Staff photo / Neel Madhavan Newton Falls’ offensive and defensive linemen work on blocking drills during a morning practice on Aug. 5 at Newton Falls High School.

NEWTON FALLS — There’s nowhere to go but up for the Newton Falls football program. The last winning season came in 2009 and the Tigers didn’t win a game last year, finishing 0-10.

However, head coach Josh Goss is entering his first full season at the helm, and the expectations might be changing for the Tigers.

“Last year, I took over in Week 7 after coach Hogue had to leave for health reasons,” said Goss. “During that time, the team and myself learned a lot about who we want to become this year and what our expectations are. We’re way ahead of last year. That’s something that we’re all excited about. Last year, coming into the first game, we didn’t feel like we had enough in.

“Now, we have a lot of plays in our arsenal. We’re trying to build off of every play. We want to make three plays look like one. We’ll incorporate some misdirection.”

Goss spent time as the offensive coordinator for his alma mater Mineral Ridge, and was an assistant at Campbell, before becoming an assistant at Newton Falls.

“I’m extremely excited to lead this group,” Goss said. “It’s a completely new team out there. I’m impressed with how much these guys have picked up. One of the things that has stood out to me is the character and work ethic of the players. There’s a strong sense of pride in representing their school. That’s a positive attribute that any coach hopes to inherit.”

Goss feels that things can turn around for the Tigers this season.

“The first thing we have to do is fix us,” he said. “We’re not going to beat anybody until we stop beating ourselves. We have to eliminate penalties. We have to stop making stupid mistakes. We have to keep our composure when times get tough. If we can do those things, we’ll be able to move the ball and get stops on defense. If we can do that, we’re really going to make some noise this season.”

OFFENSE

The Tigers will be transitioning from the Spread to the Wing-T on offense this season, and junior Chace Clonch will be running the show at quarterback.

“Chace took over at quarterback in Week 3 last season,” said Goss. “He gained a lot of experience. We’re going to try get him out on the run with some boot-out passes, spreads and some rolls. We’re also going to let him read the backfield with some run reads.”

Freshman Mason Dillion will be the backup quarterback.

“This is Mason’s first experience playing quarterback, but he’s come a long way so far,” Goss said. “Chace is going to be our guy. He’s the guy who we’re going to want the ball in his hands at all times. He’s dramatically improved at reading defenses. He’s a threat with the ball in his hands. We’re going to rally around him as much as we can.”

The transition to the Wing-T offense will have the running backs heavily involved.

“Senior Isac Hoy and sophomore Zander Brooks are both back,” Goss said. “They are a couple of big bruisers. We’ve also got a ‘jack of all trades’ back there in sophomore Zayne Shelton. He’s a speedy guy. He has great footwork and vision. We’ll get him the ball on the edge.

“Our running backs will kind of be hybrid guys in the Wing-T. They’re going to get jet-sweeps, and they’re also going to be involved in our passing game. Junior Connor Dunlap is transitioning from playing guard last year to a skill guy this year. He’s had a fantastic summer camp. We’re really impressed with him, as well as Brady Lampman and Sim’Wan Allen.”

The receiving corps will be asked to be threats in the passing game as well as block in the running game.

“Senior AJ Collins is back,” Goss said. “He’s going to be one of our vertical threat guys when we throw the ball in the air. Mason Dillion will start at the other receiver spot. He’s a taller kid. He runs great routes and has great hands.

“At tight end, we’re really impressed with junior Robert Robinson. He’s gotten a lot bigger and stronger in the offseason in the weight room. He’s a ‘do it all’ kind of guy. We can split him out in one-on-one coverage, or we can bring him in and have him block. He’s a tremendous asset for us.”

There’s a mixture of youth and experience along the offensive line.

“We’re starting a pair of big freshmen up front,” Goss said. “Brady Smith (6-foot-2, 280 lbs) will start at center, and he’ll be anchored by Mason Gant at offensive guard. We return sophomore Bear Carr. He’s transitioning from center to guard this year.

“We also return both of our captains Georgie Phillips and Kaiden Prout. They’re both juniors. Those are the guys who are going to anchor our offensive line. They both play tackle. They’re both big, strong kids. They make the calls on the line. They make sure everything is set protection wise. We rely on them a lot.”

DEFENSE

Defensive Coordinator Chris DiRando will run a base 40 cover-3 defense for Newton Falls.

“Kaiden Prout and Georgie Phillips will anchor our defensive line on the ends,” said Goss. “Bear Carr and sophomore Devon Goncz will be in the middle.”

The linebacking unit leads the defense.

“Those guys are the heartbeat of the defense,” Goss said. “They’re not afraid of contact. They’re the guys that come out and set the tone and hit you. Isac Hoy and sophomore Zander Brooks are the middle linebackers. They’ve had a great summer camp when it comes to reading offensive linemen and making sure that we’re aligned properly.

“We’re highly impressed with sophomore Braiden Prout at outside linebacker. He’s a big body out there to set the edge, and Connor Dunlap will play on the line and at outside linebacker.”

The Tigers should have enough speed to contain coverage in the secondary.

“Zayne Shelton and Sim’Wan Allen play safety,” Goss said. “They’re both speedy guys who can cover a lot of ground. They have great vision on the back end of the defense. Mason Dillion and sophomore Wyatt Hoy will play cornerback. Wyatt has done a great job of locking guys up and maintaining his zone. We’re excited about him.”

The Tigers will run some 7-on-7 scrimmages before the regular season gets underway.

“We scrimmage against Western Reserve on Aug. 7,” Goss said. “And, we have our preview game against McDonald on August 15th.

“The pads aren’t on, but you kind of get a sense of how your kids are going to compete. You get to see who is going to go cover somebody one-on-one, and who’s going to be physical when it comes to bumping wideouts off their route.

“You get to find out who has that dog in him, and it gives you a better look at how you can change your concepts to help give your kids a better chance to succeed.”

SPECIAL TEAMS

Goss thinks the Tigers have a secret weapon in the kicking game.

“Brady Lampman is back doing the kicking this year,” Goss said. “The kid has a hammer for a leg. We can pin teams deep on the kickoffs. He can kick it into the end zone. He can pooch it, or squib it. We have a couple of different onside kicks.

Goss added, “he can bang them in from the hash, when it comes to field goals and extra points. We’re really excited to have him. When you have a good kicker, you have something in your back pocket there.

“Brady will be punting as well. He’s a skill guy. He plays on both sides of the ball. That’s going to give us the opportunity to keep teams on their toes. We might run some fake punts. He’s a real weapon on special teams.”

Chace Clonch and Zayne Shelton will return the punts and kickoffs.