Kaden Page is back at wide receiver for Wapakoneta after catching 55 balls for 653 yards and seven touchdowns last season.
Don Speck | The Lima News
WAPAKONETA — Wapakoneta is the standard in the Western Buckeye League.
In 2023, the Redskins won their third consecutive league title, and it doesn’t appear they’ll be slowing down anytime soon.
That success starts at the top with coach Travis Moyer, who enters his 11th season at Wapak.
His team went 10-3 last year with an 8-1 record in the WBL and made it all the way to the regional semifinals before suffering a 14-10 loss to Hamilton Badin in an injury-riddled game.
It was the second-straight season the two teams met in the playoffs, and both times, Badin pulled out a one-score win.
The Redksins led until the final two seconds of its season despite losing starting quarterback Caleb Moyer to a broken collarbone and running back Jace Knous to a knee injury.
It was a heartbreaker, but the program didn’t dwell on it.
They hit the weight room in January in an effort to have another strong offseason.
For Moyer and the Redskins, that’s where sustaining success begins.
“Our kids understand the importance of lifting,” he said, “and it’s something that sets the precedent that we need to need to be at our best if we want to compete for a championship. Our kids have bought into that.
“As a program, we’ve played in a lot of big games. It’s that preparation that starts in January that gives us a chance to compete at the highest level.”
The top offseason priority for Wapakoneta has been to get its starting quarterback healthy. By the look of things, Caleb Moyer’s collarbone seems to be back at full strength.
The 6-2, 190-pound junior spent the summer throwing with or competing against some of the top arms in the state, names such as Findlay’s Ryan Montgomery (University of Georgia commit), Lakota East’s JT Kitna (uncommitted), Gahanna Lincoln’s Brennen Ward (University of Kentucky commit) and Bellefontaine’s Tavien St. Clair (Ohio State University commit).
Moyer and St. Clair have even developed a personal relationship after throwing together each of the last two offseasons. It’s something that Travis Moyer appreciates from more than just a competition standpoint.
“Tavien is a phenomenal kid. Anytime you can surround yourself with an elite talent like Tavien St. Clair, I think it only inspires you and pushes you to be better,” he said. “To me, I think competition is always positive, and when you look at what he does, it lets you know where you need to improve to compete at that level.”
Moyer passed for 1,812 yards and 14 touchdowns as a sophomore. He added 464 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground, earning him a spot on the WBL’s first team and an honorable mention in the state of Ohio.
Travis Moyer thinks we’ll see a bigger, faster and stronger Caleb Moyer on the field this fall. He calls his son another coach on the field, meaning he has a great handle on the offense.
“He’s continuing to improve at understanding his position and competing at a high level. We have extremely high expectations for that position, and it’s not easy to play quarterback here,” he said. “We’ve seen an incredible amount of growth in him since the Marion Local game last year.”
Depth on the offensive line is one question the Redskins face. With the loss of players like Kaden Ware (first-team WBL) and Austin Brown (WBL honorable mention), returners Chris Martin (Sr., 5-11, 205), Landen Micco (Sr., 5-11, 210) and Mason Ludwig (Jr., 5-11, 225) take on even larger roles.
Bryson Pack (Sr., 5-9, 170), Jarrett Mullin (Jr., 5-7, 165) and Noah Bishop (Jr., 5-6, 145) slot in at running back for the now-graduated Knous. The trio combined for 243 yards and four touchdowns on 41 carries in 2023.
Out wide, Wapak possesses a pair of Division I recruits, Grant Houser at tight end and Kaden Page at receiver.
Houser announced his commitment to the Univerity of Louisville this summer, and Page has already fielded three offers from Miami (Ohio), Toledo and Western Michigan.
Page, a WBL honorable mention, caught 55 balls for 653 yards and seven touchdowns last season.
The two are joined by Ryan Richardson (Jr., 6-2, 170) and Ryan Walter (Sr., 6-0, 185) as top targets for Caleb Moyer, with an emphasis on sharing the wealth.
“It’s our goal to spread that ball around as much as we can and get as many people involved as possible,” coach Moyer said. “Anytime you can start with a guy like Grant (Houser), you’re in good shape, and Kaden (Page) gives us that big-play threat. We want to get them the ball in space and let them do their thing.”
On defense, the secondary is the most experienced position group consisting of returners Caleb Moyer, Jarret Mullin and Ryan Richardson.
The Redskins took their biggest hit on that side of the ball with the losses of Ware, the WBL’s Defensive Lineman of the Year, and Joey Truesdale, the WBL’s co-defensive back of the year, among others.
There are holes to fill, but that’s nothing new for Moyer and his staff.
“We lost a good amount of guys on defense, but that’s not out of the ordinary for us,” he said. “We’re a team that normally plays veteran players on that side of the ball. We’re going to have some new faces there, but we’re a big believer that if we want to compete for a championship we have to play really well defensively.”
Although they’re no longer opening the season against Marion Local, the Redskins still face a tough schedule early on, starting with St. John’s Jesuit, followed by Defiance, Ottawa-Glandorf and St. Marys.
The good news is that those first three games come on their home turf.
Last year, Wapakoneta started 0-2. Even though Moyer believes that adversity brought his team closer together, he hopes to get that first win out of the way sooner this season, especially with a daunting WBL schedule ahead.
“It’s always our goal to win game No. 1 and get off to a good start,” Moyer said. “I’ve always thought the hardest game of the season to win is the first one, so you want to get that first win out of the way as quickly as you can.
“When guys step into our program, the expectation is to compete for a league championship and hopefully someday win a state championship. With that comes a responsibility and understanding that we have to work hard to try and achieve those goals. It’s hard to win in the WBL. There are phenomenal players and Hall-of-Fame-type coaches so every week during the season is a grind.”
TEAM PROFILE
Coach: Travis Moyer (11th season)
Division: III
Last year’s record: 10-3, 8-1 WBL
Ticket information: wapak.org/page/tickets
Returning 2023 varsity letter winners: Grant Houser (Sr., TE/DE), Chris Martin (Sr., OL/DE), Grant Stauffer (Sr., WR/DB), Ryan Walter (Sr., WR/LB), Bryson Pack (Sr., RB/LB), Landen Micco (Sr., OL), Jarrett Mullen (Jr., RB/DB), Caleb Moyer (Jr., QB/DB), Wyatt Buell (Jr., OL/DL), Noah Bishop (Jr., RB/DB), Ryan Richardson (Jr., WR/DB), Kaden Page (Jr., WR/DB), Brody Presar (Jr., OL/LB), Mason Ludwig (Jr., OL), Daron Houser (So., OL/DL)
Top newcomers: Braydon Hower (Sr., TE/DE), Toby Wilcoxson (Sr., TE/DE), Noah Burnfield (Sr., WR/DB), Ethan Eisert (Sr., K), Ross Honigford (Sr., TE/DL)
2024 schedule
(Kickoffs scheduled for 7 p.m.; subject to change)
8/23 — St. Johns Jesuit
8/30 — Defiance
9/6 — Ottawa-Glandorf
9/13 — at St. Marys
9/20 — Van Wert
9/27 — Shawnee
10/4 — at Kenton
10/11 — at Elida
10/18 — Bath
10/25 — at Celina
ONLY ON LIMASCORES.COM
See more about 2024 high school football season at LimaOhio.com/tag/hsfootball24.
