Cardinal Huskies’ football Coach Rich Turner learned what it was like playing with a small roster when he served as an assistant coach at Warren John F. Kennedy High School last year. He hopes to apply those lessons learned with Cardinal as it prepares for its final season in the Chagrin Valley Conference Valley Division.
“Right now it looks like the strength of our team is the skill positions,” Turner told The Weekly Villager on Aug. 5. “We are still figuring out the offensive line right now but basically our goals have not changed. We are still trying to make the playoffs and win a playoff game for the first time since 2002.”
Although the Huskies’ roster is small, Turner said that the senior class has shown promising signs in summer camp and the seven-on-seven practices. He acknowledged that having a senior-heavy roster in his first season as a head coach in almost a decade has been very helpful in making sure the rest of the team learns the new playbook.
The first-year coach added that having a small roster will test his creativity but he has already learned several things he needs to avoid after his last season with Warren JFK.
“We had a meeting with the head coach at the end of the season and we made a list of things that we would do differently to survive the season better so hopefully we implement it here,” he said.
Playing quarterback for Cardinal will be senior Cal Cimenello, who served as the back-up quarterback last year and threw for 253 yards and two touchdowns. Cimemello will also play defensive back when the defense takes the field.
“He has done really well in seven-on-sevens,” Turner said of the 5-foot-11 senior. “He has been throwing a really good ball and we want to try and be a little more balanced than last year because we were in a single wing.”
Last year saw Cardinal’s offense revolve around running the ball but Turner said he plans for the Huskies to have a more diverse offense. In Turner’s experience running offenses, his teams have thrived when they have balanced running and throwing the ball.
Cardinal’s push for a more dynamic offense seems promising when looking at their skill position players such as senior tailback/wide receiver/outside linebacker Reese Soltis, who caught 10 passes for 244 receiving yards and two touchdowns while carrying the ball for 275 yards and three touchdowns last season.
“Last year he was more of a running back for us and our leading receiver so he will probably be our best skill guy coming back,” Turner noted of the 6-foot-0 senior.
Helping Soltis on offense will be senior wide receiver/defensive back Troy Champlin and freshman tailback/wide receiver/defensive back Mason Thistlewaite. After having teams constantly stack the box on defense to counter the run, Turner said that Cardinal plans to run a more spread offense and find the explosive play more frequently.
On defense, Turner said Cardinal’s defensive scheme will have their secondary anchor the unit with Cimenello and junior wide receiver/defensive back Landon Gallagher setting the tone.
According to Turner, having a talented secondary will help Cardinal better disguise its defensive packages. While the secondary has shown great promise in locking down the passing game in seven-on-sevens, the Huskies will not be afraid to get after the quarterback.
“We are going to play an odd front, trying to be more about execution and the scheme and reading-and-doing our own stuff by blitzing every time,” Turner added.
Cardinal’s standout returnee on defense will be senior offensive lineman/middle linebacker Hunter Gresch, who tallied 21 tackles and five tackles for losses last year.
Turner also noted that Cardinal’s focus is to assemble a new offensive line, with only three offensive linemen returning from last season. The Huskies’ offensive line depth has already taken a hit with senior Max Soltis being out for the year after suffering a torn ACL this summer.
Max was slated to play left tackle but senior offensive/defensive lineman Paul Marcum will take over in his stead. Turner was complimentary on how Marcum has taken to his new position.
Turner also noted that the Huskies will try and prepare players to play throughout the duration of each game on both sides of the ball as almost every player will be a two-way player.
“We are trying to save the legs but now we are starting to ramp it up where we are doing some four corners and conditioning and gassers to try and get them ready for playing both ways,” Turner said.
Cardinal’s season begins when it travels to face LaBrae at LaBrae Stadium in Leavittsburg on Aug 23. at 7 p.m.
