed 10 a season ago.
In the secondary, senior Academic All-OAC safety Zach Barley (Hudson) returns as the leader with 52 tackles and three interceptions. Both Johnson and senior Kory Gillissie (Parma/St. Ignatius) return back at cornerback. Johnson had 24 tackles and six pass breakups and Gillissie,who was injured most of last year and missed baseball this spring, had 10. Also look for junior free safety Austin Cordova (Perry), senior safety Jake Brandy (Hudson), junior free safety Dan O'Brien (Warren/Howland), senior safety Spryo Spondyl (Canton/GlenOak) and junior strong safety Joe Kasper (Mentor) all to contribute. Cordova had 19 tackles and one interception, Brandy had three tackles after returning from injury, O'Brien and Spondyl added 12 and Kasper contributed seven.
Senior Matt Harmon (Canfield) is back to punt for the second straight year. He averaged 36.9 yards per punt but landed 13 inside the opponent's 20-yard line and has great hang time.
In Holt, Johnson and Reed, BW has three guys who can take a kickoff the distance and add instant points to the scoreboard. Holt returned 13 kicks for an average of 25.8 yards per return, Johnson had 12 returns for 26.4 average and one score and Reed returned five kicks for a 20.6 average. Holt (3) and Johnson (2) have combined for five kick return TD's the last three years and both are members of BW's Division III All-American 4x100-meter relay team in track. Add Lanterman, who was second in the OAC in the 200 and 400 meters in 2012, and there is plenty of speed. Gillissie also averaged better than 10 yards per punt return and scored a TD as a sophomore. He is ready to play cornerback and return punts again this fall.
The Yellow Jackets open the season on Saturday, September 14 when they travel to Bluffton, Ohio to play a non-league game against the Bluffton University Beavers at 1:30 p.m. The home and Ohio Athletic Conference opener is on Saturday, Sept. 21 when BW hosts league and Cleveland cross-town rival John Carroll University in the 25th Annual Cuyahoga Gold Bowl Trophy Game on Shriners' Night in The George Finnie Stadium on Tressel Field at 6:00 p.m.
FOR MORE BW SPORTS INFORMATION, please contact SID Kevin Ruple by telephone at 440-826-2327 and e-mail at kruple@bw.edu and Assistant SID Jeff Miller by telephone at 440-826-2780 and e-mail at jefmille@bw.edu. Fans can access the latest BW athletics information at www.bwyellowjackets.com and we invite you to join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/bwyellowjackets and Twitter at http://twitter.com/bwathletics.
Yellow Jacket Chatter: Baldwin Wallace is seeking its 45th winning season in the last 48 years (plus one .500 season)… BW has a 9-2 record in home openers during John Snell's tenure… The University opened the new Bob Packard Athletic Center (formerly the headquarters of the Cleveland Browns in the 1970s and 80s) and will officially dedicate it at Homecoming on Oct. 12…. The Yellow Jackets lead the season series against 9-of-10 opponents, including a 13-11 advantage against OAC and Cleveland cross-town rival John Carroll University in Cuyahoga Gold Bowl games…BW will appear on Fox Sports Ohio (formerly SportsTime Ohio) against John Carroll on September 21 and versus Ohio Northern University on Oct. 12… BW has a 22-8 record (.733 winning percentage) during the past three seasons… Bob Packard (1981-2001/ 156 wins), Lee Tressel (1958-1980/ 155 wins) and Ray E. Watts (1928-48/ 104 wins) make BW the only school in small college football history to have three coaches with 100 or more victories.
