Carder Orr and the Bearcats are looking take a step forward after finishing 3-8 in 2023.
Richard Parrish | The Lima News
Year one was challenging for head coach Kyle Koenig.
Spencerville earned a postseason berth but finished 3-8 as they battled roster numbers and injuries throughout the 2023 campaign.
Year two for Koenig’s Bearcats will see increased numbers and experienced returners in key areas, giving the program some excitement to build around.
“We have a lot of guys back from last year, so that’s been a positive for us,” said Koenig. “We’re also learning a lot about the newcomers on our team. I’m really excited to see what this year holds for us.
“Last year we hit the injury bug early and then we hit a rough patch right after our non-conference schedule. We lost Nathan Coulter for a handful of games and he was our most athletic piece on both sides of the ball. It was good and bad because we had to mix in different guys. Will Sensabaugh and Grady Smith were able to get playing time, and that’ll pay off this year.”
When Spencerville lines up on offense this season, they’ll once again operate out of the Wing-T.
“We will continue to run our ground and pound style approach,” said Koenig. “We want to run the ball, and at the end of last year, we had some success in the passing game when we needed to, especially when our running backs were falling left and right. We went to one back gun and found some things we liked out of that, so we’re going to try and do a little bit of both.”
Defensively there will only be minor tweaks to Spencerville’s approach.
“On the defensive side of the ball, we’re going to line up and try to get you with our blitzes,” said Koenig. “We want to play downhill.”
Senior Carder Orr returns under center (700 passing yards and four touchdowns in 2023) but Spencerville is forced to replace its top two rushers, Nathan Coulter and Carter Layman, who combined for 919 yards and eight touchdowns last fall.
“Carder Orr is a special talent,” said Koenig. “Everyone got to see what he can do on the basketball court, now I’m excited for that to translate to the football field. He’s smart and knows what everyone is supposed to do on every play. If our guys have any questions, Carder is the guy to ask.
“We’re still trying to figure out who our feature running back is going to be. Will Sensabaugh will run a little bit, but we want to use him on the outside more.”
Along with Sensabaugh (41 receptions, 331 yards), Zach Looser is going to be in the backfield mix after he ran for 269 yards on 59 carries in his sophomore season. Dylan Short (6 receptions, 125 yards), is another weapon for Orr who’ll take on a more prominent role.
The Bearcats also have four senior offensive linemen back in the mix. Josh Schindler, Gavin Schwartz, Javier Franco and Trevor Whitney all played various positions on the line last year. Whitney headlines the position group at 6-foot-4 and 280 pounds.
“Trevor is a guy that never shies away from anything, and nor should he,” said Koenig. “He’s a great kid who worked extremely hard in the offseason going to camps and different places to train and work on his craft.
“On the defensive side of the ball, I don’t think he can be stopped. He was creating a lot of havoc at nose tackle for us, which is exactly what we need him to do. He’s going to be an important piece of the puzzle.”
Spencerville opens the season at Memorial Field against Ridgemont on Aug. 23. They’ll follow that with two consecutive road games at Wayne Trace and Riverside before opening Northwest Conference action on Sept. 13 against Columbus Grove.
TEAM PROFILE
Coach: Kyle Koenig (second season)
Division: VI
Last year’s record: 3-8, 1-6 NWC
Ticket information: spencervillebearcats.com/Content2/194
Returning 2023 varsity letter winners: Will Sensabaugh (So., ATH/DB), Dylan Short (Jr., WR/DB), Carder Orr (Sr., ATH/DB), Grady Smith (Jr., ATH/DB), Zach Looser (Jr., RB/LB), Josh Schindler (Sr., OL/LB), Gavin Schwartz (Sr., OL/LB), Javier Franco (Sr., OL/DL), Neo Eutsler (Jr., WR/DB), Trevor Whitney (Sr., OL/DL)
Top newcomers: Owen Conley (Jr., RB/DB), Kolten Grigsby (Fr., RB/LB), Braylon McNett (So., OL/DL), Drew Mack (Jr., OL/DL)
2024 schedule
(Kickoffs scheduled for 7 p.m.; subject to change)
8/23 — Ridgemont
8/30 — at Wayne Trace
9/6 — at Riverside
9/13 — Columbus Grove
9/20 — at Bluffton
9/27 — at Fort Loramie
10/4 — Allen East
10/11 — LCC
10/18 — Crestview
10/25 — at Delphos Jefferson
ONLY ON LIMASCORES.COM
See more about 2024 high school football season at LimaOhio.com/tag/hsfootball24.
Nate Stidham wrote this story for LimaScores.com
