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Despite tiny rosters, these teams aren't ready to give up.
By Steve Ruman
The way Southington High football coach Tom Conrad sees it, the players on his roster aren’t just teammates, they’re a family. And, a family — no matter how big or small it might be — sticks together through thick and thin.
“It’s tough, we face challenges every day in practice and every Friday night on the football field,” Conrad said of his 26-man roster. “But that adversity bonds this team, it brings us closer together.
“We constantly preach the importance of learning life lessons while playing the game of football. Well, we’re learning what it means to be a small but very determined and very close unit on and off the field.”
While Conrad faces an uphill battle because of his low numbers, he is not alone. In fact, his dilemma is an even bigger issue at other schools. At least a half-dozen Mahoning Valley rosters include 24 or fewer players.
“We dress 26, but the reality is that we feel comfortable playing about 16 of those players,” Conrad said. “We dress all of the freshmen, but they don’t all see the field. Most of our starters are two-way players.”
Limited practices
The lack of depth alters what Conrad can do in practice drills. Contact is extremely limited for fear that an already-depleted roster might lose more manpower. This week, Southington (3-1) is preparing to take on a Grand Valley team which fields 50 players.
“We have to think outside the box with our scout teams,” Conrad said. “It’s pretty tough to take a freshman wide receiver and ask him to play the role of an offensive lineman, but that’s what we have to do.
“No matter how hard we try, our scout team is not going to simulate what Grand Valley is going to throw at us on Friday night.”
Conrad said that nearly all practice drills revolve around conditioning and endurance.
“It’s not always a matter of talent winning out, sometimes a much smaller team just wears down,” Conrad said. “Our numbers force us to concentrate on conditioning.”
Southington has a junior high program, but it includes just nine players. The team holds regular practices, but cannot play games because of the low numbers.
Conrad is hopeful that eight-man football games at the junior high level become a reality next year. In the meantime, he keeps the younger players involved on Friday nights by using them as ball boys and water boys.
“The kids that do play, they love the sport, they know they are gaining a great deal from participating in football,” Conrad said. “Unfortunately, with all of the concussion issues and such, parents are afraid. I get that, I truly do. But I also want parents to know that safety is our ultimate concern.”
Mustangs
Mathews (1-3) reached the playoffs last year for the third time in four years. Mustangs third-year coach John Protopapa hoped the success would result in a numbers spike. Instead, he experienced a decrease this year.
The Mustangs actually began the season with 18 players, but were able to pick up three after the season started.
Players can be added to the roster during the season as long as they go through a five-day acclimation period.
“It’s not something that we normally encourage, but our program was in jeopardy,” Protopapa said. “We’re battling for athletes with two other fall sports [soccer and cross country]. Throw in the concussion concerns, and kids just aren’t coming out like they used to.
“The thing is, in three years here we’ve had one confirmed football-related concussion. In that same time frame, we’ve seen three athletes get concussed while riding four-wheelers and such. We do a good job of keeping kids safe, but it’s still a tough sell.”
Fewer options
With such low numbers, Protopapa said that his options both in practices and on game nights are limited. He noted that he has just enough linemen, “and there are times when our guys are lining up against opponents who literally are double in weight.”
His quarterback depth chart is one deep, “and if we had to go to a backup we’d just run the wildcat.”
Protopapa said that the lack of numbers severely hampers what can be done throughout the week.
“It’s a catch-22, you can’t practice with the intensity you’d like to, but at the same time if you don’t practice hard you can’t improve,” Protopapa said. “Back in the day we used to go hard for three hours. If we did today what we did back then, I wouldn’t have a team.
“From a game perspective, you have to be careful how you use the players you do have. Football is different than other sports. In basketball, if a kid lets someone by him, he might give up a basket. In football, if someone misses an assignment, it could result in an injury, either to that player or a teammate.”
Protopapa said that when he arrived at Mathews three years ago, his goal was to have a roster which included eight players from each grade level. This year’s roster includes seven seniors, but just 14 players from the other three grades combined.
“All winter long, I hit the junior high level hard,” Protopapa said. “We didn’t even have a junior high program last year, and this year we have 19 players in the program. That’s a glimmer of hope.”
TWO TO SPARE
From a numbers standpoint, no area program is in more jeopardy than Sebring (0-4). The Trojans roster includes just 13 players — two seniors, four juniors, three sophomores and four freshmen. Trojans coach Brian Palmer knows that his team is just an injury or two away from having to completely shut down.
“I’ve discussed this with my athletic director, and we have agreed to keep on going until we can’t go any longer,” Palmer said. “The kids that are playing, they love the sport, they love going out there and competing. They just want to play on Friday nights. As long as we can stay healthy, we’ll start and finish 10 games.”
Last Friday, Sebring lost 50-0 to a Western Reserve team (4-0) which fields 58 players. The Trojans’ remaining schedule includes Springfield (4-0, 56 players) and McDonald (4-0, 40 players).
“Opposing coaches have been understanding, they have adjusted to accommodate our situation,” Palmer said. “The competitor in me, and in this team says ‘come at us with the best you got,’ but coaches know the situation and they have a ton of respect for our guys who are out there.”
Sebring does have a junior high program, but like Southington it does not regularly have enough players to field an 11-man team. Palmer has reached out to future junior high opponents expressing an interest to play non-sanctioned eight-man games in an effort to keep that program intact.
“The thing is, with all of the obstacles they face, these kids that have stuck it out, they make it fun and they really enjoy the practices and playing the games,” Palmer said. “I hope the community reaches out and expresses their appreciation toward these young men. Their dedication needs to be acknowledged.
“I know this much, I’ve learned a ton from these kids.”
LEETONIA
When Paul Hulea coached at Poland, he regularly fielded teams of more than 100 players (grades 9-12). Now with Leetonia, Hulea has 28 players.
“What you can do in practice, how you can use your players in a game, everything changes based on numbers,” Hulea said. “Depth is a major concern.
”Losing one guy to an injury is like losing two players, because he probably goes both ways. Now you are really scrambling. You may have to make a handful of position adjustments because of one injury.”
Despite the low numbers, Leetonia began its season with wins over Lowellville, Mathews and Southington. Last Friday, the 3-0 Bears went up against an 0-3 Columbiana team and lost 49-14.
Hulea said he believes that the Bears’ first four games highlight the need for change.
“Our first three games were all extremely competitive, they all could have gone either way. They were great small-town high school football games,” Hulea said. “Against a winless Columbiana team, everyone knew we were the underdog.
“Maybe it’s time for athletic directors of the smallest of schools to get together and form their own conference. It would benefit everyone involved. Right now, a much bigger school isn’t getting much out of playing and beating an opponent whose roster is in the teens. It’s a lose-lose situation.”
PLAYING UP
Hulea noted that the All-American Conference recently lost a handful of schools “because Division IV programs didn’t want to play up one division.”
Yet Div. VII Leetonia plays in the Eastern Ohio Athletic Conference, which includes three Div. VI schools, along with one Div. V program.
“I just think that putting all of these very small programs together would create some great, competitive small-town football games and it would bring life to the programs,” Hulea said. “We have to explore all options. We don’t want to get to a point to where programs are forced to shut down,”
Shutting down is exactly the fear facing Sebring players on a weekly basis. With no room to spare, the two seniors on the team know that every game they play could be their last.
“We hear rumors every week that our season might be over, we just keep chugging along and doing what we love to do,” Josh Hammond said. “I’ve been playing football since I was in the second grade. I love the sport, I’m not ready for the season to end. I know it sounds crazy, but we’re having too much fun.”
Fun, being 0-4 and having been outscored in those games 208-8?
“We’re a brotherhood, we’re all in it for each other,” Jake Fullerton said. “We go into some of these games knowing we might not have the best of chances, but we just want to compete, we want to play. We are going to walk away from the experience with a lot of life lessons learned.”
Fullerton began the season as a wide receiver and cornerback. This week he will assume the role of quarterback because of an injury to another player. He also plays strong safety and is the team’s kicker.
“One thing about a roster this size, you know you’re always going to play,” Fullerton said with a laugh. “Those of us still on this team, we all love being out on that field.”
Sebring will look to snap a 16-game losing streak tonight at Jackson-Milton (0-4). Mathews is home to Valley Christian (3-1) while Leetonia is at Toronto (1-3).