Dalton lays it on line in WCAL repeat
Dalton seniors Bryce Johnson, left, Quentin Lehman, Nate Stutz and Grant Johnson have helped the team to the school’s first repeat WCAL title since the early 1990s.
The Dalton football team laid it on the line this season, and the results have been downright impressive.
The Bulldogs (8-2, 6-1), who shared the Wayne County Athletic League title with Northwestern, became the school’s first repeat league title winner since a run of three straight from 1991-93.
After Dalton graduated three first-team All-Ohio players from its 2021 Div. VI regional runner-up team — Jaden Schlabach, Jaiden Malone and Tate Geiser — a repeat title didn’t seem likely.
However, coach Broc Dial leaned on an offensive line that returned four of five starters to set the tone and reloaded with an entirely new backfield.
The Bulldogs hit a few rough patches but still managed to share in the league title and will steamroll into the playoffs as a No. 4 seed on a four-game winning streak.
“The kids here are awesome,” said Dial, whose team will host Jackson-Milton (7-3) in a Div. VI, Region 21 playoff game on Friday. “Great families, great kids. I have full confidence in the kids. They’re very coachable; they’re gonna get better. You know I just love them.”
Dalton has outscored opponents by an average margin of 44.3-12.8 over the past four games, which includes wins over fellow playoff teams Northwestern (34-14) and preseason favorite Norwayne (41-16).
Returning offensive linemen Quentin Lehman (6-foot-3, 260 senior) and Grant Johnson (5-10, 185 senior) are at the tackles, with veteran guards in Grayson Lehman (6-4, 270 junior) and Collin Jones (5-11, 200 junior). Center Cohen Riggenbach (6-1, 250) and tight end Kaden Russell, both sophomores, have stepped up as first-year starters.
“Those kids on our line love playing football,” Dial said. “They love contact and love learning. That’s what you need up front and also guys who are selfless. I think all six of them represent that.
“I really believe that it starts up front on your football team, and it’s allowed our other skill to kind of develop and grow through the season. We’ve got good talent and skill behind them.”
The veteran line has paved the way for first-year starters Greyson Siders, a junior, and sophomore Sammy Tomlinson to run roughshod through the WCAL. They both have a chance to eclipse 1,000 yards rushing.
Siders leads the way with 123 carries for 940 yards and 19 TDs while Tomlinson is close behind with 115 rushes for 892 yards and 14 scores.
First-year starting quarterback Colin Pearson, a junior, is 89-for-138, passing for 1,264 yards, nine TDs and just two interceptions.
The leading receivers are Cade Mullet (25-296, 4 TDs), Brady Hignight (24-277, 0) and Siders (17-399, 3). Mullet also has a team-high five interceptions.
Quentin Lehman anchors the line and plans to continue his career at Ohio Northern, where he’ll major in mechanical engineering.
“Q is one of our better offensive linemen we’ve had since we’ve been here,” Dial said. “He’s one of our leaders and just a tremendous young man and tremendous player.”
Quentin Lehman said the Bulldogs have believed since the off-season they could have a special season despite the key graduation losses.
“We thought as a group, ‘We can band together, and we can do something this year,’” Lehman said. “We didn’t really focus on what other people were saying. We just focused on what we were doing.
“Winning the WCAL championship is really important to us. It’s awesome to go to battle with these guys and end up making it big.”
Senior linebacker Bryce Johnson, who’s a triplet along with Grant and sister Kylie, said the team always goes all out in practices and games, whether it’s the starters or scout team.
“We had a lot of doubters outside of us, but our locker room and our coaches believed in us, and we just push every week,” said Bryce, who has 47 tackles. “We go 100 miles an hour, every single snap.”
Senior safety Ethan Stutz, who passed for 2,267 yards and 24 TDs last season, exemplifies the Bulldogs “team-first” attitude.
Stutz became a defensive and special teams leader after his early season thumb and ankle injuries opened the door for Pearson to become the starting quarterback.
“I hadn’t played any defense before this year,” said Stutz, who has 20 tackles and one interception. “At the beginning of the year, we struggled a little bit on defense, but we keep getting better. Ever since the Hillsdale game (27-12 loss, week six), we’ve been playing a lot harder and playing fast.”
Senior Grant Johnson (team-high 70 tackles, 2 INTs), who plays middle linebacker in addition to offensive tackle, has been impressed with the way Siders and Tomlinson have stepped up.
“They run the ball hard every single snap,” Grant Johnson said. “(Tomlinson) was a little nervous to start the year because he hadn’t played at this level before, but we’ve helped him, and he’s turned into a really good back. Siders really runs hard too.”
Siders and Tomlinson do a lot more than just run the ball, Dial said.
“I think both of them got better with their vision, understanding our landmarks and what we’re trying to do on different plays,” Dial said. “Sam is a little more of a speedster; Greyson’s a little more of a bruiser. They both run hard.
“We tell our kids, ‘If you want the ball, you’ve gotta also do things without the ball,’ and those two exemplify that.”
Pearson could be the X-factor in the playoffs if teams try to stack the line against the run.
“Collin started playing early in the season, and we got on a roll,” Dial said. “As a coach you try not to mess with things too much and just get out of the way. He’s a very good quarterback, and he’s gotten a lot better at reading things and understanding what we’re trying to do with our X’s and O’s. We have two really good quarterbacks.”
Last year’s playoff run should help the Bulldogs understand what to expect this time around.
“We know we have to take it one by one,” Bryce Johnson said. “We can’t get big on Kirtland or CCC. We’re just focusing everything on Jackson-Milton.”