Jonathan Alder’s football team is pictured from left, front row, Jayden Truitt, Nick Finke, Colin Komisarek, Taber Headings, Will Heisler, Jonathan Keith, Chase Maynard, Andrew McGlaughlin, Logan Shafley, Jackson Bennett, Koen Murdock and Owen Crabtree; second row, Aiden Burke, Andrew Richey, Wyatt Bruce, Gibby Wilson, Caleb Miller, Wyatt Kaizer, Henry Shoemaker, Damon Hay, Austin Preston, Simon Fenik, Keeghan DeWitt, Baylor Petziinger and Doug Nussbaum; third row, Grant Horne, Ryan Bailey, Johann Boecki, Mason Miller, Dom Kroninger, Alex McCafferty, Alex Boggs, Wyatt Hunt, Scottie Wallace, Owen Larison, Mason Daniel, Ty Moore and Isaak Ricker; fourth row, Mason Curtis, Jace Mueller, Jaiden Henderson, Jacob Lee, Ethan Kuhns, Emmerich Mast, Trenton Moodispaugh, Christian Dellapina, Wyatt Clemons, Zach Gantz, Cameron Jewell and Andrew Heisler; fifth row, Carter Detweiler, Brody Brown, Aiden Becker, Anthony Kroninger, Forrest Gregory, Charlie Aurin, AJ DeLong, Daniel Jones, Jimmy Finke and Jack Schrock; back row, coaches Chris Homan, Donnie Glick, head coach Nathan Snedeker, Justin Landis, Craig Kyle and Chris Clapham. Not pictured, Omar Rodriguez, Richard Stroud, Jeremiah Troyer, Nathan Williams and coach Tim Brink. (Photo submitted)
There are some huge changes this fall in the Jonathan Alder High School football team.
For one thing, long-time coach Brett Glass has left.
Glass stepped down last spring to take over as the head football coach at Dublin Jerome High School.
Nathan Snedeker, who previously served as an assistant coach at Pickerington North, has taken over the Pioneer helm.
Alder also lost All-Ohio quarterback J.T. Keith and receiver Jackson Izzard to graduation.
There are several key lettermen coming back from a Pioneer squad that went 6-0 during a coronavirus-shortened regular season.
Those veterans include Jonathan Keith (wide receiver-defensive back), Chase Maynard (linebacker-running back), Will Heisler (running back-linebacker), Andy McGlothlin (offensive line and defensive end), Logan Shafly (defensive line and running back), Baylor Petzinger (offensive and defensive lines), Jackson Bennett (linebacker-tight end), Hank Shoemaker (linebacker-running back) and Xavier Headings (linebacker-quarterback).
“Those are the guys who got the most playing time with last year’s seniors,” said Snedeker.
There will be several newcomers to the roster, including Cameron Jewell (running back-defensive back-wide receiver), Wyatt Kaiser (linebacker and wide receiver), Caleb Miller (linebacker-tight end), Doug Nussbaum (quarterback-defensive back), Ryan Bailey (offensive line) and Damon Hayes (defensive line).
Snedeker said Taber Headings, another returning letterman, will be the No. 1 quarterback.
He will be backed up by Nussbaum.
“Taber is very good at seeing defensive movement,” said Snedeker. “You don’t often see that in a first-year starting quarterback.”
Alder will employ a variety of offensive sets, including the Pistol with 3 x 1 and 2-2 receivers.
“We also want to still establish our power running game,” said Snedeker. “That will loosen up our passing game even more.”
Heisler was a solid running back a year ago, rushing for 917 yards in nine games.
“Will can open up a lot of things with his running down the field,” said the Jonathan Alder coach.
The Pioneers will employ a 4-2-5 defensive alignment.
“The guys are quickly picking up the defensive concepts,” said Snedeker. “We have two very good inside linebackers in Chase Maynard and Heisler.
“This defense just suits our guys pretty well.”
Snedeker said the Pioneers’ defensive unit was ahead of the offense late in the preseason.
“We’ve got a lot of veteran players on that side of the ball,” he said.
“Right now, we’re still working out some kinks with our offense,” the coach said. “It’s a learning curve and we’re finding new ways to get the ball into the hands of as many guys as possible during the course of a game.”
The Pioneers have had a long history of success in the CBC.
Alder won the Kenton Trail Division of the Central Buckeye Conference and captured two out of three Division III state playoff games.
That’s something the new coach wants to continue.
“The conference is going to be tough,” said Snedeker. “London, Springfield Shawnee and North Union are always strong teams.
“We want to win the conference championship, just like this program has set out to do each year,” he said. “However, we have to build to compete well against every team we play.
“This program has had a lot of success and people around here are very interested in Jonathan Alder football,” said Snedeker. “We just want to continue the success the program has had and make a deep playoff run.”
Returning lettermen for the Pioneer gridiron squad are from left, front row, Charlie Aurin, Wyatt Kaizer, Doug Nussbaum, Damon Hay and Henry Shoemaker; second row, Aiden Burke, Bayor Petzinger, Jonathan Keith and Chase Maynard; back row, Andrew McGlaughlin, Logan Shafley, Taber Headings, Will Heisler and Jackson Bennett. (Photo submitted)
Jonathan Alder’s football seniors are from left, front row, Koen Murdock, Nick Finke, Chase Maynard, Jonathan Keith, Jayden Truitt and Owen Crabtree; back row, Colin Komisarek, Andrew McGlaughlin, Logan Shafley, Taber Headings, Will Heisler and Jackson Bennett. Not pictured, Nathan Williams. (Photo submitted)
Jonathan Alder’s varsity cheerleaders are from left, front row, Sadie Napier and Miabella Lopresti; second row, Maggie Storts, Peyton Liford and Cierra Russell; back row, Gabby Walker, Kara McKelvey, Hailey Lissaka and Grace Walker. Not pictured, Hannah Belau. (Photo submitted)