MORENCI — Morenci coach Ryan McDowell capped his first season at the helm of his eight-man football program without losing players to season-ending injuries or losing faith in the team.
“I wasn’t too worried about losses because we had small numbers,” said McDowell, whose team did go from 16 to 17 players during the season. “The big focus was on having nobody quit, but at the same time, still challenging them quite a bit. And to their credit, they answered the challenge.”
Morenci finished its first season under McDowell with a 3-6 record, including a 0-3 mark in the South Central Athletic Association White Division.
The Bulldogs opened the White Division with Concord and dropped a 70-20 decision to the Yellowjackets in a game McDowell described as the team’s worst game of the year. Lenawee Christian came next and posted a 62-28 win over the Bulldogs, and lastly, Britton Deerfield recorded a 44-8 victory over Morenci.
Each contest featured special teams and defensive scores against Morenci, but the Bulldogs remained competitive and put forth strong efforts against tough teams.
“I thought the scores weren’t really indicative of how we matched up with them,” McDowell said of his team’s White Division opponents. “We were able to move the ball on most teams. Our offense had gotten to do what we wanted to do despite having a couple of injured kids.”
Two-way players junior Skyler Trent and sophomore Drew Joughin suffered early-season injuries within the first two games of the season — a 48-20 loss at Marcellus and a 43-22 loss at home against Colon — that kept them out of several games. Still, the players did not lose faith in the team.
The Bulldogs recorded back-to-back wins with strong efforts against Athens and Camden-Frontier. Morenci earned a commanding 54-0 victory over the Indians, which featured seniors Collin Blaker and Talan Kruse returning an interception and a punt return for touchdowns, respectively, and a close 28-20 win over the RedHawks.
With Trent and Joughin out, younger players like sophomore defensive back Harrison Sarnac and freshman running back Mason Cleveland stepped into greater roles. They held their own while Trent and Joughin were out of the lineup.
The Bulldogs dropped a 38-12 decision to Sandusky Central Catholic, a top eight-man team in Ohio, but rebounded and snapped their four-game losing streak with a 36-14 win over Litchfield.
“I thought we did a pretty good job,” McDowell said of the culture fostered during his first season. “But like I said, the main goal was not to lose anybody through the season and try to build on that.”
Kruse gained 1,618 yards on 231 carries, averaging seven yards per carry and scoring 20 touchdowns, and caught 10 passes for 156 yards and two scores. Trent added 478 yards on 74 carries, getting more than six yards per carry. Meanwhile, Joughin was 14-of-30 for 238 yards passing and two touchdowns.
Blaker recorded team highs in tackles (36), assisted tackles (22), and total tackles (58). He also managed eight tackles-for-loss and two sacks. Kruse added 39 total tackles, while seniors Emmanuel ‘Manny’ DePalma and Evan Gould had 32 and 31, respectively. Blaker added two interceptions for the defense, while freshman Noah Zuvers recovered three fumbles.
McDowell said the wins over Athens, Camden-Frontier, and Litchfield were essential to the players’ psyche. Camden-Frontier and Litchfield represented the SCAA Blue Division, and Athens played in the SCAA Red Division.
Now that the Bulldogs have completed their first season under McDowell, the players are hitting the weight room and working toward next season. The expectations for the Bulldogs become greater, and he believes they are up to the task.
“I want to teach them how to be strong young men who can face challenges or take on adversity and not crumble,” McDowell said.
“When things don’t go your way, it’s easy to start kind of pointing fingers and blaming people, but they never did that,” added McDowell, who feels consistency is the key to getting the program back into the playoff picture next season. “I think we took a step in the right direction despite the wins maybe not being what we thought they would be.”