Page 31 - Priorities #66- Winter 2017

Coach Sargent’s
Fantasy Football
Team
If Coach Sargent could draft a fantasy football team consisting of Priory alumni football play- ers, who would he draft?
*2009 Inaugural season senior
OFFENSIVE PLAYERS Ricky Dolezalek*
(2009- Wide Receiver) Wyatt Farino*
(2009- Offensive Line) David Nimer*
(2009- Wide Receiver)
Ray Ross*
(2009- Quarterback)
Jeff Souders*
(2009- Offensive Line)
Will Latta
(2014- Quarterback/Defensive Back) James McDaniel
(2014- Running Back) Aaron Reiss
(2014- Offensive Lineman) Christian Wookey (2014- Offensive Lineman) Christian Kruep
(2016- Offensive Lineman)
DEFENSIVE PLAYERS Connor Mather (2011- Linebacker/Running Back) Matt Schwab
(2013- Linebacker)
Tom Latta
(2014- Defensive Back/Tight End) Charlie Tidmarsh (2014- Outside Linebacker) Brandon Zarringhalam (2014- Defensive Back) Garrett Weber (2015- Defensive Line) Michael Zhao
(2016- Linebacker)
SPECIAL TEAMS Scott Turner* (2009- Kicker) Austin Mirabella (2014- Kicker)
The first football team in 2009.
never forget. Priory tied the game at the end and dominated in overtime, win- ning 58-52.” The 2013 team would go on to finish with an incredible 9-0 record, thus keeping a sixteen game winning streak alive and completing back to back undefeated seasons.
The 2014 season was packed not only with another large roster of twenty-six players, but also with the intense pressure of not breaking the winning streak. Af- ter starting the season 2-0, Sargent was contacted by the media for his thoughts on Priory earning the state record for the longest active winning streak. Sargent had no idea about the record and knew that this would only add to the stress of each upcoming game, as the team now had a target on their back. The winning streak came to an end that season against a tough Stuart Hall squad. But not before the Panthers would rack up an impressive twenty game win streak.
The program would not have survived without the help and expertise of the dedicated coaching staff. Sargent wanted to express his gratefulness for both the past and present coaches and players. “I have appreciated every player that has played football for Priory,” he said. “I couldn’t have done it without past coaches like brothers Mal and Nick Thurston and Kevin Surber.” Coach Jeff Wise has been the offensive coach since the beginning of the program and Sargent is hopeful that he will continue for many years to come.
The football program was started with the thought that the addition of foot- ball would attract multi-sport athletes who were interested in playing football in addition to their main sport. The program has changed since then. “In the early years, playing football was a novelty and a second sport for everyone. Now it’s a main sport and several players train during the off-season and set goals. Football itself has changed over the years and our emphasis is on safety.” The future of the program is unknown, but Sargent is hopeful, “The roster numbers for the future worry me,” he said. “We are hoping for a large freshman group of football players next year or the year after. In 2010, nine of our seventeen players were freshman. That is the group that went on to two undefeated seasons their junior and senior years. Everything happens in cycles. In 2014, we had nine freshman. They will be next year’s senior class.” Only time will tell, but one thing is for sure. The 2017 season will be an exciting experience for both players and spectators on the new field.
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SPORTS