BEREA, Ohio -- After a year of uncertainty and just two spring games, the Baldwin Wallace University football team under the direction of fifth-year Head Coach Jim Hilvert returns 15 starters and 62 returning letterwinners to continue its goal of an Ohio Athletic Conference title and NCAA Division III playoff appearance.
QUARTERBACKS
Junior Keagan Armitage (Ashland) returns as the incumbent starter after starting 10 and completing 137-of-226passes for 1,882 yards with 15 touchdowns in his two seasons. Seniors Jack Gibbons (Willoughby/Lake Catholic) and Andrew Zimmerman (Chesterton, Ind.) along with junior Reese Wamer (Oregon/Clay) will look to get reps this fall.
RUNNING BACKS
The rushing attack will serve as the foothold of the offense as it returns its workhorse in junior All-OAC running back Jon Murray, Jr. (Cincinnati/Withrow). In 22 career games, Murray, Jr. has carried the ball 339 times for 1,604 yards with 18 touchdowns. Juniors Noah Costantino (Akron/Springfield) and Gino Fornaro (Chesterland/West Geauga) and sophomores Rocco DelVerme (Uniontown, Pa./Central Catholic), who did not play in the spring, along with a host of newcomers will look to spell Murray, Jr. in the backfield.
TIGHT ENDS
The tight end position returns key veterans in senior Andrew Cregan (Navarre/Strasburg-Franklin), junior Max Lambert (Chesterfield, Mich./Anchor Bay) and sophomore Jason Bartosik (Brooklyn Heights/Cuyahoga Heights). Sophomore Nik Logel (Ellicottville, N.Y./Central) and freshman Austin Lodor (Cincinnati/Loveland) will provide added depth.
WIDE RECEIVERS
The receiving corps brings back the biggest group of players that have contributed over the past two seasons. Senior Darius Stokes (Canton/GlenOak) returns as the leader of the group with 36 catches for 480 yards and four touchdowns. Senior Jake Hyduke (Painesville/Lake Catholic), juniors Elijah Arnett (Akron/Woodridge) and Andrew Bortz (Madison/Lake Catholic) and sophomore Greg Parries (Solon) played a part in the aerial attack a season ago.
OFFENSIVE LINE
The offensive line is the focal point of the offensive squad with three starters returning. Senior All-OAC and Academic All-OAC guard Patrick Simon (Olmsted Falls), senior Academic All-OAC center Jivian Meguerditchian (Avon Lake/St. Ignatius) and senior All-Academic All-OAC tackle Austin Stafford (Riverview, Fla./Newsome) anchored an offensive line that helped the Yellow Jackets total 370.6 yards and 30.0 points per game of the last two seasons. Seniors Luke Bruedigam (Strongsville/Padua Franciscan), Dom Clary (Hermitage, Pa./Hickory) and Liam Leveto (Conneaut/Edgewood), juniors George Newcomb (West Seneca, N.Y.) and Jimmy Vargas (Palmetto Bay, Fla./Immaculata La Salle), sophomores Dante Castagna (Beaver, Pa./Beaver Area) and Nate Samblanet (Columbus/Dublin Scioto) all have seen time while a host of underclassmen try to make a push for playing time on the line this fall.
DEFENSIVE LINE
The defensive line will anchor the defensive unit as all four starters return. Senior Academic All-OAC player Cole Lavorini (Poland/Seminary) and junior Frank Soukup (Painesville/Riverside) return at the ends while seniors Taino Arocho (Holiday, Fla./Anclote) and Devon Slocum (Cincinnati/Elder) come back to clog up the middle. Arocho and Lavorini were tied for sixth on the team in tackles during the spring. Senior All-OAC player Sekou Imani (Dover), senior Tim Monroe (Littleton, Colo/Chatfield) and senior Matty Reid (Mount Gilead/Highland) and sophomore Jordan Smith (Painesville/Riverside) all saw action upfront a season ago and will provide depth.
LINEBACKERS
The linebacking unit returns two starters and one the teams top tacklers from the past two seasons in senior All-OAC and Academic All-OAC performer Nick Pankow (Medina) and sophomore Dillon O'Donoghue (Canonsburg, Pa./Cannon-McMillian). In the past two seasons, Pankow has recorded 103 tackles, including 7.5 for a loss, with three pass breakups, two sacks and one fumble recovery. O'Donoghue started the spring finale and made an immediate impact with five tackles and a pass breakup in his first collegiate game. Seniors Zachary Perry (Perrysburg/Rossford) and Clay Wimmer (Sandusky/St. Mary's Central Catholic), junior transfer Mason Levasseur (Panama City, Fla./South Walton) and sophomores Vontae Jackson (Cleveland/John Hay) and Connor Miller (Boardman) will look to fill the other starting spot.
DEFENSIVE BACKS
The secondary will once again be an exciting group to watch with a lot of speed and experience returning. Headlining the returners are the senior laden group of Anthony Kendall (Port Richey, Fla./River Ridge), Iyan Mitchell (Tampa, Fla./Robinson), who was an All-OAC wide receiver and made the switch in the spring, Sam Severino (Highland Heights/Mayfield) and Robbie Williamson (Columbus/Beechcroft), who was an All-OAC selection in the spring. Sophomores Corey Dick (West Chester/Lakota East), Dane McNulty (Hinckley/Medina Highland), Brandon Searight (Cleveland Heights) and Mason Jenkins (Akron/Archbishop Hoban) and a host of newcomers will seek time in the defensive backfield.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Junior All-OAC placekicker Dean Sarris (Canton/GlenOak) will handle the kicking duties for the third straight season. Sarris has converted 41-of-43 extra points and 8-of-13 field goals in his career. Sophomore Dylan Kooyman (Painesville/Chardon) and freshmen Caden Bomback (Vermilion/Firelands) and Wes Seaman (Kutztown, Pa./Fleetwood) will provide added depth. Kooyman, Bomback and Seaman also will compete for the punting duties.
RETURN GAME
The return game will feature a lot of speed and threat to change the game in the blink of an eye. Mitchell brings back the more experience as he has returned 27 kickoffs for 529 yards and one punt for 51 yards. Stokes and Parries will each be making their debuts in the return game this fall.
THE SCHEDULE
For the fourth straight season, BW will not have their bye week in the first two weeks of the season but instead will take a Saturday off during week six.
The 2020 fall season also features the Yellow Jackets playing on the road for the first three weeks. BW opens the campaign with its lone non-conference game on Saturday, September 4 against Hampden-Sydney (Va.) College). What would have been the normal bye week, the Yellow Jackets will remain on the road when it plays Otterbein University in the OAC opener on September 11. BW ends its season opening road trip on September 18 when it takes on defending OAC Champion the University of Mount Union.
The Yellow Jackets close out September action and return to the friendly confines of The George Finnie Stadium with its home opener on September 25 against Heidelberg University in the 43rd Lee Tressel Shrine Classic.
As the season rolls into October, BW will host Capital University in a Community and Family Day and Homecoming game on October 2. After a week off, the Yellow Jackets return to the road with an OAC game against Muskingum on October 16. BW closes out the month with two home OAC contests against Wilmington College of October 30 and Marietta College on October 30 for the annual Hall of Fame Day game.
As the calendar flips into November, the Yellow Jackets host hits the road for the final time on November 6 for an OAC game against Ohio Northern University. The regular season comes to an end on November 13 when BW hosts an OAC game against crosstown rival John Carroll University in the 33rd Battle for the Cuyahoga County Gold Bowl Trophy.
