By SETH STASKEY

Times Leader Sports Editor

SHADYSIDE — As he prepared for the 2017 season, Mark Holenka had several thoughts running through his head.

Many tied into the tough-to-swallow way in which last season ended in the Division VII regional quarterfinals against Harvest Prep. Just three seconds away from defending the Fleming Field home turf and advancing, the Tigers allowed a hail mary to be completed, giving Harvest Prep a 40-37 victory, leaving Holenka, the players and fans in total disbelief.

“It was definitely a tough ending,” Holenka said earlier this month at his team’s media day. “If you’re writing a movie, the miraculous, happy ending couldn’t have been scripted any better for Harvest Prep. For us? It was like a horror picture, but that’s the way it goes.”

Though he’s still bothered by the loss, Holenka, who is entering his ninth season at his alma mater, used it as a learning experience. He and his coaching staff have also used that loss to help build the mantra and approach to this season, which opens Friday at home against Toronto.

The Shadyside coaches’ shirt for this season has just one word printed on the back. Quite simply, the Tigers want to “finish” better. And that ideal didn’t come to fruition simply because of the playoff game either.

“We felt there were some other games where we didn’t finish well,” Holenka said. “We’re trying to instill the mindset that you can’t think anything’s done or wrapped up until the final whistle blows. That also applies to drills in practice as well as games. I think one word is all that’s needed sometimes. We just didn’t do a good job of finishing things. We can’t coast to the finish line. We must finish hard at all times.

Though Shadyside fell short in its playoff game, Holenka looked back on the 2016 season fondly. His team finished 8-3 and now must replace a talented group that collected its diplomas in May. Included in the graduation losses were OVAC All-Star Game participants Billy Johnson and Donnie Meadows. Johnson was also an all-Ohio selection after being named the Eastern District’s Offensive Player of the Year.

Also lost was wide receiver Chase Wade, who is now playing college football at Ohio Dominican.

Others who are no longer wearing the Orange and Black are Greg Quinn, Cody Hawthorne, Collin Hunter, Jesse Cain, Austin Carroll, Taylor Prickett and Chaz Davis.

“We definitely lost some quality kids,” Holenka said. “Last year’s team developed and got better as the season went along, which is always a good thing. Obviously, we hope to be in the playoffs, so we accomplished that. I am not sure if our expectations were exceeded, but they were met. There were a few games in the regular season where I didn’t think we met our objectives and you have to meet those before you meet your goals.”

Seeing that Shadyside has qualified for the playoffs 16 of the last 17 seasons and played for two state championships, won seven OVAC titles and posted three consecutive undefeated seasons in recent memory, the bar has been raised and set. Holenka is aware of that and enjoys it, but also does his best to temper it, too.

For the first time in school history, Shadyside won’t be a member of Ohio’s smallest division. The Tigers bumped up to Division VI for this season. However, Holenka stresses that the regular season schedule is where his total focus lies.

“Everyone’s telling me how tough it will be with all of the big guns in that division like Coldwater, Marion Local, Kirtland, etc. I am like, ‘What?’ We have Toronto and Monroe Central long before we have any need to worry about anything like those teams. I am not sure we can win game one, let alone worry about Coldwater. We have other problems to worry about.”

Holenka loves the expectations that the program has built and appreciates how excited the fanbase becomes for the season, but he doesn’t want his team to get ahead of itself.

“Some people think you’re going to line up and just be there every single year,” Holenka said. “It’s not magic. I guess what we’ve done in the past has earned us some respect and name recognition and respect.”

As the Tigers have moved their pre-season camp, Holenka actually hasn’t had to delve into the mantra much because of the approach of his team, which features a roster of 40, but boasts only six seniors.

“We have some unknowns and that’s not always a bad thing,” Holenka said. “As a coach, you maybe don’t sleep as well, but it’s exciting at the same time. I know we’re not a doormat kind of team, but I also know we’re not a team that you can just pencil us in to win each week either. Anything can happen on a Friday night.”

Though they’re not “speedsters,” Holenka indicated the Tigers have “more speed” than they’ve had.

“When I look at the track results, I don’t see too many (Shadyside kids) in the top six in meets of more than a couple of teams, but we’re faster than we have been because kids have worked at it,” Holenka said. “We don’t have that guy who can just go 80 yards at any time, but we could go 25 and then try to do it again. We have to sustain more drives and sprinkle in some big gains.”

Another area of strength is depth. While 40 may not seem like a huge number, Holenka feels confident in spreading around the game action, which could lead to an opportunity allow some players to only have to play one way.

“We have a chance to platoon because we have depth in quality players,” Holenka said. “I am not saying they’re super players, but there isn’t much of a gap between. I like the quality of our depth and that can be really beneficial as the season moves along.”

Shadyside’s offensive identity could be a work-in-progress and may change as the season moves along. Early, look for a hefty dose of running. While Shadyside has been a ground-oriented team the last few years, this decision is two fold. It allows time for the quarterback, who will be new, to season and it also accentuates the Tigers’ biggest strength, which lies with senior running back Alex Krupa (6-3, 210) and junior back Connor Banco (6-2, 200).

“We have a nice returning backfield,” Holenka said of a duo that combined for 1,620 yards and 25 touchdowns last season. “Those kids really complement each other well. They both have to be unselfish enough to block for the other one who isn’t carrying the ball. They’re great runners and we don’t technically have a fullback or a tailback because they’re so similar.”

Of their combined stats, Krupa, who missed some time with an ankle injury, finished 32 yards short of 1,000 and scored 18 of those touchdowns.

Holenka also pointed out junior Colton Adams (5-11, 147) as another option at running back.

Vying for carries are sophomores Ian Carpenter (6-2, 201), Nick Murphy (5-11, 147) and Jakob Klug (5-10, 169).

As for who will be handing the ball off to Krupa and Banco, it’s been a battle in camp between junior Anthony Coggins (5-11, 143) and freshman Jacob Visnic (5-9, 180).

“Anthony’s the most experienced guy, especially when you consider it’s his fifth year in the program, counting junior high,” Holenka said. “He definitely has the leg up, but Jacob has been solid. If he’s not at quarterback, he could easily move to running back.”:

Junior Austin Price (6-3, 181) has also gotten some work at quarterback, but he’ll see the bulk of his time at receiver, which is a spot Holenka is high on.

“We have depth at receiver,” Holenka said. “We have quality kids there, so we could use that spot to run plays in. We don’t have that one standout yet, but we have some kids who we think could become on.”

Along with Price, sophomore Kelly Hendershot (6-0, 160) will be a viable option and start on the opposite side. He caught 13 passes last season for 156 yards.

Senior Colton Stutzman (6-2, 152) and junior Collin Holmes (5-7, 151) are other strong options to help in the passing game.

Other receivers listed on the roster, who are trying to earn a spot in the rotation, include: senior Colton Selmon (5-11, 148), juniors Kyle Tomlinson (5-6, 142), Seth Nardo (5-7, 146), freshmen Walker Skapik (5-7, 135), Brendan Schrader (5-10, 127), Jordan Joseph (5-9, 140) and Gunnar Kernik (5-7, 136).

Tight end is also a strength and because of the size of sophomore Sam Merryman (6-1, 170) and junior Wyatt Schrader (6-0, 175), Holenka admitted they could use them split out, too.

Sophomore Matt Lucey (5-11, 174) and freshman Alec Shepherd (6-1, 140) supply depth at that position.

Shadyside not only feels comfortable running the ball because of its backs, but also because of its offensive line, which returns a solid nucleus.

“There’s some youth moving into the line, but they’re kids who were on the coat tails of the guys who were starters last season, so we feel good about them,” Holenka said.

Junior Andrew Jobe (6-0, 250) returns to anchor the line at center. The two guards are also experienced with senior Dylan Hanson (5-10, 205) and classmate Josh Robinson (5-10, 241) ticketed for duty.

Both of the tackles will be first-time starters. Junior Ian Falcione (5-11, 203), sophomore Caleb Davis (5-10, 251) and senior Richard Francis (6-0, 275) have battled for the jobs. Also in the mix have been junior Zak Merryman (5-10, 201) and freshman Mason Geraud (6-2, 318).

Other linemen working to get into the rotation are juniors Timmy Kosek (5-8, 181), Trey Porter (5-9, 211), Ricky Contraguerro (5-9, 191), Evan Meadows (5-10, 330), sophomore Ryan Cain (5-5, 247), freshmen Parker Gibson (5-4, 155), Camden Brown (6-1, 200) and Ethan Olack (5-4, 202).

“We’re going to have a power identity early, but hopefully not throughout the entire season,” Holenka offered. “We’ll use our running game to set up our pass. We need to help our quarterback be efficient. A big part of that is providing time. It all goes hand in hand.”

Junior Zeke Merryman (5-9, 203) is expected to take over the kicking duties for the Tigers. He’s battled some injuries throughout his career and spent a lot of time in the offseason working as a kicker. Price returns to handle the punting duties. Sam Merryman will handle the long snapping, but he could do some of the kicking.

The Tigers defense will also be asked to do its part to help the Shadyside offense, especially early in the season.

“We have the majority of our defense back,” Holenka said. “We had a couple of losses up front, but we feel like we have a slew of (defensive) tackles we can use. We have one person to replace on the second and third levels.”

Using a base 4-3, the Tigers feature Krupa as a third-year starter at defensive end. The other post has been a battle between Sam Merryman and Kosek. At tackle, Francis, Robinson and Davis have led the way in the push for the spots.

“We could really go eight deep at tackle because since we use (offensive) skill guys at ends, we have five offensive linemen and their backups battling for two spots.”

The linebacking crew is led by Hanson, who led the team with 82 tackles last season. He’s joined there by Banco, who is a returning starter, in the middle. The ‘will’ linebacker has been a competition in camp between Price, Wyatt Schrader, Klug and Visnic.

“We have some good players at linebacker,” Holenka said. “As much as we’d like to platoon as much as possible. It’s going to be tough to make those linebackers one-way players.”

Stuztman drew high praise from the head coach on his corner play as he returns to one of the starting spots as a junior season in which he was charted for seven pass defenses. Hendershot will roam at free safety after making more than 40 tackles and picking off two passes.

Adams and Holmes have been locked in a battle for the strong safety spot and Price could be the other cornerback.

Shadyside is one of just a handful of area schools to be playing an entire slate of OVAC opponents. The opening nine games — though some have changed their week on the slate — are the same. The lone change came in Week 10. Bishop Donahue closed, which caused the Tigers to pick up Linsly, which will visit Belmont County on Oct. 27.

The aforementioned opener with Toronto was caused by Magnolia’s move to three, which led to Caldwell shifting down to the week five spot.

“It’s always tough to find Week 10 games because it’s rivalry week for so many schools,” Holenka said. “Linsly was available, so it is what it is. The other three games moved around like a clock.”

Holenka already knows he’ll be on the look for at least two games for next season because both Toronto and Caldwell have informed the Tigers’ brass that they’ll not be renewing their contracts.

Shadyside’s coaching staff has undergone two minor changes.

Michael Coyne and Jeff Campbell basically flipped places. Coyne is now working with the varsity staff, while Campbell is at the junior high level. Another newcomer to the staff is former Martins Ferry quarterback, James Edwards. He replaces B.A. Holloway, who stepped down to pursue a different career path.

Along with Campbell at the junior high level are Nick Ongley, Randy Merryman and Kurt Glasser.

(All games begin at 7 p.m.)

Aug. 25 — Toronto

Sept. 1 — at Monroe Central

Sept. 8 — at Magnolia

Sept. 15 — at Meadowbrook

Sept. 22 — Caldwell

Sept. 29 — River

Oct. 6 — at Wheeling Central

Oct. 14 — at Bellaire

Oct. 20 — Bridgeport

Oct. 27 — Linsly