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Cambridge hoping experience pays off

Josh Lowery

By JEFF HARRISON

For The Times Leader

CAMBRIDGE – Despite a disappointing three-win season, the Cambridge Bobcats gained valuable experience that second-year coach Josh Lowery hopes will pay dividends this fall.

“Our seniors have been using the term ‘I’ve got your back’ as their go-to phrase,” said Lowery, “but as coaches we try to tell all of them to ’embrace the moment’ and strive for consistency every day.

“We’ve got a lot of younger kids who got playing experience last year,” the Cambridge coach continued, “so having depth and experience should be a strong point for us this season.

“A lot of the kids know what it’s like to play on Friday nights, so that shouldn’t be a concern this season,” he added.

Lowery says this year’s group has certainly worked hard to avoid another sub-.500 season (Cambridge was 3-7 overall and 2-1 in the East Central Ohio League’s Gray Division in 2018).

“We’ve talked about that a lot and it’s not an option this year,” he stated. “They’ve been busting their butts in the weight room and on the practice field to keep that from happening again.”

The CHS coach said there’s definitely been a carryover of leadership from last year’s seniors to this year’s group.

“Last year’s seniors did a good job of leading us,” he said, “and the ones we have this year learned a lot from them about overcoming adversities and the ups and downs of football.

“The way we handle adversity is going to be big,” Lowery continued. “Sometimes when things go wrong, you revert back to bad habits and we have to stay focused and be able to recover.”

An experienced quarterback and speed in the backfield are among the offensive assets for the Bobcats.

“I’m happy with our ‘skill’ positions,” said Lowery. “We’ve got a lot of speed and several players we want to get the football into their hands.

“Offensive line-wise, we only lost two guys so we have three starters and a couple of others who will fill those spots who got some experience last year,” he added.

The ‘Cats will have to replace all-Ohio Division IV receiver Trent Valentine, a mainstay for four years and the school’s career record-holder in receptions, and Lowery cites that as a big concern in the preseason.

“When you have someone like we did last year, you know where you’re going with the football,” he said, referring to Valentine. “Now, we will need to spread it around and we need some guys to step up and get the job done.”

Stepping behind center full-time this fall after splitting the quarterback duties a year ago is senior Cody Moore (6-0, 180). He completed 51-of-81 passes for 603 yards and five TDs and was a second team all-ECOL Gray Division selection.

“It’s great to have someone back there with experience,” said Lowery. “He’s gotten better at reading defenses, and his biggest strength is he doesn’t turn the ball over. Cody’s not the fastest guy in the world, but he’s a hard-nosed kid who gets the job done.”

Junior Kaden Whaley (6-0, 200) serves as Moore’s back-up while waiting in the wings is sophomore Caden Moore (5-7, 150).

The speed in the CHS backfield starts with the duo of seniors Travon Jeffrey (6-0, 200) and Latrell Payton (5-11, 170). Jeffrey led the ground game a year ago with 98 carries for 539 yards and five TDs. He was named first team all-ECOL Gray and all-OVAC Class 4A along with special mention all-East District Division IV.

Another threat will be Carson Snyder (6-0, 170), a transfer from Pennsylvania, with senior Khol Mobelini – a stalwart on defense – also available to tote the leather.

Four players figure to get most of the time at the wide receiver spots – senior DeVaughnte Best (6-3, 175), senior David Moore (5-8, 190), senior Brayden Bonnell (5-10, 200) and junior Roman Jeffrey (6-0, 175). Moore was third on the team last year with 10 catches for 76 yards.

The tight end will be junior Justin Bartlett (6-0, 185), with junior Blake Brumfield (6-0, 180) getting the call when a double-tight end formation is in order, and sophomore Braidyn Jackson (6-1, 195) in reserve.

Senior Mason Ogle (5-11, 220) will anchor the Bobcats’ O-line for the third year in a row at center, with two other returning starters alongside in senior guard Cooper Conte (6-0, 225) and junior tackle Case Wilson (5-11, 210). Conte earned special mention all-East District honors last season.

Moving into the other guard post will be junior Hayden Burris-Jones (6-2, 200) while junior Collin Conte (6-6, 300) will give the ‘Cats a brother tandem as bookend tackles.

The primary back-ups in the trenches are freshman Angelo Rocco (5-11, 205) at center; junior Luke Stillion (5-10, 230) at guard; and junior Brock Valentine (6-3, 285) at tackle.

Handling the placekicking and doing double-duty as a member of the CHS soccer team is sophomore Andrew Fillippis (5-8, 155). He had five successful PAT kicks in a back-up role last fall.

The ‘Cats return a veteran defensive group overall with eight players who saw regular starting duty in the fold.

“Defensively, I really like us up front,” said Lowery, whose team will again operate from a base 4-3 alignment. “We’re very solid at linebacker and we’ve got experience in the secondary.”

Along the D-line, Bartlett will transition from linebacker where he had 37 tackles a year ago to end and Cooper Conte will be on the other side. Mason Ogle and Collin Conte will clog up the middle as the tackles.

Primary at the terminals includes Wilson, Andy Ogle, Jackson, Buchtel, Rocco and Huhn while depth at tackle comes from Valentine, Stillion, Landaker, Lathan, Long and Williams. Lathan and Zavodsky round out the defensive linemen.

At linebacker, Cambridge has a pair of returning second team all-ECOL Gray Division selections – David Moore on the strong side and Khol Mobelini on the weak side. Moore was second on the team last year with 76 total tackles while Mobelini, who also gained honorable mention all-OVAC, was right behind with 73 stops including a team-high four QB sacks.

Burris-Jones joins those two as the middle ‘backer to form a formidable trio on the second line of defense.

Backing Burris-Jones in the middle are Trey Stottsberry and Durham; depth behind David Moore comes from Brumfield, Long and Conner Mobelini; and back-ups to Khol Mobelini include Bonnell, Spencer and Burgess.

Additional LBs are Parry, Caldwell and Beau Stottsberry.

In the secondary, Payton opens at one cornerback slot while Travon Jeffrey and Snyder are dueling for the other.

Roman Jeffrey, Kasen Secrest, Bond and Javon Capehart are in line behind Payton while Cody Moore, Ayers, Jakob Capehart and Hewison are behind the Travon Jeffrey/Snyder combo.

Kenworthy is the likely starter at free safety and Whaley is at strong safety.

Depth behind Kenworthy comes from Best, Saft, Beau Stottsberry and Caldwell while back-ups to Whaley are Logan Mobelini, Kyler Secrest, Dalton Moore and Caden Moore.

Several key players were lost to graduation, including the aforementioned Valentine who, in addition to all-state honors, was first team all-East District, all-ECOL Gray and all-OVAC 4A and played in the OVAC Game.

Also gone are Logan Tuttle, Hunter Sovka, Cooper Kerns, JT Swank, Jad Mahayri, Seth Kobie, Bobby Miller, Brett Murdock, Tyler Kline and Evan Hannon.

The Bobcats’ coaching staff includes Johnny Jones, Ben Lambes, Devin Nicholes, Riley Hayhurst, Dustin Rose, Matt Dalton, Jalil Carter and J.R. Fox. At the junior high level are Jamaal Lowery, Mark Clifford, Aaron Mathews and Bob Mascolino.

Indian Creek again serves as the Bobcats’ season opener Friday at McFarland Stadium (the ‘Cats dropped a tough 35-28 decision to the Redskins last year), but there are several changes to the schedule for 2019.

Cambridge, which competes in the ECOL’s Gray Division and the OVAC’s Class 4A division, won’t play either Dover or New Philadelphia – both newcomers to the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference this year – for the first time in many years and they’ve also dropped Wheeling Park.

Replacing those three are road games in Weeks 5-7 at Bellaire (Saturday afternoon), Marietta and Union Local.

“I feel we can compete with the teams on our schedule,” said Lowery. “I’ve always been a day-to-day or game-to-game person, so we can’t worry about things down the road. Our expectations are high, though, and I feel we can potentially double our wins and if things fall right, battle for a playoff spot.

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