By J. Patrick Eaken and Ben Shanahan
Perrysburg, the reigning NLL champions, and Bowling Green will have a little different path this upcoming football season, with the Northern Lake League expanding from eight to 11 teams as well as splitting into a bigger and smaller school division.
The Bobcats are now playing in the small school Cardinal Division, but third-year coach Joshua Wade doesn’t think that makes it any easier.
“At the end of the day, it is still the NLL,” Wade said. “It is still tough competition, but it’s a little easy on the eyes, but that doesn’t mean any of those other teams are any easier.
“It’s still going to be a weekly battle. I think the kids are looking forward to playing different opponents.”
The Bobcats will have just five league games in the six-team Cardinal Division against Clay, Fremont Ross, Napoleon, Springfield, and Sylvania Southview. Wade believes his team is up to the challenge.
Perrysburg will compete in the five-member big school Buckeye Division along with Findlay, Toledo Whitmer, Anthony Wayne, and Sylvania Northview, so there will be just four league games.
“We know that the level of competition on the basis of a 10-week schedule is higher than what we’ve had in the past,” Connor said.
“You know, most of the schools are ones that we already played with or did things with anyway, so they’re not necessarily unfamiliar opponents,” Connor continued.
“In our division, it’s teams that we think we belong with, and we really think that the league is well put together, and we’re excited about that. When you look at the big picture, week to week, we are going to be more competitive.”
BG opens the non-league portion of its schedule this Friday hosting Wood County rival Otsego at Bobcat Stadium while Perrysburg opens by hosting Toledo St. Francis, now a member of the Detroit Catholic League.
Of course, none of the Northern Buckeye Conference coaches can ignore the changes to their league, either, with Elmwood leaving for the Blanchard Valley Conference and Woodmore leaving for the Sandusky Bay Conference River Division.
Coming into the league to replace them is Maumee from the Northern Lakes League and Oak Harbor from the SBC Bay Division.
“It’s going to be tough as nails top to bottom,” Otsego coach Josh Lindke said. “The addition of Oak Harbor is huge. I would imagine they are going to be picked to win the league.
“Maumee is going to become the biggest school immediately when they come into the league and (coach) Evan (Karchner) is going to do a good job over there.
“There are five teams that could win the league, seriously. I think for Maumee, the first year will be an adjustment but once they start getting things rolling at the younger levels, they will be tough to deal with throughout the league.
“I think when you look at Oak Harbor, you look at Genoa, you look at us and Eastwood, and then you can throw Rossford into that mix and (first-year coach) Lane (Bishop) is going to do a good job over there at Lake. There is not going to be an off night.”
Eastwood opens its season this Friday at Jerry Rutherford Stadium with what has become the Eagles’ annual rivalry game hosting Ottawa-Glandorf out of the Western Buckeye League.
At Lake Community Stadium, Lake will host Leipsic, currently out of the Northwest Conference, and at Jackson Ferguson Stadium, Rossford hosts Northwood out of the Toledo Area Athletic League.
After a run of success in its final years competing in the NBC, Elmwood football feels poised to do well in its first year competing in the Blanchard Valley Conference.
“The BVC is always tough,” Elmwood coach Greg Bishop said. “Every team is well-coached and they all play hard-nosed football. It will be a lot of fun playing in the BVC.
“(We expect to be) at the top of the BVC. Where we finish all depends on doing the little things right. If you want to be a champion, you do not have options, you have a specific path that you need to take.”
Bishop’s team finished 12-2 overall, averaging 40.7 points per game, and 6-1 in the NBC in its final season with the only league loss coming to eventual champion Eastwood in the Battle of the Woods. However, the Royals defeated the Eagles in the playoffs.
Elmwood will open this Friday by traveling to Metamora to take on Evergreen out of the Northwest Ohio Athletic League.
However, the following week, on Aug. 25, the Royals will take on Eastwood in the Battle of the Woods as the two neighboring schools will continue their gridiron rivalry despite competing in separate leagues for the first time in over 60 years.
