By AARON PETCHAL

For The Times Leader

TORONTO – The Toronto football team has established itself as a quality program, and though they are a youthful bunch this season the Red Knights hope to continue their winning ways and make it to the postseason for the fourth straight season for the second time in school history.

“We’ve got a great group of kids,” Toronto head coach Eric Meek said. “We have a lot of kids out for football. We have 47 kids. That is a tremendous number for a Division 7 school.

“Football has come under attack in the media. It is a tough game. It is a hard game. We put our kids through a lot in June and July, and they become no longer boys but young men.

“We have an extremely young team this year. We only have six seniors, but they are good seniors. They have played a lot of football. We also have kids who have not played a lot of football, but they will play hard.

“The kids are a very-close group.

“Our schedule is definitely challenging this year. We open up with Shadyside. They have a lot of kids back. They aren’t the team you want to play early in the season with only having six seniors. It is a case of David vs. Goliath. We are going to get on the bus and go down there with a bunch of young kids looking to pull off the upset and hopefully get the season off on the right foot.”

Max Tice (running back/linebacker), Danny Zdinak (running back/safety), Dylan Warren (offensive/defensive line), Ben Davis (offensive/defensive line), Daniel Braniff (fullback/linebacker), Dustin Henry (offensive/defensive line), Ty West (wide receiver/defensive back), Thomas Fordham (running back/linebacker), Joe Obrien (fullback/linebacker) and Griffin Allison (offensive/defensive line) all graduated and left holes on the field that need to be filled.

Toronto ended last season with a record of 8-3. The Red Knights advanced to the state playoffs for the third straight season, however, Toronto’s season came to a close against Warren JFK for the second straight season as the Eagles shut out the Red Knights, 38-0, in an Ohio Division VII Region 25 first round game. Warren JFK went on to the win the state championship.

“Last year, we went 8-3, and we lost two games during the regular season to two great teams – in Shadyside and River – in two great games,” Meek said. “The games could have gone either way.

“We were not challenged in most of our other games. Those games were over by midway through the third quarter.

“Then in the playoffs, we ran into a real-tough team. We had a real-bad draw. We ran into Warren JFK – the best team in the state in Division 7 – in the first round.

“We have made the playoffs three years in a row, and in the last seven years we have been building the program and building up the numbers.

“We have some inexperienced players, but I think the future is very bright.

“I think we can have a winning year. We have some talent. These kids love playing football at Toronto.”

The Knights lost a lot of talented players from last season’s roster, but the cupboard is not bare for the Red Knights.

“We are as young as any team I have coached in 22 years…very few kids have varsity experience, but our kids are winners and I’m confident they will mature and improve as the season progresses,” Meek said. “We enter the newly formed Eastern Ohio Athletic Conference (EOAC) and it will be very tough. Our goal is simple: continue the tradition we’ve built and get back to the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season.”

The Red Knights do return 11 starters/lettermen from last year’s team – Jake Keenan (wide receiver/defensive back), Luke Fogle (offensive guard/defensive tackle), Avery Watkins (center/defensive tackle), Nathan Karaffa (quarterback/defensive back), Trent Wright (offensive guard/inside linebacker), Carson Meek (tight end), Nick Sninchak (tight end), Zac Berger (special teams), Zach Stackhouse (special teams) and Juston Patterson.

Nathan Keenan, Jake Keenan, Patterson, Fogle, Watkins and Kanne Larkins are the team’s six seniors this season.

I think this is Nathan Keenan’s fourth year in the program,” Coach Meek said. “Juston Patterson is back. He contributed early last season.”

“I think our strength is our culture and our program,” Coach Meek said. “We went three days a week in June and July, and the kids were there every day unless I knew in advance they weren’t going to be. They showed up. They are great kids to be around. The coaching staff loves them like they are our own children.

“Kids are still going to be kids, but we will be there to guide them, to teach them and show them the right way to do things. We really have a great group of kids here at Toronto. I have got a great group of assistant coaches. We have a great group of young men.”

Offensively, the Red Knights scored at least 30 points in nine of their 11 games last season.

Karaffa, a junior, will once again start at quarterback for Toronto. Last season, Karaffa completed 73 of 127 passes for 1,155 yards and 11 touchdowns to go along with four interceptions. He also ran the ball 60 times resulting in 273 yards and four touchdowns.

“He is a tremendous athlete,” Meek said. “He can do a lot of things. He loves to compete. We have 47 players on the team and we have a young team, and he is going to be the leader. Nathan gets better every time he steps on the field. He is a tremendous athlete. He plays three sports. He is comfortable under pressure. He is cool and collected. He loves to compete.

“He led the team to 444 points in the regular season last year. He did it running and obviously throwing. He is tremendously fast. He makes good decisions. He is going to be big for us the next two years.”

Caleb Leasure will be the backup.

Carson Meek and Tristan Thomas will be the top two guys at the fullback position with BJ Pearson and Chris Parker also vying for time.

The top guys at the slot receiver position are Jake Keenan, Patterson and Herrick. Also competing for time are Frank Fulton, Dylan Bozica, Kyre Smith, Garrett Dozier, Jo Jo Savage, Jack Rawson, Doug Whitman and Zac Close. The slot players will also see time at tailback.

Keenan was the team’s leading receiver last season. He caught 25 passes for 447 yards and four touchdowns.

“He is a tremendous athlete,” Meek said. “He has a lot of tremendous scholarship opportunities. He is great with the ball in his hands. He can run the ball.”

The top guys at tight end are Travis Hill, Evan Roche and Nathan Haines.

The top guys at split end are Sninchak, Stackhouse and Brendan Matyas. Also competing for time at the position are Nathan Keenan, Jesse Fulton, Devin Corrao, Brant Reeves and Bryson Anderson.

Avery Watkins will start at center, and Jayden Oleksy and Isaac Miller are also competing for time.

Fogle and Wright will start at guard with Joe Shook, Seth Watkins, Travis Stoica, Shane Van Steenberg, Cameron Garcia, Ryan Matyas and Dylan Scalise all competing for time.

“Luke is a four-year starter for us,” Meek said. “He is strong. He is physical. He can bench almost 400 pounds. He is a tough player.”

The tackles will be D’Andre Thompson and Berger with Justin Haynes, Kanne Larkins, RJ Baston, Aaron Andress, Daniel Quaynar and Michael Tizzani all competing for time.

“Offensively, I think we will be more methodical,” Coach Meek said. “Last year we had Max Tice and Danny Zdinak who did a lot of damage on the ground. Nate Karaffa also did a lot of damage on the ground. Then, we had Jake Keenan and Ty West out at wide receiver. They were two athletic players. When we went to as one-back set, we put Danny Zdinak out there, and he could fly. We were blessed to have tremendous speed. I think we will be more methodical this year.”

Toronto has changed its defensive lineup. The Red Knights will be employing a three-man front this season.

Fogle, Berger and Thompson will start up front with Avery Watkins, Larkins, Shook, Garcia, Haynes, Seth Watkins, Van Steenberg, Miller, Haines, Quaynar, Tizzani, Andress and Scalise all vying for time.

The top guys at outside linebacker are Carson Meek, Sninchak and Hill. Also competing for time at the position are Rawson, Close, Ryan Matyas and Roche.

The top guys at inside linebacker are Wright, Thomas, Patterson and Bozica. Parker, Pearson, Oleksy and Stoica are all competing for time there.

Starting in the secondary will be Karaffa, Jake Keenan, Herrick and Stackhouse with Nathan Keenan, Fulton, Brendan Matyas, Smith, Corrao, Dozier, Anderson, Whitman, Savage, Leasure and Reeves all competing for time.

“We might switch guys around from cornerback and safety,” Meek said. “We want to utulize our personnel the best we can. Our defense is going to have more of a zone look. We want to keep everything in front of us. We are going to a 3-4.”

Karaffa or Patterson will handle the kick off duties. Karaffa or Jake Keenan will kick the extra points.

Karaffa or Wright will handle the punting duties.

Jake Keenan, Patterson and Herrick will return kicks and punts.

Herrick will serve as the team’s holder.

Jake Keenan, Sninchak and Berger are all in the mix to be the team’s long snapper.

This season, Meek will be assisted by Jason Fogle, Jerry Vinci, Al Johnson, Steven Rebich, Matt Karaffa, John Parker, AJ Hunt, Dave Dozier, Rick Hlivko, Bob Unger and Bill Meek.

Toronto is scheduled to open the season at 7 p.m. Friday night at Shadyside.

(all games begin at 7 p.m.)

Aug. 25 — at Shadyside

Sept. 1 — Bridgeport

Sept. 8 — at Edison

Sept. 15 — Southern

Sept. 22 — at Leetonia

Sept. 29 — at Columbiana

Oct. 6 — Lisbon

Oct. 13 — at East Palestine

Oct. 20 — United

Oct. 27 — at Wellsville