By Steve Ruman

sports@vindy.com

McDONALD

By most standards, McDonald enjoyed a successful 2015 football season. The Blue Devils finished 7-3, landing them a second-place finish in the Inter-Tri County League Blue Tier standings.

However, for a program used to reaching the playoffs (15 appearances) and winning conference titles (five in the past nine years), 7-3 only made them hungry and anxious to get the 2016 campaign under way.

“Our kids have worked hard. They grew up watching McDonald teams play in November, and they experienced it earlier themselves, so they want it,” McDonald coach Dan Williams said.

Williams himself is no stranger to success. The veteran coach owns a 115-57 record at his alma mater. He has led the Devils to eight postseason berths.

With six starters returning on both offense and defense, the Blue Devils have a solid nucleus to work with.

OFFENSE

Though six starters return, the bulk of the offensive production came from seniors. In fact, nearly 90 percent of the points put up by the Blue Devils in 2015 were scored by players lost to graduation.

Seniors Joe Celli and Mike Zarbaugh will give McDonald experience in the running game. Meanwhile, senior Dylan Portolese will take snaps from center. Portolese played 20 games at the varsity level, but as a tight end.

“Dylan is our best athlete on the team, and he has a very high football IQ,” Williams said. “He doesn’t have the [quarterback] experience at the varsity level, but he is familiar with the position and he’s a smart, athletic kid.”

“Having seniors in the backfield is always a bonus.”

Up front, the Blue Devils return Nick Lowry and Hunter Kutsch.

“We’re typical of any small school, in that we have holes to plug in all spots,” Williams said.

DEFENSE

Celli, Portolese and senior Joe Sudol provide experience in the defensive backfield.

“Our safeties and corners will definitely be one of our strengths,” Williams said. “In some instances, players who were only on offense last year will now play both ways. But we feel good about their skills and we’re comfortable putting them on both sides of the ball.”

Zarbaugh will anchor the linebacking corps, while Dale Wolford and Calvin Wolford will also be vital to the Devils’ success. In 2015, Dale Wolford registered 77 tackles and a team-high six quarterback sacks.

SPECIAL TEAMS

“This area is probably our overall strong suit,” Williams said. “We always stress the importance of special teams, and this year we like what we have.”

Sudol will handle the kicking duties, while Portolese will be punting for a third year.

“We return our long snapper, and with our skilled players back returning kicks and punts, we like how we’re set up,” Williams said.

OUTLOOK

McDonald’s numbers (45) are up by seven from 2015 and the Blue Devils return 13 lettermen and nine seniors. With a nice mix of experience and young talent, there is no reason to believe the Devils won’t once again be in the thick of an Inter-Tri County League Blue Tier title race and the playoff hunt.

“For us, it’s pivotal to get off to a good start,” Williams said. “Our league schedule is always challenging, and we have a tough non-league schedule, so we need to establish ourselves before we jump into conference play.”

“We have to stay injury-free. Even with good numbers, we don’t have great depth in terms of experience. We’re excited about our talent, but we’ve moved some kids around, and others are seeing their first action under the lights.”