By Curtis Pulliam

cpulliam@vindy.com

Leavittsburg

What a difference a year can make.

LaBrae head coach John Armeni led a youthful and inexperienced team to a 5-5 record last year. The Vikings had gone 1-9 in 2012.

“We played a lot of young kids,” Armeni said. “They got better every week and this year it is a stark contrast [between the two teams].”

Armeni has 24 returning lettermen this season, compared to just seven a year ago.

“We have guys now that have been in our weight program for two years,” Armeni said. “They have learned the tempo of the game and understand how things happen on the football field. We look to hit the ground running.”

Offense

The Vikings look to put up big numbers with the spread and figure to have as five receivers lined up at a time.

LaBrae returns eight starters on offense.

“We have a couple of really good young skills guys in [sophomore] Tariq Drake and [junior] Keevon Harris,” Armeni said. “Keevon is a Division I prospect and those guys do amazing things with the football. It’s just a matter of getting them the football.”

The running attack will be led by senior QB Justin Jenkins, who previously was a running back. Jenkins proved he can throw, passing for 1,300 yards and 10 touchdowns last season.

“He’s a hard-nosed runner,” Armeni said. “But he’s a dual-threat kid.”

Joe Percich will see time as a running back.

The offensive line lost Nick Percich to graduation, but should be as strong as ever.

“That is the area I’m most excited about,” Armeni said. “We have seven or eight guys who now have playing experience up there.”

The list includes seniors Charles Pifer, and Will Salsgiver and junior Connor Wilson.

Defense

LaBrae runs a 3-4 defense which will try to confuse opponents by coming from all angles. The Vikings return seven starters from last year.

Armeni has all four starting linebackers back in Pifer, Wilson and seniors Nate McCartney and Christian Matthews. The defensive line will include Andrew Cree and Percich, and Jenkins will lead the Vikings’ secondary. Drake also will help, having started there as a freshman, as will Carlton Brown.

“We have to worry about tackling,” Jenkins said. “We had about 30 missed tackles in one game [vs. Liberty] last year.”

Special Teams

Austin Jones will take care off kickoffs and extra points. He was 26 of 27 on PAT attempts last season. Armeni was still unsure of a punter, saying he “likes to be creative” in that area. Harris and Drake will return kicks.

Outlook

LaBrae, a Division V team and a member of the All-American Conference, has a tough task in playing the likes of Liberty, Campbell and Lakeview.

Armeni wants his team takes that next step.

“We don’t want to rest on having more talent than anybody; we want to outwork everybody,” Armeni said. “That’s what we try to do every day and that’s our message to these kids and our kids have embraced that.”

Roster:

2Jacob KaschakRB-DB5-10145Jr.

3Dan HankinsWR-DB6-0155Jr.

4Keevon HarrisWR-DB6-3195Jr.

5Nate McCartneyRB-LB5-10175Sr.

6Zack JohnsonWR-LB5-8160So.

7Braden BooneQB-DB6-0150Sr.

8Andrew CreeTE-DL6-3210Jr.

9Emari HudsonRB-DB5-5135So.

10Austin JonesK6-0180Sr.

11Tariq DrakeWR-DB6-1145So.

12Jacob PercichTE-LB6-0210Jr.

14Justin JenkinsQB-DB5-10180Sr.

15Carlton BrownWR-DB5-11160So.

20Chad CordnerTE-LB5-8185Jr.

21Manny RodgersQB-LB5-8155Fr.

22Arjay OliverRB-DB5-8145So.

27Chris MatthewsRB-DB5-10175Sr.

33Joe PercichRB-DL5-11220Jr.

34Dan LovejoyWR-DB5-10150Sr.

40JT WolkeTE-LB6-0185So.

42Jacob CoffmanTE-LB5-8160So.

44Daran JonesWR-DB5-8150Jr.

50Terrence PoseyOL-DL5-7145Sr.

51Charles PiferOL-LB6-1215Sr.

52Brison JohnsonOL-DL5-9160Jr.

53Will SalsgiverOL-DL5-9205Sr.

55Ben McCartneyOL-DL5-10220Jr.

56Austin HigleyOL-DL6-1190Jr.

57Aaron PoseyOL-LB5-8170Jr.

58Benton MartindaleOL-DL5-11200Sr.

59Dalton StoutOL-LB6-0170So.

60Justin ZimmermanOL-DL6-0245So.

61Donald LovejoyOL-LB6-0160Jr.

62Ethan LawrenceOL-LB5-10185So.

63Matt GushuraOL-DL5-8210So.

64Dakota LovejoyOL-DL5-8140So.

65Jason WilsonOL-DL6-4200Sr.

66Conner WilsonOL-LB5-10185Jr.

68Rhen McConaugheyOL-DL6-2310Fr.

72Brice TaylorOL-DL6-4225So.

75Jacob SullivanOL-DL6-0225Jr.

76Jacob ShiflettOL-DL5-11220So.

77Xavier HubbardOL-DL6-3290So.

78Brenden WymerOL-DL6-1295So.

79Brandon FaulknerOL-DL6-0190So.

81Jakob RoseWR-DB5-7125Fr.

82Devin SalsgiverWR-DB5-11155Jr.

84Tyler CathanWR-DB5-8135Fr.

88Ethan StishanWR-DB5-9160Fr.