Two seasons ago the Columbia Raiders were a playoff team with a mark of 8-2, and things were looking bigger and brighter heading into 2017.
That’s the fine line of high school football, as a devastating injury to lead running back Brandon Coleman put the Raiders behind the eight-ball for most of the season, and by the end of the year Columbia wrapped up the year 5-5.
Head coach Jason Ward feels that with a returning Coleman and a strong class of returning starers, the Raiders will be back on the cusp of playing playoff football come November.
“I think the expectation level, these kids want to leave a legacy, they want to be remembered for something special,” Ward told AM 930 WEOL earlier in August.
“We lost some close games last year, nothing lasts forever, things didn’t break our way, we’re not making excuses, we’re back. This group wants to carve out their own story.”
All eyes for Columbia will be on Coleman, who went down in a week five game against Buckeye with a knee injury that cost him the rest of the season.
Ward says that Coleman looks to be 100 percent, and he should be ready to again be the workhorse of the Raiders offense in 2018.
“He’s good, he’s doing really well, the last camp he went to was down in Walsh, he’s looking good side to side, we’ll ease him back into it,” Ward said of Coleman.
“He’s chomping at the bit, he’s got all kinds of emotions he’s working through.”
Columbia will have 10 returning starters on both sides of the ball, so experience will not be an issue. Closing out games and doing whatever they can to avoid injuries could be the biggest key to success for the Raiders this year.
Senior quarterback Jared Bycznski is another threat that the Raiders will employ again this season, a young player who can not only get the job done with his arm, but with his legs as well.
Bycznski had back-to-back 100-yard rushing games to wrap up 2018, so if the team wants to ease Coleman back into being the leading rusher, Bycznski can help out with his ability to run and throw.
“Jared runs the ball really well,” Ward said. “We worked this offseason to fine tune his passing, and he’s one of those guys that wants the ball as well, I can just see the desire in his eyes.”
Losing three of their last four sealed the fate of the Raiders last season, but some interesting offseason implementations into the teams’ regime, which included a new nutrition program, will hopefully carry them to the finish line and into the postseason in 2018.
“We’ve been talking about instituting a nutrition program, and this was the right group to do that with, and just to teach our young kids how to eat, something new and something different and for them to buy in I think it’s really cool,” Ward said.
Make no mistake, the Raiders are chomping at the bit no matter what’s on their plate to be back in the hunt for playoff football this season.
2018 Schedule
8/24 7:00p @ Independence (Independence, OH)
Location: Independence High School
8/31 7:00p Kirtland (Kirtland, OH)
Location: Columbia High School
9/7 7:00p @ Northwestern (West Salem, OH)
Location: Northwestern High School
9/14 7:00p Keystone (La Grange, OH)
Location: Columbia High School
9/21 7:00p @ Buckeye (Medina, OH)
Location: Buckeye High School
9/28 7:00p Lutheran West (Rocky River, OH)
Location: Columbia High School
10/5 7:00p @ Clearview (Lorain, OH)
Location: Clearview High School
10/12 7:00p @ Brooklyn (Brooklyn, OH)
Location: Brooklyn High School
10/19 7:00p Fairview (Fairview Park, OH)
Location: Columbia High School
10/26 7:00p Oberlin (Oberlin, OH)
Location: Columbia High School
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