By Brad Morris
SportingPumpkin.com
A lot of intangibles went into the Logan Elm Braves having their best season in a decade last fall on the gridiron.
And while every team has a different identity, coach Terry Holbert sees some of those same intangibles in the locker room again leading into this season.
“We had a special season last year, winning the county and earning the opportunity to host a playoff game, and that was made possible by tremendous leadership by last year’s senior class in the locker room and some incredible play by incredible players on the field,” he said. “We have to replace some big losses from last season, incredible players like Blayton Reid, Braylen Baker, RJ Weber and others, but one thing I like that I see so far is the leadership from our senior and junior classes and how hard those guys are working.
“They had a taste of success last season and they liked it. Now, they want to have another successful season and build some more momentum.”
The Braves (8-3, 6-1 second in Mid-State League Buckeye Division) featured a balanced offense a season ago, rushing for 1,789 yards and throwing for an additional 1,672 yards while averaging 30.9 points per game.
Junior quarterback Aaron Walters (6-0 feet, 185 pounds) returns for a second season as the full-time starter after competing 115 of 187 passes for 1,672 yards and 17 touchdowns.
“Aaron had an excellent season as a sophomore and the next step for him this season is putting more on his plate and giving him more freedom on making changes,” Holbert said. “We depend on Aaron to set a lot of our protections and make adjustments.
“Aaron has a great understanding of the game, our offense and I think you will see him become more of a running factor this fall. We’re excited to see him continue to grow as a person, a player and a leader on our team.”
The Braves lose the production of Reid, a first-team All-Ohioan, in the backfield after he rushed for 1,326 yards and 15 touchdowns during his senior season.
Holbert expects to utilize senior Landon Thompson (5-10, 180) and junior Michael Bock (5-9, 170) in the backfield. Thompson is a dual threat in the backfield and lined up as a receiver, combining for 603 total yards and Bock gained 151 yards on just 23 totes in mop-up duty last season.
“Obviously, Blayton being lost to graduation leaves a big void in the backfield and we don’t expect one player to replace what Blayton did for us last season,” Holbert said. ‘We like the combination that we have in the backfield this season with Landon, who we are going to move around and get a lot of touches to utilize his downhill running ability, and Michael, who is a shifty running back and an incredible athlete.
“We think that tandem is going to give us big balance and, again, adding Aaron into the running game a little more will make teams have to defend all three of them.”
Logan Elm also faces the task of replacing Baker, who was a deep ball threat last season with 653 yards receiving and 10 touchdowns.
Senior Camden Redd (6-5, 230), senior Carson Summers (6-1, 185) and junior Keegan Diehl (6-2, 225) lead a deep pool of receivers after combining for 391 yards receiving a year ago.
“Camden can line up at tight end or receiver and he creates some matchup problems and then Keegan is another good athlete. Carson is one of our leaders and he is a good athlete who knows how to catch the football,” Holbert said. “We have six or seven additional young men behind those three who are all competing for time.
“They are pretty interchangeable and give us the opportunity to build depth in the skill positions on both sides of the football to where we can give some breaks and keep our guys fresher, which is a luxury we haven’t had in a lot of years I’ve been here at Logan Elm.”
Whether the Braves move the football on the ground or in the air, they will depend on their offensive line play to make it happen.
Senior Isaac Walters (6-0, 250) and junior Abram Montgomery (6-0, 260) are slated to play tackle, senior Ian Roese (5-11, 190) is penciled in at one of the tackles and senior Colton Eplin (6-1, 210) makes the transition to center. Junior Bryce Perkins (5-10, 200) is also working at guard.
“This is a blue-collar group of young men that work hard every single day with tremendous intensity and energy,” Holbrook praised. “These guys have a lot of juice and its contagious to the rest of our football team.
“We obviously will be at a disadvantage in terms of size against several of the teams we’ll be playing this season, but these guys work hard to overcome that with their unbelievable commitment in the weight room, in our offseason and summer conditioning and with a little bit of quickness.”
Sophomore Conner Green (6-0, 280) will team with Walters, Montgomery and Roese to play on the defensive line.
“Ian can play everywhere along the defensive line and is our leader there and gets those guys going,” Holbert said.
Diehl and Thompsom return to give the Braves a veteran presence at linebacker, and they’ll be joined by Perkins, Eplin and senior Hunter Kersey (6-2, 185).
“The nice thing about this defense is every group has strong leaders on the field who are like coaches and do a great job of communicating,” Holbert said. “At linebacker, we look to Landon and Keegan to lead the way in the middle of our defense, and we expect big things from them this fall.”
Junior Gavin Hoover (5-10, 145) is slotted in at strong safety and Summers will hold down one of the corners. The Braves are working between six-to-seven players for the other two starting spots or for rotating in for some snaps.
“It was tough on Carson when we switched him to corner and put him on an island early in his high school career, but he has grown into the position and became a great corner and a great leader in our secondary,” Holbert praised. “He is an incredible young man with a fantastic work ethic.
“Gavin doesn’t have a lot of size, but he qualified for the state wrestling tournament as a sophomore and he packs quite a punch. He plays the position with zero fear and likes to hit.”
Logan Elm allowed 21 points a game last season on defense.
The Braves will have either juniors Hunter Schoenborn (6-0, 165) or Dawsen Hudson (5-6, 120) handle place-kicking duties and were still working on a punter.
With the opening of the district’s new PK-12 building this school year, there is much excitement on Tarlton Road. Holbert is hopeful the football team can add to the good vibes.
“We have pretty decent numbers with around 54 players, we have some key players back and we have the potential to build some depth,” he said. “It all comes down to staying healthy and controlling the box on both sides of the football. Those were the keys to success last season and they will be again this season.”
2023 Logan Elm Braves Schedule
Date Opponent 2022 Record
Aug. 18 Zane Trace 11-1
Aug. 25 at Westfall 2-8
Sept. 1 at Miami Trace 4-7
Sept. 8 Circleville 5-6
Sept. 15 at Fairfield Union 5-5
Sept. 22 at Liberty Union 2-8
Sept. 29 Bloom-Carroll 14-2
Oct. 6 Amanda-Clearcreek 0-10
Oct. 13 at Teays Valley 5-5
Oct. 20 Hamilton Twp. 6-4
