By MARTY GITLIN

sports@vindy.com

LISBON

Average is not good enough for Jeremy McElroy, whose Beaver Local football team was average last season (5-5).

But average does not mean discouraging. McElroy and his fellow coaches developed many underclassmen in 2015 who appear ready to take a step forward. He said he believes that their development and a bit of luck in the health department will prove to be keys to success.

The Beavers return strong talent with valuable experience on both sides of the ball.

OFFENSE

The Beavers know they will be running the Wing-T this season. What McElroy did not know in mid-August was which quarterback will be handling the reins.

Senior Logan Bouscher and junior Luke Call have been battling it out. They boast similar talents.

“They’re both athletes,” McElroy said. “They both have good heads on their shoulders. They’re both smart kids; they’re both very good leaders. It’s good to have both of them. It’s going to come down to what’s best for the team. They’ll both fit in somewhere.”

The starting quarterback will be required to be balanced despite a Wing-T set that accentuates the run.

The Beavers passed for 285 yards in one game last year after installing the offense. But McElroy admits that the offense will be run-oriented. And that means plenty of carries for the backs, including sophomore Garrett Gibens, junior Michael Clendenning and junior Torey Calio.

The success of the passing attack will be greatly dependent on the production from split ends such as senior Jacob Pancake and juniors Shane Wright and Chris Yanni.

McElroy is particularly enthusiastic about his experienced and talented offensive line despite what he describes as “some nicks and bruises this summer.” The line features senior Terry Adkins and juniors Zack Thomas, Andrew Gibson and Chad Mays.

DEFENSE

Those manning the offense for Beaver Local must remain in excellent shape because many of them will be manning the defense as well. Included are Mays at defensive end, as well as Gibson and Thomas at the tackles. Junior Noah West and senior Ben Smith will also receive plenty of playing time up front.

“I would say our up-front people are pretty good and that’s probably not going to be a weakness,” McElroy said. “But we need to grow and develop at linebacker because we replaced three seniors who had been starting for us for three years.”

The new crew includes Clendenning, Gibens and Calio with junior Damien Emmert also in the mix on the outside. Call, Bouscher and Pancake are set in the secondary with Donovan Garcia and Wright likely to see playing time as well.

SPECIAL TEAMS

McElroy hopes his special teams will indeed be special. That will take a strong year from junior placekicker Drew Theiss, who performed in that spot in 2015, as well as senior punter Josh Smith, a soccer player who is seeking growth on the gridiron.

OUTLOOK

Finding balance offensively to prevent defenses from stacking the box and gaining success at linebacker will be two keys to the season for the Beavers in the Buckeye Eight League and overall.