Truckers look to finish off games

Aug. 19—NORWALK — Tying up loose ends.

Coming off a season that saw it within a possession or two in six of 10 games, the Norwalk football team stumbled its way to a 1-9 finish in 2021.

That came on the heels of a three-year stretch that produced a 24-11 record with league and regional championships.

With an 80-man roster that includes 13 seniors in 2022, the Truckers are looking to close the gaps in other areas.

"We want to become more united and be a stronger group together," Norwalk coach Todd Fox said. "We've been very conscious from our freshman to our seniors that we are there for each other and know each other. We really think that translates onto the field.

"If you look at our season last year, we had a very difficult schedule," he added. "At the end, it was on me. We didn't have the prep to push to the next level when times got tough. And it had nothing to do with them not being able to do it. We have been training this whole offseason, focusing on pushing yourself to the next step and competing at that next level of difficulty."

There will again be plenty of difficulty navigating the 2022 schedule. Mansfield Senior, Huron and Olmsted Falls are expected to be bonafide playoff contenders this fall, and those are the first three opponents.

The Truckers are going to head to Mount Union Stadium to face Alliance High School in Week 4. The Aviators have a running back committed to Youngstown State and a quarterback with offers from Bowling Green, Miami and Toledo from the Mid-American Conference.

That all leads to a stretch against solid SBC Bay foe Edison, then the rugged SBC Lake Division where the likes of Bellevue, Columbian, Clyde and Perkins await.

"It is what it is, our schedule is relentless," Fox said. "But we do that for a reason. Even last year, our record didn't reflect how good of a team we were. If we can hang on and do things the right way, win the games we should win, it will make us battle-tested for the SBC Lake and the playoffs.

"You have to be battle-tested to compete in our league and the state playoffs."

Offense

The Truckers must replace four starters along the offensive line this fall.

However, returning senior captain Jack Wasniak is back to anchor the center position. Juniors Jacob Ziegler and Landon Ward are expected to get strong looks at the tackle positions, while juniors Brock Clark and Max Boose are the guards with junior Aiden Coder working his way in as the sixth lineman early in camp.

Fox noted Aidon and Dylon Gross are also forcing the issue to earn playing time.

"Jack at center is a huge focal point," Fox said. "Jacob is a phenomenal athlete who can move. And I think overall, we're going to move a lot faster. We have a lot of kids who are fighting to see the field.

"Our competition this year is a little different. Everyone knows it's a fight every day to see who is going to get that position. I feel we're very talented up front."

Senior Payne Flores is back at quarterback, at least initially. Flores threw for 1,031 yards and three touchdowns in 2021 and ran for another 589 yards and 6 TDs.

When junior Ryan Fox returns from a summer ankle surgery, Todd Fox noted Flores could be playing different skilled positions — something the Truckers did sporadically to end last season.

Sophomore Ben Rothhaar shifts to receiver after catching 13 passes for 127 yards and a TD as a freshman.

"He is a special athlete and will be a focal point with our receivers," Fox said of Rothhaar.

Senior Cohen Klausing and junior Nate Kessler will be other receivers. At tight end, senior Parker Evans is back along with senior Connor Livingston and junior Grant Maloney.

"Nate Kessler has had an outstanding offseason, and our overall speed at those positions will kind of compensate for the amount of experience we lose," Fox said. "That may hurt when we get to game-time stuff at the outset, but I think those guys could be faster and stronger."

Juniors Jarren McClendon (407 yards, 3 TDs) and Mason Canalos will anchor the running back position.

"Jarron and Mason, those two are special," Fox said. "Jarron is one of the top athletes on the team along with Ben. Our running game this year with everything combined, when we start clicking we feel very confident on offense that we can do some special things."

Defense

For much of 2021, the defense kept Norwalk in most every game. Despite the one win, the Truckers held four teams below 18 points to give them a shot at winning before coming up short.

Evans returns at defensive end after making 40 tackles with five sacks last season. He's joined up front by Boose, senior Elijah Minson (two sacks), junior Avery Schick and Jacob Adelman.

At linebacker, Maloney (15 tackles), Canalos, and senior David Garcia will be the primary defenders.

The secondary is also mostly intact with Flores (33 tackles, 1 sack), Klausing (13 tackles), Rothhaar (31 tackles), Kessler and Livingston.

"We feel really good about our linebackers and secondary," Fox said. "We look at the holes we have to fill with a group of kids who have not spent a lot of time as starters — but we feel like they are ready and developed after putting the work in during the offseason.

"It's a day-by-day process, but we feel like we can do some special things."

Livingston will be the punter and probably handle some of the early kicking duties along with Kaiden Hughes. Ryan Fox will return to kick at some point.

"Defense wins games, we know that and we've seen that," Fox said. "On offense it's about focusing on not making those small errors and turnovers where we did last year.

"Defensively, I think our team speed is just so much faster overall. That's exciting to see what we can do."

2022 schedule

Aug. 19: Mansfield Senior

Aug. 26: at Huron

Sept. 2: at Olmsted Falls

Sept. 9: at Alliance

Sept. 16: Edison

Sept. 23: Bellevue

Sept. 30: at Sandusky

Oct. 7: Perkins

Oct. 14: Clyde

Oct. 21: at Tiffin Columbian

2021 results (1-9)

Mansfield Sr. 18, Norwalk 12

Huron 17, Norwalk 0

Olmsted Falls 35, Norwalk 25

Norwalk 20, Edison 13

Columbus Hartley 34, Norwalk 21

Bellevue 14, Norwalk 0

Sandusky 26, Norwalk 13

Perkins 35, Norwalk 7

Clyde 41, Norwalk 14

Columbian 44, Norwalk 7

2022 roster

No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Yr.

1 Jarren McLendon RB/DB 6-2 195 11

2 Parker Evans TE/DL 6-4 218 12

3 Sam Konik QB/DB 5-11 155 10

4 Mark Marett WR/DB 5-10 145 10

5 Jaden Beatty WR/DB 5-9 160 12

6 Carter Harp QB/DB 5-7 145 9

7 Antwaine Porter WR/DB 5-7 141 10

8 Ryan Fox QB/DB/K 5-10 183 11

9 Ashton Lewis WR/DB 5-11 145 12

10 Payne Flores QB/DB 6-1 170 12

11 Austin Ware WB/DB 5-9 145 11

12 Tyler Norwood WR/DB/QB 5-11 150 10

13 Nate Kessler WR/DB 6-1 160 11

14 Ariel Mendez WR/DB 5-11 175 12

15 Elliot Gahring WR/DB 6-1 161 9

16 Brady Case RB/LB 5-7 160 9

18 Aidon Reeder WR/DB 5-11 149 10

19 Cohen Klausing WR/DB 5-8 160 12

20 Sean Bogner TE/LB 5-10 157 10

21 Kaedyn Warner WR/DB 5-7 121 9

22 Nico Helton WR/LB 5-8 165 9

23 Connor Livingston TE/DB 6-0 175 12

24 Kaden Woodside WR/DB 5-9 160 10

25 Gavin Lepley WR/DB 5-6 120 9

26 Tyler Ruhl WR/DB 5-6 120 9

27 Grant Maloney TE/LB 6-1 200 11

28 Mason Canalos RB/LB 5-11 175 11

30 Kevin Howard RB/LB 5-8 165 10

31 Dion Marshall WR/DB/K 5-7 150 10

32 Nathan King RB/DL 5-8 190 9

33 Aidon Gross RB/LB 5-10 161 10

34 Blake Emerine OL/DL 6-2 205 10

35 David Garcia TE/LB 5-10 165 12

36 Eian Reineck WR/DB 5-11 166 11

37 Jesse Dube WR/DB 5-8 140 9

38 Nathan Petersen RB/LB 5-8 146 10

40 AJ Weilnau RB/LB 5-8 158 9

44 Jakob Adelman OL/DL 5-11 254 12

45 Colby Ferguson WR/DB 5-9 143 9

47 Jayson Petersen RB/DB 5-7 150 11

48 Austin Miller OL/DL 6-1 200 12

49 Andrew Willer OL/DL 6-1 190 11

50 Westin Sage OL/LB 5-10 160 9

51 Brock Clark OL/DL 5-11 235 11

52 Brendon Gross OL/DL 5-10 220 12

53 Preston Bartow OL/DL 5-8 170 9

54 Avery Schick OL/DL 5-9 175 11

55 Brody Camp OL/DL 5-8 185 9

56 Dylon Gross OL/DL 5-10 220 12

57 Max Boose OL/DL 6-2 215 11

58 Abrahm Buie OL/DL 5-10 190 9

59 Gabe Hildebrandt OL/LB 5-9 165 10

61 Aiden Coder OL/LB 6-2 215 11

62 Jacob Ziegler OL/DL 6-3 254 11

63 Elijah Minson OL/DL 5-11 345 12

64 Victor Negrete OL/LB 5-9 150 9

65 Joe Ziegler OL/DL 6-1 244 9

66 Vicente Alvarez OL/DL 5-10 175 9

67 Jacob Collins OL/DL 6-0 219 11

68 Jose Velasco OL/DL 6-0 253 9

69 Jeven Moore OL/DL 6-1 245 9

70 Matt Dotson OL/DL 5-9 200 9

71 Landon Ward OL/DL 6-0 200 11

73 Colton Huff OL/DL 5-8 180 9

74 Jack Wasiniak OL/DL 5-11 250 12

75 Brock Kuhl OL/DL 5-10 195 10

76 Colin Horton OL/DL 6-0 171 10

77 Caleb Brady OL/DL 6-5 295 12

78 Antonio Carbajal OL/DL 5-11 215 10

79 Cooper Gee OL/DL 5-7 231 9

80 Tommy Vanderpool K 5-11 125 9

81 Harley Johnson WR/DB 5-7 145 9

82 Ben Rothhaar WR/DB 6-3 200 10

86 Jacob Burger WR/DB 5-10 140 9

87 Tyler Crawford WR/DB 5-11 135 10

88 Kaiden Hughes TE/LB/K 5-11 200 11

89 Andrew Durah TE/DL 6-1 170 10