Springfield has plenty of experience back

August 25, 2013 at 12:00a.m.

NEW MIDDLETOWN

Springfield coach Sean Guerriero is a big fan of experience, whether it’s on the football field or at some other athletic event.

Guerriero’s Tigers have 17 lettermen returning, many of them with starting experience.

As a bonus, his quarterback, Hunter Snyder, and one of his running backs, Ryan Kohler, have played in a baseball state championship game. Both were starters when Springfield lost to Newark Catholic, 2-1, in June in the Division IV championship game at Columbus’ Huntington Park. Both are juniors.

“That’s great experience for those kids, especially Hunter behind the plate calling out the defense,” Guerriero said. “I push to get our kids to play other sports.

“It’s hard to put those kids in [such intense] situations in practice so if they are on the court or the baseball field getting that experience, it’s great.”

Coming off a 4-6 season, the Tigers are hoping for a good start.

Their first test will come against Brookfield in the opener.

“Great school to open up against — I always like competition, facing new people,” said senior lineman Gabe Crowe. “[Even] with Brookfield losing all their [talented] seniors, we’re still not taking them lightly.”

OFFENSE

Crowe said the Tigers’ mission is to protect Snyder.

“There’s a lot of responsibility at left tackle keeping the quarterback safe, especially with a small quarterback,” said Crowe, a 6-foot-1, 315-pound senior. “He’s a scrambler so we’ve got to keep him upright.”

The Tigers will run a spread offense. Also returning on the line are Zach Cain, Austin Snyder and Brian Swansiger. Joining Snyder in the backfield are Kohler and Chris Wells.

Senior wide receiver Anthony Scandy doesn’t mind when Snyder takes off.

“When he scrambles, we can turn around and crack block for him [to] create lanes for him to run through,” Scandy said. “Those can turn into like [big] plays.

“All of our skill players are back and they were good last year,” Scandy said. “They should be even better this year.”

Other receivers are Mark Schuler, Jake Ohlin and Mike Allgower.

DEFENSE

Seven starters return to the defense.

The line features Crowe, Schuler, Nick Wells and Swansiger. Scandy and Kohler are among the defensive backs.

OUTLOOK

With plenty of veterans, the Tigers are poised to climb into the top half of the Inter Tri-County League Tier One standings.