Vikings going 'back to our roots,' want to be physical football team

LEIPSIC – Following last year's 21-13 loss to Delphos St. John's in the Region 26 semifinals, Leipsiccoach Joe Kirkendall said the difference in the game was the "physicality" of the Blue Jays.That diagnosis became like a diagram of how Kirkendall approached the 2025 season."At Leipsic, we always believed in the physicality of football, but last year teams just lined up and ran right at us," Kirkendall said."Lake beat us the first game, Pandora (-Gilboa) beat us in Week 4, Ada beat us in Week 10, St. John' beat us in the playoffs by doing just that."So we went back to our roots a little bit. Practice-wise, I'd say our practices are more physical than most teams, most schools our size. We're playing live football, we're tackling guys to the ground, we're playing sideline to sideline … We try to have some very intense, game-like segments because with our increased size and physicality we still want to have that identity."Eight late-seasons starters return for a Leipsic team that went 6-4 during the regular season, then staged a solid playoff run by avenging a regular-season loss to Ada in the first round and knocking off No. 3-seeded Gibsonburg in the second round. The Vikings also built a 13-0 lead in the regional semifinals before on Delphos St. John's flipped the script.A good deal of that returning experience will be found along a veteran offensive line that returns strongside tackle Kadin Schroeder (6-1, 266, jr.), strongside guard Colin Foreman (6-0, 259, sr.), center Myles Camareno, (5-9, 194, jr) and open guard Nolan Lammers (6-1, 230, soph.). Schroeder, Forman and Camareno played all 13 games last season, with Lammers starting the last seven.Grant David, a 6-foot-3, 206-pound senior who lettered the past two seasons at defensive end, will man the other tackle spot.Key for the Vikings is the return of Marc Kirkendall, who last season completed 185-of-299 passes (61.9 percent) for 2,640 yards and 22 touchdowns.Just a sophomore, Marc Kirkendall is a coach's kid, and has probably been breaking down defenses since he first learned what the buttons "pause," "rewind" and "fast-forward" were on the remote."He's watched the game in a different way. He didn't have a choice," his dad said."Because he's been around the game so much, his vision and what's going on and where people are, he very seldom gets confused and makes a throw he shouldn't make."When you watch him play and watch him throw, nothing ever gets too big for him. He never lets the game get ahead of him. He has a pretty good idea of the pocket, when to get out and when not to. And he'll stand in there and take a hit, because his dad told him he has to."Leipsic graduated two of the BVC's top receivers in Jayce Brecht, who caught 58 passes for 862 yards and seven TDs, and Ty Lammers (44 recps., 708 yards, 8 TDs).With a proven passer at quarterback and a veteran offensive line, Leipsic will again throw the football, with some added twists this season."We're going to put more pressure on (Marc Kirkendall) this year because we're going to throw the ball. That's who we are going to be," Joe Kirkandall said."But we've worked on it a bunch and I think we're going to have a better running game than last year. And if we can have that kind of balance, I think offensively we can be better than we were."Leipsic's receiving corps will have a different look this season. While Brecht and Lammers were both 6-foot-3, long and lanky, this year's wide outs – junior Avery Paris, who caught 20 passes a year ago, and sophomore Aaron Hazelton (15 receptions) – are both 5-10. Colin Niese (5-11, 183, jr.) and Marquis Williams (6-2, 162, jr.) will be in the backfield, and may be catching the football as much as carrying it."Colin runs great routes, he's physical, he has great hands and Marquis is a track kid, very fast so we have the ability to get those guys into the passing game from the backfield," coach Kirkendall said.Kirkendall likes his options in the passing game. So will his staff."One of the things my offensive assistants have pushed on me is that we need to do more shifts, we need to do more motion to create some kind of confusion in the defense" he said."Can we replace Jayce (Brecht) and Ty (Lammers) from a production standpoint? We'll see, but I think we have four or five guys that, as a group, are going to be really difficult to match up with."On defense, Kirkendall feels bigger is better."We had to get bigger and stronger to keep teams from running the ball right at us," he said."We decided we were going to sacrifice a little bit in the pass rush, but we have to be better defensively."Grant will be a three-year starter at one defensive end spot. Schroeder, Leo Parker, and a number of offensive linemen will man the other interior spots.The other defensive spot will include some newcomers … sort of."We have three kids, all seniors, who played in junior high or as freshman, but not the last two years," coach Kirkendall said."Even though they were not playing football, they stayed in the weight room, so they are incredibly strong, and you can't say enough about the difference between a senior and a sophomore when it comes to maturity."Niese at one outside spot will anchor a linebacking corps that includes Camareno, senior Jackson Spitnale (5-8, 170), junior Eban Hardy (5-8, 180) and possibly freshman Preston Schroeder (5-8, 177)."Jackson Spitnale is an interesting story," Kirkendall said."He would have lettered as a freshman, but tore his ACL. He came back as a sophomore and was starting, but re-tore the same ACL."He took last year off and not only had ACL reconstructive surgery, but also regenerative cartilage surgery. He skipped his entire junior year, but he's back. He's a tough, hard-nosed, instinctive kid and he solidifies that linebacker position."Leipsic's defensive strength will be a veteran secondary that returns Williams, Hazelton, and Paris. John Dewar, who rotated in and out of the lineup last season, also returns, with sophomore Trevor Stuber (6-0, 163) in the rotation as well.The winningest coach in Leipsic football history, Kirkendall owns a 125-49 record in two stints at the school and 144-70 overall mark including stops at Arcadia and Patrick Henry.