Redmen think this is the season to take a big step

FOSTORIA — If ever Fostoria had a time to break out of its rut, it's this year. The last 10 seasons have brought the Redmen just one winning year (6-4 in 2019, when this year's seniors were freshmen) and one .500 year (2017). Low numbers, youth, tough opponents, injuries and even COVID-19 issues have all led to the Redmen going just 26-60 over the past decade. They ended just 1-6 overall and 1-3 in the Northern Buckeye Conference last year. But coach Derek Kidwell hopes 2022 is different. Experience should help. Half of the team's 40 players earned letters last year, with nine starters back on offense and nine on defense. And nearly all of this year's starters come from the upper two grades, something FHS hasn't experienced for a while. "I tell people it's nice we've got more cars in the parking lot than bicycles," Kidwell said with a chuckle. "We're mostly juniors and seniors." A good start will also help, he added. "We want to come out of our non-conference with a winning record — 2-1, 3-0 would be a goal — and just be competitive and give ourselves a chance in each and every game," he said. "This team's mental makeup is a lot stronger than what we've had in the past. The chemistry is excellent, their attitude has been excellent," Kidwell said. "It's probably the hardest we've worked a team in the offseason, in the summer workouts especially." Some of those workouts were player-led. Junior Gavin Miller returns at quarterback, and organized summer throwing sessions to get in sync better with a deep receiving corps. "He comes back with a lot of experience," Kidwell said. "He's a year more mature, a year stronger." The deep receiving corps for the spread offense is led by senior Aiden Sprang and the junior duo of Jordan Ferguson and Machi Johnson. Seniors Antonio Bernal and Kayden Hutchins, junior Matthew Balderama, sophomore Braden Harrison and freshman Lance Miller round out the receivers. "We feel our receiving corps can be a strength for us," Kidwell said. "That being said, we've got to protect Gavin in order to take advantage of that. "I think the offensive line is usually your biggest challenge, just because those five individuals kind of have to gel and play together," he said. "It's always nice to have chemistry there, familiarity with each other. We've been interchanging some of the pieces to see what combinations are best." Graduation did claim a defensive tackle, offensive guard, center and running back, but Kidwell said experience and depth from last year will help fill the voids. The line features senior Trace Agapiou at center, with senior Binicio Flores at left guard and sophomore Trenton Kirby at left tackle. Senior Drake Ritter and junior Tony Hill-Hernandez will trade time at right guard, with junior Dylan Holmes getting the nod at right tackle. The backfield has senior Kiesin Cramer at tailback, with senior LaQuint Walker and junior Eli Kiser splitting time at fullback. The biggest switch for the team comes on defense, with the Redmen changing from a 3-5-3 to a traditional 5-2. "That's what we did for 20-some years here, when my dad (Dick Kidwell) and (Tom) Grine coached. So the majority of us coaches who played here, we really know that defense so we're kind of going back to our roots," Kidwell said. "We're coaching the fundamentals to our kids and teaching the intricacies of that defense to them. "There's been a lot of mental teaching, a lot of mental stuff on the field, a lot of walk throughs, a lot of explaining reasons of why you have to do your job at your position and trust (teammates) in the scheme of the defense," he said. "They've really embraced it and kind of been excited about it." Most of the same names on offense will see playing time on defense. Hill-Hernandez and Flores will trade time at nose guard, Ferguson and Holmes will man the ends, Agapiou gets the nod at right tackle, and Kirby and junior Kaileb Schube will switch out at left tackle. Kiser, Johnson and Walker will rotate in at inside linebacker. The secondary will have Gavin Miller and Harrison at cornerback, Sprang at strong safety and Balderama at free safety, with Hutchins and Lance Miller also rotating in when needed. Harrison will also handle the deep snapping, with Johnson punting and Baldermana kicking. "I think it's an opportunistic time for us because a lot of the teams that we lost to last year lost good senior classes," Kidwell said. "There were a lot of teams we were facing last year, we knew were just, on paper, way ahead of us. We don't necessarily feel that way this year if we can stay healthy, keep our heads up, stay positive." Fostoria Redmen 2021: 1-6, 1-3 Northern Buckeye Conference. Head coach: Derek Kidwell. Assistant coaches: John Groth, Tony Stahl, Ron Findley, Derek Angelone, Brett Taylor, Lukas Hill. No. Name Ht. Wt. Pos. Grade 2 Kiesin Cramer 5-8 175 RB/DL 12 3 Antonio Bernal 5-7 170 WR/LB 12 4 Gavin Miller 5-10 165 QB/DB 11 6 Aidan Sprang 5-9 170 WR/DB 12 7 Laquint Walker 5-7 175 RB/LB 12 9 Kayden Hutchins 5-8 160 RB/NG 12 10 Cayden Miller 5-8 165 WR/DB 11 12 Machi Johnson 6-1 185 WR/LB 11 15 Julius Robinson 5-9 160 WR/DB 11 16 Trenten Smith 5-5 145 QB/DB 10 19 Ethan Oldaker 5-10 175 RB/LB 9 20 Emmanuel Jimenez-Reza 5-6 155 QB/DB 9 21 Jordan Ferguson 6-2 175 WR/DE 11 22 Matthew Balderama 5-7 155 WR/DB 11 23 Brayden Harrison 5-10 155 WR/DB 10 24 Lance Miller 5-7 160 WR/DB 9 25 Roberto Tovias 5-5 150 RB/DB 11 26 Gage Vanhoose 5-7 160 WR/DB 10 31 Elijah Kiser 5-6 160 RB/LB 11 32 Roger Ferdin 5-5 150 RB/LB 10 33 Camron Pettaway 5-6 165 RB/LB 10 36 Gularmo Vargas-Tovias 5-5 150 RB/DB 9 44 Christian Price 5-8 175 WR/DE 11 45 Silas Raney 5-11 165 RB/DE 9 50 Dustin Beck 5-11 195 OL/DL 10 52 Ashon Slaughter 6-0 210 OL/DL 11 53 Tony Hill-Hernandez 5-8 220 OL/DL 11 54 Carlos Rodriguez 5-7 180 OL/DL 10 55 Keegan Seaburn 6-1 250 OL/DL 11 56 Ashton Reiley 6-2 225 OL/DL 12 57 Blake Hernandez 5-7 170 OL/DL 9 58 Kaileb Schube 5-8 180 OL/DL 11 59 Trenton Kirby 5-9 220 OL/DL 10 60 Jayden Ybarra 5-9 180 OL/LB 11 61 Brian Keckler 5-8 170 OL/DL 10 62 Drake Ritter 6-0 225 OL/DL 12 64 Dylan Holmes 6-2 200 OL/DL 11 65 Trace Agapiou 5-9 230 OL/DL 12 69 Andrew Schuyler 6-0 170 OL/DL 9 72 Binicio Flores 5-10 240 OL/DL 12 73 Jesse Good 5-6 150 OL/DL 9 76 Cyrus Flood 5-6 190 OL/DL 9 77 Angel Rosas 5-8 200 OL/DL 9 79 Ezra Sanchez 5-10 200 OL/DL 9 81 Dakota Smith 5-8 160 WR/DB 10