Vikings look to be experienced, battle-tested
Trending
LEAVITTSBURG -- After improving from a 1-9 record in 2022 to five victories and a playoff appearance in 2023, the LaBrae Vikings are hoping to take the next step under the guidance of head coach Jon Elliot.
That includes challenging for the Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference – Gray Tier championship.
"The football in this league is really good so that's going to be really, really tough," said Elliot, formerly an assistant at Niles McKinley and Austintown Fitch for Phil Annarella. "But I think you have to set goals that high and even if you don't achieve them, I'd rather be 6-1 or 5-2 in the league than last year [when] we were 3-3.
"The other thing is trying to get a higher seed in the tournament," Elliot added. "Try and get a home tournament game and then go from there."
To achieve those lofty expectations, the Vikings will rely on an experienced group of seniors and juniors. Sixteen of the 35 players on the roster are returning lettermen.
"I think they are now playing with confidence," Elliot said. "They feel now we can win and we have a shot to win every game. They bought in with our new offensive and defensive philosophies and that was part of the reason we were better. I think, too, trying to establish that family atmosphere and everybody has to be together as one, like a brotherhood. I think they're coming together better than we've been and that helps.
"There was always a little bit of negativity here and there from doubters and I don't see any of that now. So, I think we're coming together, we're executing better. They're hungry, they want to win, they want to go to the playoffs, they want to go far and advance and I think that's helping them a little bit. With what the coaches are telling them is true, that we're preparing you and it's working and you've got to do your part and work hard."
OFFENSE
Kenny Yoho (5-foot-11, 172 pounds, junior) was thrust into the starting role at quarterback last season less than a week before the opener. He responded as a dual-threat, passing for more than 10 yards per completion and four touchdowns, and rushing for just over 118 yards. LaBrae improved its offensive output from 10.0 points per game in 2022 to 19.8 points per contest.
"You could see [Yoho's] confidence grow as the year went on," Elliot said. "I started out basic, I wanted to make sure that he was confident with what he was doing and he just got better.
"He plays basketball and is a point guard and you can see him on the floor, too, his leadership kind of comes out. He played some varsity as a sophomore last year and you could tell he's just getting confident. He came back this year and he's gone to some camps and he works really, really hard on everything."
Elliot, who changed the offense after 2022 from a spread attack to the Wing-T, said Easton Armstrong (5-11, 170, jr.) has emerged as the starting fullback with Jaime Faulkner (5-6, 205, soph.) expected to get carries as well.
Davin Derry, who graduated, led LaBrae on the ground with 561 yards and 14 TDs.
Treyton Derry (5-9, 162, jr.) and Dillon Bate (5-10, 180, jr.) will split time at running back and Eric Reibold (6-1, 195, jr.) has been moved from tight end to wing.
"He's athletic, he's a bigger kid [and] he's a good blocker," Elliot said of Reibold. "He's a great pass catcher and I need to get him the ball more."
The receivers will be Owen Boone (5-10, 153, sr.) and De'marriyae Jackson (5-9, 148, jr.). Boone opened the 2023 season as the starter but got injured and Jackson filled in.
"Owen Boone is a really good athlete, a three-sport athlete," Elliot said. "He's got good speed and great hands so we're glad to have him back. Demarriyae Jackson started last year when Boone got hurt. He kind of had to step up and be one of those guys.
"Since we run the Wing-T, it seems the fullback is more of the featured guy but that depends on week to week what the defense is going to do," Elliot added. "I would say the fullback and our slot running back are the two guys who are going to get the ball most. We're probably splitting time with all of our skill guys because all of them play defense. You gotta rotate how you're gonna give guys a break."
The Vikings return five of six starters on the offensive line (including tight ends).
Those returnees are Nick Lipinski (6-0, 280, sr.) at center, left guard Owen Meeks (5-6, 184, sr.), left tackle Riley Yoho (5-10, 309, sr.), right tackle Gage Hasler (5-9, 252, jr.) and tight end Bransen Hawkins (6-2, 230, sr.).
"Lipinski is our strongest lineman," Elliot said. "He is just so coachable. Meeks just came on real well last year and Yoho, who started a little bit as a sophomore, did some good things. Hasler has worked hard in the weight room and gotten better. He's going to be good."
The right guard is slated to be Matt Kujala (6-0, 261, soph.).
"He's a sophomore but he's a big, strong kid," Elliot said. "He's a thrower in track and probably their best thrower. We got so much better last year. Our line coach, Greg Barnhart, did a tremendous job with those guys and working on fundamentals. I'm excited as far as the offense goes and those guys being able to hopefully be better and open up some holes."
The other tight ends are Ethan Magoulick (6-0, 207, sr.), who moved from a wing position, and Alex Prouty (6-0, 195, sr.).
"Those guys will see time because we have some double tight end sets," Elliot said.
DEFENSE
LaBrae will start from a 3-3 stack alignment for the second consecutive season.
Elliot switched defenses following the 2022 season to one that he has experience with and the players responded with a more aggressive attack. The Vikings gave up seven fewer points per game, shutting out Valley Christian and Campbell Memorial and allowing just seven points to Newton Falls and Champion.
The defensive line features Hawkins, Meeks, Reibold and Lipinski.
"Bransen Hawkins is probably the biggest and the fastest one," Elliot said. "Owen Meeks was the one who kind of got the whole hang of it before all the other ones and all of a sudden he started making plays. Eric Reibold does a great job with his athleticism and his strength. Nick Lipinski comes in, kind of spells those guys and we're going to try to get some more of our offensive linemen playing a little bit more to give those guys breaks."
LaBrae's deepest losses were at linebacker.
"We're working that out," Elliot said. "We lost three linebackers from last year that were really good."
Mogulick and Armstrong are returning starters; the latter is being moved inside from one of the outside positions. Faulkner is slated to start in the middle but has been recovering from an injury he suffered early in the summer. Jace Rutherford (5-8, 179, jr.) has been filling in until Faulkner returns.
"He's done a pretty good job," Elliot said of Rutherford.
The other outside linebackers will be Bate and Gabe Lofton (5-7, 146, jr.).
"We moved Bate to outside linebacker [in 2023] then had to move him to cornerback when we got injuries," Elliot said. "Lofton is a very quick and physical kid."
Kenny Yoho and Treyton Derry return as starters in the secondary. Boone is slated for a cornerback position. Jackson and Devin Moody (5-6, 135, jr.) will also see action.
"My first year [at LaBrae] we ran a defense that I didn't know too much about. I liked it but it didn't fit our personnel and I didn't know enough about it," Elliot said. "I wanted to go to a defense that I'm most familiar with, so if I have to get involved more, then I know what's going on, so we went to the 3-3 stack. We had a lot of linebackers, we had some linemen that could run and we didn't have a lot of DBs. That fits more with our personality and our skill set."
SPECIAL TEAMS
Max Young, who handled all of the kicking duties last year, has graduated. Josh Biery (5-5, 125, sr.), one of the top players on the boys soccer team, has emerged as the top candidate for kickoffs and PATs.
"He seems to have a little better leg right now," Elliot said.
Nate Huscroft (5-9, 163, soph.) and Christian Kerber (5-10, 140, soph.) are also members of the soccer team and competing for playing time.
"Our punter is up in the air right now," Elliot said. "It looks like Eric Reibold seems to be the best punter. Easton Armstrong is kind of working on that too, but he's our long snapper and I hate to lose a long snapper."
LaBrae, which opened the last three seasons against Lakeview, plays host to Cardinal on Aug. 23.
"We're in the third year, we have a lot of experience coming back [and] this is our second year with the systems we are using," he added. "With the experience of the kids coming back in the same system I'm kind of anxious to see how this fall pans out."
Have an interesting story? Contact the Sports Department, at sports@tribtoday.com. Follow us on X, formerly Twitter, @TribChronSports.