Wallick eager to see who steps into some key roles for Pirates
Dillon Soehnlen ran through plenty of would-be tacklers last season for the Pirates. The sturdy running back will once again carry the load in the backfield for Garaway this fall.
For the past several seasons, the harvest on The Hill in Sugarcreek has been plentiful, and Jason Wallick’s Garaway Pirates football teams have feasted on opponents, carving out a handful of playoff years and league championships.
Life has been good.
However, having lost nine of its 11 starters on defense, a record-setter at wideout and the majority of its talented wide receiving corps, Wallick said he is eager to see who steps up to fill in those key spots to become the major ingredients in what he and his Pirates hope will be another strong campaign.
“We’ve been fortunate to be on a really nice run,” Wallick said. “But we’ve got quite a few holes to fill, and we graduated some incredible talent last season, so we’re waiting for the next group to step up and shine.”
Wallick said the Pirates have been spoiled with the talent patrolling the middle of the defense the past several years, like Jackson Reifenschneider, Jarrett Wallick, Wyatt Hershberger, Payton Keller, Clayton Downs and others dominating the front line on defense.
“We lost six of our front seven kids, so we’ve got positions to fight for, and we’re eager to see who works hard and grabs them,” Wallick said.
The lone returners on defense are linebacker Jayce Wallick and defensive back Micah Yoder.
The Pirates suffered a blow when Cameron Gazboda suffered a knee injury this preseason, and Bronson Speedy is expected to become a force, although Wallick said he hopes to keep the two-way star fresh for his offensive role at wideout.
Because the team played in so many blowouts last year, Wallick said he had plenty of players who gained experience, and among those expected to contribute heavily is Dillon King, who suffered an injury that kept him out of the season after week three last year.
One player who won’t require any time to get accustomed to the flow is quarterback Brady Geibel, a 6-foot, 4-inch athlete with a cannon who commandeered the Pirates offense last season.
“Brady is exciting, and he’s become a real leader on and off the field,” Wallick said. “He’s bigger, stronger and faster.”
While not possessing Geibel’s size, returning star running back Dillon Soehnlen isn’t short on guts, power or speed.
“Pound for pound, I’ll put Dillon up against anyone,” Wallick said. “He’s so strong. Dillon’s going to carry the load, and he is very capable. We saw that last season.”
Jaylen Jimenez also looked good running the ball last season in relieving Soehnlen.
Geibel should get strong protection up front, where Colson Keller, Bryce Yoder, Braxton Speed, William Miller, Brady Miller and others should bolster the offensive line.
“We’ve probably got seven or eight guys we feel good about running out there on the O-line,” Wallick said.
Wideout will be a different story. With the loss of All-Ohioan and school record-holder Jenson Garber and standout Gabe Amicone, Wallick will be looking for someone to join Speedy in hauling in Geibel’s darts.
Micah Yoder gained some experience last season, and Braden Raber, Kaden Doanne and Jayce Wallick should have every opportunity to step into key roles.
“Lots of unanswered questions there, but we think lots of potential,” Wallick said.
Wallick said the veteran coaching staff hopes to have plenty of these questions answered by week three.
One area the Pirates haven’t struggled for many years is the sheer level of talent that has arisen through the program. Winning promotes growth in any program, and Wallick said it’s been joyful to see the pee wee and youth football camp programs blossom and develop talent.
“We’ve probably had 90% of our kids on this team come up through youth camp and pee wee football, and it’s amazing how you can almost pick out the kids who are going to be really good, but at the same time, you have kids who blossom late and really surprise you,” Wallick said. “But our feeder systems have been instrumental in building the program into what it is today.”
The Pirates open with River View and Waynedale at home, followed by a road game with West Muskingum before coming back home to host Cardinal Mooney and Malvern in what should be two challenging games prior to opening their defense of the Inter-Valley Conference South division.
Having racked up a combined 63-11 record the past six seasons including last year’s record-setting 15-1 mark, the Pirates are shooting for what they hope will be the continuation of what has become one of the area’s top programs.