Ten reasons to keep an eye on high school football

No. 10: How will the loss of quarterback Lance Helmig affect Lima Central Catholic?

Helmig suffered a serious neck injury in a preseason scrimmage against McComb and is lost for the year. Helmig knew the offense from running it a year ago and his leadership will be difficult to replace. Freshman Tyler O'Connor takes over at quarterback. He has a strong arm, but must learn the offense.

Look for the T-Birds to throw a little, but stick with their favorite ground game when the game is on the line.

No. 9: Can Delphos St. John's bounce back from 2-8?

The Blue Jays are coming off their first losing season since 1995. The good news for the Blue Jays is that 14 starters, including a few who started as freshmen, are back.

Look for Delphos St. John's to return to its pro-I, power offense with its toss-power sweep. The lead tailback will be 6-foot-1, 195-pound sophomore Jordan Leininger, who combines power and speed. Athletic Wes Ulm returns at quarterback

Prospects look good for a bounce-back year for St. John's.

No. 8: Who is one quarterback worth driving to see?

Consider this fact: Coldwater quarterback Cory Klenke led his Cavaliers to the Division IV state championship last year and football isn't even his best sport. Klenke is looking to play shortstop at either Ohio State or Michigan.

But he's still an exceptional quarterback. Klenke threw for 1,357 yards and 16 touchdowns during the regular season.  Including the playoffs, he threw for 2,578 yards and 30 touchdowns. In the 28-27 state championship victory over Youngstown Cardinal Mooney, he completed 16 of 37 for 185 yards and one touchdown. He also ran for a touchdown.

No. 7: How will Ada do in the post Zac Dysert era?

Dysert has taken his quarterback talents to Miami, Ohio. No one can duplicate his numbers. He threw for 3,550 yards and 29 touchdowns as a junior. Last year in seven games, he threw for 2,350 yards and 21 touchdowns.

The Bulldogs do have a suitable replacement in 6-4 Mitchell Faine. In 31/2 games last year when Dysert went down, he threw 684 yards and two touchdowns, while completing 57 percent of his passes. He also rushed for 215 yards and three TDs.

Faine will have a top target returning in Kyle Baker, who caught 62 passes for 947 yards and nine touchdowns during the regular season. The offensive line returns three starters from a year ago.

The Ada offense should continue to move the ball and score points.

No. 6: What position appears to be the strongest in the area?

There are plenty of linebackers to watch.

Start with Delphos Jefferson's Stuart Miller, a member of The Lima News' Dream Team last year. There's also Miller's teammate, Bubba Shivley.

Then, there's Coldwater linebacker Adam Homan, who has committed to Ohio State.

Shawnee has a pair who swarm to the ball in Zac Rosenbauer and Nick Truesdale. Rosenbauer will miss the first half of the year with a broken collarbone.

Ada's defensive leader is linebacker Justin Stransky.

No. 5: Which team is most likely for a turnaround season?

Pandora-Gilboa went 3-7 last year and returns 16 starters. The Rockets will turn to the spread offense with veteran quarterback Sam Maag, who threw for 150 yards per game last season.

The Rockets plan to utilize an athletic junior and senior class that helped them win the Putnam County League basketball title last winter. Among those is 6-foot-5 Josh Lee.

Another team to watch is Bath, which is coming off a 2-8 season. The Wildcats are building around an offense that features 1,000-yard junior rusher Gavin Painter, running back Aaron Smith and quarterback Cameron Garver.

No. 4: Which so-so 5-5 or 6-4 team has a good shot at making a playoff run?

St. Henry returns 14 starters (seven offense, seven defense) from a team that finished 6-4 (5-4 in the Midwest Athletic Conference). Brad Stahl is back at quarterback and he has two veteran running backs returning in Brent Prenger and junior Zach Fishbaugh.

The defense has plenty of experience including lineman Spencer Niekamp and linebacker Ethan Bruns.

No. 3: Which running backs are worth driving to see?

Just check the front cover.

Shawnee's Brandon Stephenson is a speedster who can break tackles. Ottawa-Glandorf's Logan Kaufman is a bulldozing bruiser.

Bath's Gavin Painter can run inside or outside. Coldwater's Tony Harlamert is a playmaker, who can burn defenses by running through them or catching passes down the sideline.

No. 2: Who are the favorites to win the Northwest Conference, Western Buckeye League and Midwest Athletic Conference?

In the NWC, its LCC and Delphos Jefferson. Lima Central Catholic is the defending NWC champ and is 32-6 in three years under Jerry Cooper. Delphos Jefferson is loaded with 19 starters back from last year's 7-3 team.

The WBL favorites are Shawnee and Ottawa-Glandorf, the same two teams with the dominant running backs.

The MAC favorite is Coldwater, which has the nucleus returning from last year's Division IV state championship team.

No. 1: Can Coldwater and Marion Local repeat as state champions?

Coldwater can definitely make a run at defending its title. The bulk of the offense returns from a team that averaged 43.5 points per game. That includes quarterback Cory Klenke, running back Tony Harlamert and a veteran offensive line. Linebacker Adam Homan and Klenke at defensive back will lead an experienced defense.

Don't count out Marion Local, which returns eight starters (four on offense, four on defense). However, huge holes need to be filled by the graduation of quarterback Chris Stucke, tailback Ben Schaefer and linebackers Greg Koesters and Luke Homan. Junior Ben Smith, who ran for 600 yards, will take over at tailback. Also back are wide receivers Marcus Moeller and Jason Wolters.