Elmwood has experience back as it switches to BVC

BLOOMDALE – There's perception, and then there's reality. The Elmwood football team is coming off a 12-win season that stretched into the fourth round of the OHSAA Playoffs. Graduation has taken a number of top players from that team, running back Mason Oliver, quarterback Hayden Wickard and lineman Zach May. But Royals coach Greg Bishop was clear. Elmwood lost some starters. It didn't lose all of its experience. "We have a ton of guys who played, and when you play 14 weeks and as good as we were last year, a lot of guys were in the rotation," Bishop said. "The perception is we've lost a ton. We've also returned a decent amount." But there will be changes, and not just with who takes the field. This season marks Elmwood's first in the Blanchard Valley Conference, after more than a decade in the Northern Buckeye Conference. While the Royals will maintain their rivalry with Eastwood – the teams will meet Week 2 in Bloomdale – Elmwood's schedule will have a different look this season, starting with a Week 3 contest against Riverdale. "The BVC is a very good conference," Bishop said. "It's tough, they're hard-nosed. "It's gonna be a challenge," he said. "We're gonna have to come every single week and be ready to go. Prepare every week." The key, Bishop said, is the team not getting ahead of itself. "Our thing we always talk about is having tunnel vision," he said. "We want to be 1-0 every week, focus on each team, we'll have blinders on everyone else. Play everyone one game at a time." Who will be the starting quarterback for those games? That remains to be seen. "We're still battling it out (between) Mitchell Oliver and Pierson Parsons," Bishop said. "We're gonna see where things go from there in the next couple scrimmages and make some decisions based on that." Replacing all-Ohioan Mason Oliver at tailback figures to be difficult as well, but Bishop has confidence in Andrew Traxler to take that role. "He rushed for over 300 yards in some games," Bishop said of Traxler. "He has some experience. He's gotten faster, he's gotten stronger, he's done everything we've asked of him. So, we're excited for him." At receiver, the coach said the Royals would look to Brady Mareches, who is coming off an injury, and a returning Brennan Hiser. Micah Oliver is also back. Bishop likes what he has at the position, even if he says it doesn't have quite the experience of past seasons. "We don't have as much battle-tested depth," he said. "Last year we had six, seven guys we could rotate in. This year, some of the guys behind those guys haven't really played much, which is fine. But we've seen the young guys start to develop, start to put their time in, do what they need to do to be successful." Where the Royals do have experience is the offensive line. Jack Hummel, Jimmy Palmer, Luke Barringer and Seedorf are all back after making hefty contributions a season ago. "So we're excited to see…up front I think we're gonna have to lean on our line," Bishop said. Most of those players on the offensive line will also be looked to on the defensive line. Connor Sterling and Javy Almarez are expected to play big roles for Elmwood at inside linebacker, while Clinton Ankney and Seedorf will occupy the outside backer spots. Seedorf shifted from the line. In the defensive backfield, Micah Oliver and Hiser – multiple year starters – are expected to lead the group. Bishop said the team feels good about the upcoming season, but knows it won't be easy. "We're excited to see where the season goes," Bishop said. "What we did in the past, 2021, 2022, has no bearing on how our success is gonna be in 2023. It was great. We celebrated that, we had fun doing that, but we put that in the rearview mirror."