Dalton Chilcoat (right) is back to anchor the offensive and defensive lines for the Bulldogs.
Don Speck | The Lima News
CELINA – Celina enters the 2024 season looking to defend its share of the Western Buckeye League championship.
It was the eighth time the Bulldogs had captured the WBL title and that run of success didn’t end until they were one game away from the Division III State Championship game.
A season like that builds high expectations.
“Last year was a fun ride. We had a great group of kids,” said Celina coach Brennen Bader. “That was a group of kids that paid their dues and fought through tons of adversity in their careers. We still have kids left over from that roster and we hope that experience builds into this season.”
Bader enters high eighth season coming off a 12-3 record in 2023. The seniors on his roster have seen a complete turnaround since their freshman season when they went 1-9 in 2021. The same group went 6-5 in 2022 before last year’s historic run.
“The year we went 1-9 I’d remember sitting in the coach’s office and thinking man, this team is still so much fun to coach. They come in every day with the will to improve,” said Bader. “They checked all the boxes but they were young and inexperienced with a lot of Freshman and Sophomores playing that year.
“We felt as a coaching staff that we had something special brewing. The next year we made the playoffs and that really sparked our run in 2023. Now, most of that same group comes back and these upcoming seniors have seen the entire process. We believe that will help them this season.”
Last season the Bulldogs averaged 288 yards per game. 206 of those yards came on the ground. A big piece of that rushing attack was second-team all-state selection Braylon Gabes, who had 1,178 all-purpose yards and 10 touchdowns as a senior.
Three key athletes are back in the fold and all three are seniors, a group that includes running back Jon Lutz (76 rushes for 585 yards and four touchdowns), and quarterback Bobby Morris (59-for-103, 750 yards, seven touchdowns).
Dalton Chilicoat, a third-team all-state lineman, also brings back experience up front.
“Bobby (Morris) got some playing time for us as a Junior,” said Bader. “We had a two-quarterback system last year and he came in during some real key moments and made huge throws, especially in the Defiance game when he helped us seal our share of the WBL.”
Schematically, Bader’s Bulldogs will look the same on Friday nights. They’ll run a ground-and-pound style attack on offense with suffocating and protective play on defense.
“We want to put a premium on getting downhill and being able to pass in situations where we need to,” said Bader. “With the way Bobby has been throwing, it gives us the option to be more balanced.
“Defensively, we must be able to stop the run and mitigate or eliminate big explosive plays that can hurt you in games. We must be sound on that side of the field. We need to make teams earn it and we feel like we have the guys that can do that.”
Celina kicks off its season on Aug. 23 at home against Columbus South High School. In week two, the attention turns to WBL play when the Bulldogs take on rival St. Marys.
TEAM PROFILE
Coach: Brennen Bader (eighth season)
Division: III
Last year’s record: 12-3, 8-1 WBL
Ticket information: celinaschools.org/BulldogSports.aspx
2024 schedule
(Kickoffs scheduled for 7 p.m.; subject to change)
8/23 — Columbus South
8/30 — at St. Marys
9/6 — Van Wert
9/13 — Shawnee
9/20 — at Kenton
9/27 — at Elida
10/4 — Bath
10/11 — at Ottawa-Glandorf
10/18 — at Defiance
10/25 — Wapakoneta
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
