Buente has JFK trending upwards in Year 2
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WARREN -- When Damon Buente took over the head coaching position at Warren JFK last season, he knew the work that lay ahead for him and the Eagles.
Even though JFK was coming off a Division VII state championship game appearance in 2022, the Eagles had graduated one of the winningest senior classes in program history, their former coach had stepped down and several of the team's underclassmen stars opted to transfer elsewhere amidst the program's uncertainty.
With a small, young team as a result, JFK stumbled to a 2-7 record last year in 2023. Injuries piled up and the team's numbers started to take a toll, especially against a daunting schedule that included the likes of Division III Marlington, Division IV Cleveland Central Catholic and Sandusky Perkins and Division V powers Garfield and South Range.
"We deserved to lose every game that we lost. It wasn't due to lack of will, it's that we didn't play football well enough to beat the team we played," Buente said. "So we make no excuses for last year."
But despite last season's struggles, Buente is starting to have things trending upwards heading into his second season.
"We had an offseason to establish the weight room and your coaching staff and get those two things rolling," Buente said. "We recruited the hallways a little bit to get our numbers up. We finished with 26 healthy bodies last year. Now sometimes we'll have 40 on a day, so the competition's more fun and there's more depth.
"In year two, you get that full offseason to plan your youth camp, to plan your fundraisers and do all the things you want to do. Year one, we get hired March 15 -- I'm hiring you, your mom and your dad off the street. So year two has been a lot different in terms of staffing, weight room and growing up. I think our kids have grown up the hard way."
The schedule softens considerably this season for JFK as well. The Eagles will open against Liberty, and they've replaced bigger schools with more comparably-sized programs such as LaBrae, Grand Valley and Lutheran East.
"We did adjust the schedule to make it more friendly for a normal Division VII team," Buente said. "We still have some bluebloods on there -- Garfield and Mogadore -- I love playing those guys. But we play Liberty in week one ... to simulate that kind of speed in practice is extremely hard, so right off the bat, we're going to play a playoff team with some of the best players in the area, as far as I'm concerned."
JFK graduated just three seniors from last year's team. So the Eagles have a lot to build off of coming back, particularly a group of juniors that will now be seniors this season, including Marcus Komora, Noah Elser, Mike Bartoe, Freddy Bolchalk, Trevon Hall, Ian Odille and Ethan Laslo.
That group of seniors was a part of JFK's 2022 state championship runner-up team, and several of them played key roles on the squad. So Buente will be leaning on that group for leadership and to continue to help carry the team.
"Marcus Komora, his sophomore year, had a pick-six in Week 12 against Southern. Then in the (state semifinal) against Newark Catholic, my man takes a fumble to the house to make it 21-7 with a minute to go and puts the game away," Buente said. "So he's been around and played some great football. Up front, Laslo and Bartoe, those guys played in the state title game as sophomores, too.
"So having those guys control the locker room and remind the younger players to stay the course, stay the course -- that goes way further than what any coach could say. So having them kind of have my back, in a sense, has been really refreshing, and it makes coaching more fun when you have buy-in from your guys."
OFFENSE
Offensively, JFK wants to run the spread and try as much as possible to put the ball in the hands of its playmakers -- Komora and Elser -- out wide in space.
Komora and Elser have proven themselves to be some of the best athletes in the state after helping lead the Eagles' 4x200m relay team to a second-place finish at the state track meet in Dayton in May.
"Our job is to see how people are going to play our two fastest players," Buente said. "Then how they play, our offense is going to be determined by what we've decided to do going from there."
That starts at quarterback, where the Eagles have a position battle unfolding between last season's starter Bolchalk and junior LaMarcus Provitt.
"They both have such different skillsets and are very efficient," Buente said.
Last year, sophomore Jaylen Murray saw the bulk of the carries at running back. He was also a part of the 4x200m relay team that finished second at state.
But this year the Eagles have some more depth alongside Murray in the backfield with junior Stephen Thomas and freshman Makai Brogdon in the mix for carries, as well.
But in order for the Eagles to get their running game going, the offensive line will have to stay healthy after the injuries that were sustained in the trenches last season.
Buente said he has eight varsity-caliber offensive lineman that are vying for five starting spots.
"(Komora and Elser) are going to be special players, but where we're leaning on the most is going to be up front," Buente said. "We get a couple starters back on both sides of the ball. So if we can control the line of scrimmage, then you'll see what Noah and Marcus can do in the open field. But if we can't establish the line of scrimmage, then those guys will just have very pedestrian stat lines."
DEFENSE
On defense, it starts with the front-seven for the Eagles.
Senior Deaune Earley returns at nose guard for JFK after a breakout season last year that included a 12-tackle game against Mogadore. He finished the 2023 season with 68 solo tackles, eight tackles-for-loss and three sacks.
Elsewhere in the front-seven, JFK brings back two seniors that made considerable strides in the weight room during the offseason in Jacob Moore and Trevon Hall.
Hall will continue to partner with Earley on the line as a defensive end, while Moore will be at the heart of the defense at middle linebacker.
"Those two seniors had one heck of an offseason," Buente said. "(Moore) had 86% weight room attendance and has a defensive IQ that's through the roof. Then his lifting partner, Trevon Hall, put on 30 pounds in the weight room. He's very violent at the point of attack. So those are two guys that we're hoping can step out of the shadows and significantly contribute to winning games and providing leadership."
In the secondary, the Eagles will lean on All-County and All-Northeast Ohio safety Odille to marshall the back end of the defense after he had 81 tackles and three interceptions last season.
"So we feel that we have a stud at all three levels that can line us up and do things and play smart football and do what we're asking them to do," Buente said.
Buente wants JFK to find that "Blue Storm" identity that they had on defense during the 2022 run, and one of the first steps of that was bringing back defensive coordinator and defensive line coach Jordan Simmons.
"Bringing back Jordan Simmons, who was here for the (former head coach Dom (Prologo) runs, he understands what the Blue Storm is, what the Blue Storm is about and what the Blue Storm will always be," Buente said. "Bringing him back has been instrumental for buy-in, enthusiasm, juice and excitement. Don't kid yourself, Jordan's the straw that stirs the drink."
SPECIAL TEAMS
After the graduation of All-County kicker Riley Littler, who finished the 2023 season kicking 94% on PATs, was 5-for-6 on field goals and kicked a school-record 43-yard field goal, JFK is looking for new specialists to handle kicking duties for the upcoming season.
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