Panthers frustrated with narrow defeats
Matt Allen
By AARON BLANKENSHIP
ThisWeek Community NewsWednesday November 11, 2009 6:12 PM
The Hilliard Darby High School football team finished 3-6 overall and went 0-5 in the OCC-Central Division for its first losing season since 2006.
However, the Panthers lost three games by 14 points or less. Darby lost to Worthington Kilbourne 34-20 on Sept. 18, Upper Arlington 10-7 on Oct. 2 and Thomas Worthington 13-7 on Oct. 16.
The Panthers missed out on another chance for a potential victory when their home opener against Toledo Libbey on Aug. 28 was canceled because of bad weather. Libbey finished 1-8.
"It's frustrating, because we felt like Upper Arlington, Thomas Worthington and even Worthington Kilbourne were winnable games that we let get away from us," junior quarterback Matt Allen said. "We felt like we would have beaten Libbey, too, so we very easily could have gone 7-3 if we would have made a few more plays and a few more things went our way.
"When we look back at this season, it's as frustrating as it was disappointing."
Darby beat Dublin Jerome 28-25 on Sept. 4 for its lone victory over a team with a non-losing record. The Celtics finished 5-5.
The Panthers also defeated Newark 33-0 on Sept. 11 and Hilliard Bradley 49-7 on Sept. 25 for a 3-1 start, but those squads finished a combined 2-18.
"Our best game was beating Dublin Jerome, because they're a solid team," Allen said. "Beating Bradley was a big highlight, too, because all of their players are our old teammates."
Darby ended its season on a five-game skid, losing close games to UA and Thomas, and absorbing beatings at the hands of Dublin Coffman (30-7 on Oct. 9), Pickerington Central (48-0 on Oct. 23) and Hilliard Davidson (42-0 on Oct. 30).
The teams that beat the Panthers finished with a combined record of 42-16.
Darby finished last in the OCC-Central, behind Coffman (5-0), Davidson (4-1), Kilbourne (2-3), Thomas (2-3) and Upper Arlington (2-3).
After the South-Western City Schools levy passed on Nov. 3, Central Crossing and Westland are expected to field teams in the OCC-Central once again next year, replacing Bradley and Central on Darby's schedule.
"We lost to three exceptional football teams in Dublin Coffman, Davidson and Pickerington Central," coach John Santagata said. "We had some opportunities to beat two good teams in Upper Arlington and Thomas Worthington, and that would
have made a huge difference in our season, but we didn't get it done."
The Panthers will lose six seniors who started multiple games on offense in wing backs John Casey, Seth Fisher and Elijah Tavera, tight end Marcus Ewald, left tackle Tommy Smith and right tackle Evan Falardeau.
Ewald had 10 receptions for 155 yards and three touchdowns, Casey rushed for 265 yards and two touchdowns on 37 carries, Tavera rushed for 203 yards and two touchdowns on 46 carries and Fisher had 12 catches for 125 yards.
Falardeau was special mention all-league.
Offensive players who started multiple games and are expected to return are Allen, junior wide receiver Tyler Ison, junior fullback Matt Cyrus, junior center Sufyan El-Geroushi, junior right guard Chris Johnson, sophomore right tackle Tae Bradley, junior left guard Blake Clowes and sophomore left guard David Jordan.
Clowes was second-team all-league.
Allen went 52-for-109 passing for 624 yards, with five touchdowns and five interceptions. He also rushed for 208 yards and two touchdowns on 76 carries.
Cyrus rushed for 608 yards and 11 touchdowns on 132 carries. Ison had 12 catches for 138 yards.
Darby will lose eight seniors who started multiple games on defense in ends Nate Bucci and Haroon Quadri, tackles Falardeau and J.J. Koenig, linebackers Dennis Coyne, Eric Hajjar and Matt Keller, and cornerbacks Alex Day and
Tavera.
Bucci was first-team all-league and Hajjar was second-team all-league.
Defensive players who started multiple games and are expected back are tackles Clowes and El-Geroushi, junior free safety Zack Hoyt and Cyrus at strong safety.
Hoyt was honorable mention all-league.
The Panthers also will lose senior punter Brad Stimson and senior place kicker Adam Jenne.
With so many starters to replace, Allen said the Panthers will comb the hallways to recruit athletes who didn't come out for football this year.
As expected, the loss of close to 900 students to newly-opened Bradley took a toll on Darby's depth.
One year after the program had 178 athletes, including 100 varsity players, the Panthers dropped to 88 athletes and carried only 51 players on their varsity squad.
"Our numbers will continue to be an issue next year, because we won't have as big of a senior class as we had this year," Santagata said. "But we're doing some things to try to recruit more kids to play football, because we have kids in our school who have played at some level before who could help us."
At a glance
- Record: 3-6 overall, 0-5 (sixth) in OCC-Central
- Seniors lost: Nate Bucci, John Casey, Dennis Coyne, Alex Day, Marcus Ewald, Evan Falardeau, Seth Fisher, Will Goslin, Eric Hajjar, Adam Jenne, Matt Keller, J.J. Koenig, Alex Manifold, Trey Misolek, Khalin Moore, Haroon Quadri, Tommy Smith, Brad Stimson, Elijah Tavera and Zach Wilkinson
- Key Returnees: Matt Allen, Blake Clowes, Matt Cyrus, Sufyan El-Geroushi and Zack Hoyt
ThisWeek Community NewsWednesday November 11, 2009 6:12 PM
The Hilliard Darby High School football team finished 3-6 overall and went 0-5 in the OCC-Central Division for its first losing season since 2006.
However, the Panthers lost three games by 14 points or less. Darby lost to Worthington Kilbourne 34-20 on Sept. 18, Upper Arlington 10-7 on Oct. 2 and Thomas Worthington 13-7 on Oct. 16.
The Panthers missed out on another chance for a potential victory when their home opener against Toledo Libbey on Aug. 28 was canceled because of bad weather. Libbey finished 1-8.
"It's frustrating, because we felt like Upper Arlington, Thomas Worthington and even Worthington Kilbourne were winnable games that we let get away from us," junior quarterback Matt Allen said. "We felt like we would have beaten Libbey, too, so we very easily could have gone 7-3 if we would have made a few more plays and a few more things went our way.
"When we look back at this season, it's as frustrating as it was disappointing."
Darby beat Dublin Jerome 28-25 on Sept. 4 for its lone victory over a team with a non-losing record. The Celtics finished 5-5.
The Panthers also defeated Newark 33-0 on Sept. 11 and Hilliard Bradley 49-7 on Sept. 25 for a 3-1 start, but those squads finished a combined 2-18.
"Our best game was beating Dublin Jerome, because they're a solid team," Allen said. "Beating Bradley was a big highlight, too, because all of their players are our old teammates."
Darby ended its season on a five-game skid, losing close games to UA and Thomas, and absorbing beatings at the hands of Dublin Coffman (30-7 on Oct. 9), Pickerington Central (48-0 on Oct. 23) and Hilliard Davidson (42-0 on Oct. 30).
The teams that beat the Panthers finished with a combined record of 42-16.
Darby finished last in the OCC-Central, behind Coffman (5-0), Davidson (4-1), Kilbourne (2-3), Thomas (2-3) and Upper Arlington (2-3).
After the South-Western City Schools levy passed on Nov. 3, Central Crossing and Westland are expected to field teams in the OCC-Central once again next year, replacing Bradley and Central on Darby's schedule.
"We lost to three exceptional football teams in Dublin Coffman, Davidson and Pickerington Central," coach John Santagata said. "We had some opportunities to beat two good teams in Upper Arlington and Thomas Worthington, and that would
have made a huge difference in our season, but we didn't get it done."
The Panthers will lose six seniors who started multiple games on offense in wing backs John Casey, Seth Fisher and Elijah Tavera, tight end Marcus Ewald, left tackle Tommy Smith and right tackle Evan Falardeau.
Ewald had 10 receptions for 155 yards and three touchdowns, Casey rushed for 265 yards and two touchdowns on 37 carries, Tavera rushed for 203 yards and two touchdowns on 46 carries and Fisher had 12 catches for 125 yards.
Falardeau was special mention all-league.
Offensive players who started multiple games and are expected to return are Allen, junior wide receiver Tyler Ison, junior fullback Matt Cyrus, junior center Sufyan El-Geroushi, junior right guard Chris Johnson, sophomore right tackle Tae Bradley, junior left guard Blake Clowes and sophomore left guard David Jordan.
Clowes was second-team all-league.
Allen went 52-for-109 passing for 624 yards, with five touchdowns and five interceptions. He also rushed for 208 yards and two touchdowns on 76 carries.
Cyrus rushed for 608 yards and 11 touchdowns on 132 carries. Ison had 12 catches for 138 yards.
Darby will lose eight seniors who started multiple games on defense in ends Nate Bucci and Haroon Quadri, tackles Falardeau and J.J. Koenig, linebackers Dennis Coyne, Eric Hajjar and Matt Keller, and cornerbacks Alex Day and
Tavera.
Bucci was first-team all-league and Hajjar was second-team all-league.
Defensive players who started multiple games and are expected back are tackles Clowes and El-Geroushi, junior free safety Zack Hoyt and Cyrus at strong safety.
Hoyt was honorable mention all-league.
The Panthers also will lose senior punter Brad Stimson and senior place kicker Adam Jenne.
With so many starters to replace, Allen said the Panthers will comb the hallways to recruit athletes who didn't come out for football this year.
As expected, the loss of close to 900 students to newly-opened Bradley took a toll on Darby's depth.
One year after the program had 178 athletes, including 100 varsity players, the Panthers dropped to 88 athletes and carried only 51 players on their varsity squad.
"Our numbers will continue to be an issue next year, because we won't have as big of a senior class as we had this year," Santagata said. "But we're doing some things to try to recruit more kids to play football, because we have kids in our school who have played at some level before who could help us."
At a glance
- Record: 3-6 overall, 0-5 (sixth) in OCC-Central
- Seniors lost: Nate Bucci, John Casey, Dennis Coyne, Alex Day, Marcus Ewald, Evan Falardeau, Seth Fisher, Will Goslin, Eric Hajjar, Adam Jenne, Matt Keller, J.J. Koenig, Alex Manifold, Trey Misolek, Khalin Moore, Haroon Quadri, Tommy Smith, Brad Stimson, Elijah Tavera and Zach Wilkinson
- Key Returnees: Matt Allen, Blake Clowes, Matt Cyrus, Sufyan El-Geroushi and Zack Hoyt