The motto that sits on the Firelands Falcons home page for their football team is a simple one – ‘Play as One, Each link in the chain in you, don’t let the chain break.’
Last year the chain was as strong as it’s been in the tenure of head coach Mike Passarello, as the team went 8-2 in the regular season and reached the playoffs for the second time under Passarello.
While the team lost to Peninsula Woodridge in the Division IV, Region 12 playoffs, the program is hopeful that 2016 will be another solid season as they look for a repeat to the postseason.
“We talk all offseason about reloading and not rebuilding,” Passarello said on Monday to AM930 WEOL.
“We talked about making the playoffs for the first time in 2011, and then we had a rebuilding process for two years, and then we went 6-4 and then last year went 8-2 and made the playoffs.
“We talked about do we want to go through the growing pains or do we want to keep this winning going on? Winning is 6 games and then after that talking about playoffs. That’s kind of our goal right now.”
One reason why it will be a challenge to make it back to the playoffs in 2016 is the loss of quarterback Brad Thrasher, who last season had 30 touchdowns, and was the most dynamic playmaker on the roster.
Thrasher put up a total of 2,117 yards, and in 2016 Passarello and his staff will have to come up with players who can fill that void.
“Brad is going to be a hard one to replace,” Passarello said. “We are going into it spreading the wealth, and each person has to carry a little more of it on their shoulders.
“We had some juniors get some playing time in the backfield, we have a quarterback battle going on, we have Colin Myers out at wide receiver, they have to shoulder more of the load to have offense production like we’ve had in the past couple years.”
The quarterback battle is going to be one to watch, as junior Michael Bansek and senior Larry Verhovec have been battling during camp for the starter position.
Whoever plays QB will get help from running backs Nick Denney and Mike Whitacre, two players who should be able to generate offense for the Falcons in 2016.
Add in 6-5 wide receiver/defensive back Myers, who in 2015 put up 299 yards and four touchdowns, and the biggest issue for the QB will probably be to make sure he doesn’t get in the way of the team’s other playmakers.
The defense should be able to keep the team is games in 2016. Last year they were dominant early in the season, putting up four straight shutouts, and with seven returning starters, again this season they should be very good.
“Those guys are still quite a bit hungry,” Passarello said. “We still expect them to fly to the football and be in a bad mood when they get there.”
There’s no doubt that this Falcons team should have the chance to fly high again in 2016 if some things do their way. Passarello has stressed that the program does not intend to go backwards in 2016, hoping his kids seize the chance to again get to the playoffs.
“I think they want to continue the success, and the expectations are they will continue that success, and have a winning record and push for more than that.”
2016 Schedule
8/26 7:00p Edison (Milan, OH)
Location: Firelands High School
9/2 7:00p Brooklyn (Brooklyn, OH)
Location: Firelands High School
9/9 7:00p @ Vermilion (Vermilion, OH)
Location: Vermilion High School
9/16 7:00p @ Clearview (Lorain, OH)
Location: Clearview High School
9/23 7:00p Oberlin (Oberlin, OH)
Location: Firelands High School
9/30 7:00p @ Brookside (Sheffield, OH)
Location: Brookside High School
10/7 7:00p Wellington (Wellington, OH)
Location: Firelands High School
10/14 7:00p Buckeye (Medina, OH)
Location: Firelands High School
10/21 7:00p @ Black River (Sullivan, OH)
Location: Black River High School
10/28 7:00p @ Keystone (La Grange, OH)
Location: Keystone High School
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