Rossford wide receiver Kaden Kirkman looks for the end zone against Eastwood last year.
J.D. Pooley | Sentinel-Tribune file
ROSSFORD — Rossford football returns 15 lettermen from a team that finished 4-6 overall and 3-4 in the Northern Buckeye Conference last year.
Key returnees are senior wide receiver and defensive back Kaden Kirkman, senior quarterback Jackson Schultz, senior wide receiver and DB Xavier Kellermeier, junior running back and defensive end Grant Eckel, senior offensive and defensive tackle Owen Taylor, senior offensive guard and DE Nicholas Taddonio, and junior center and DT Sam Wilburn.
Kirkman, after catching 61 passes for 765 yards and eight touchdowns, earned first team All-NBC honors at wide receiver. Also earning All-NBC honors were Taylor at offensive tackle, Wilburn at center and Eckel (five sacks, 13 tackles for loss) at defensive end last year.
Schultz will take over the quarterback position having to fill the big shoes left by Alex Williams, but 14th-year coach Todd Drusback said Schultz has a “strong arm” and is “accurate.”
Williams ran for 759 yards and 12 touchdowns last year and completed 215 of 339 passes (63%) for 2.929 yards and 37 TDs last year.
As a result of Williams’ passing game, Rossford put up 3,902 total yards in 10 games last year, but the defense allowed 3,270.
Eckel will be joined in the running back position by Ronnie Hawkins and Kellermeier brings his ability to be “long and athletic,” says Drusback, to the receiver position.
Eckel ran 29 times for 150 yards and one TD and he caught two passes for 18 yards, Hawkins had two carries and Kellermeier had three carries plus caught two passes for nine yards last year.
Also in the backfield is H-back Blake Dewey, who Drusback says is a “good blocker and has hands” for carrying the ball and catching passes. Drusback says Dewey has “improved an awful lot” from last year.
Receiver Ethan Lashuay is a “good route runner and has hands” and Andrew Raider is “long and athletic and will be a rotator.”
At the line Wilburn and Taylor will be joined by another returning starter in Taddonio.
“Sam and Owen are big and physical,” Drusback said. “Nick is fast and athletic.”
Leading the defense will be Eckel, who was the team’s top returning tackler last year and second team all-league. Drusback says he has a “high motor and athleticism.” Eckel had 49 tackles, including 41 solo, plus three sacks, 10 tackles for a loss, and a forced fumble.
Kellermeier had 44 tackles last year, including 31 solo, three TFLs, an interception, a forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries. Taddanio had 25 tackles, including three TFLs and an interception.
Taylor and Wilburn will play defensive tackle, Kirkman will be at cornerback, and Brian Robinson at strong safety. Kirkman had 16 tackles, two sacks for eight yards, one TFL and a fumble recovery and return for a 60-yard TD.
“We’ve had a lot of guys work hard and improve in the off-season,” Drusback said. “We always want to compete for a league championship,” adding that his team has a “strong work ethic and coachability” but “lacks experience at key spots.”
Drusback’s last league championship as a coach was in 2002. He coached at Genoa two years, Edgerton four years, and Fremont St. Joseph four years before arriving in Rossford.
He was Northwest Ohio Coach of the Year in 2003, 2009, 2015 and 2019, and head coach of the North team in the Ohio North-South All-Star game in 2016.
ROSSFORD SCHEDULE
Aug. 18 NORTHWOOD
Aug. 25 @ Port Clinton
Sept. 1 EVERGREEN
Sept. 8 @ Otsego
Sept. 15 OAK HARBOR
Sept. 22 @ Eastwood
Sept. 29 @ Lake
Oct. 6 MAUMEE
Oct. 13 GENOA
Oct. 20 @ Fostoria
