Members of the Triad football team are, from the left, front row, Logan McCoy, Jacob Jenkins, Jordan Simonelli and Ian Crabtree; second row, Luke Reveal, Kohl Eggleston, Dylan Hollar, Blake Boldman, Coleman Hauck, Isaiah Leasure, Cam Crabtree, Jake Reid, Sam Stokes and J.C. Alexander; third row, Cam Burden, Derek Bails, Hayden Simpson, Cody Hoffer, Wyatt Cole, Tyson Brown, Ayden Sanford, Mason Harper, Diego Hernandez and Jamison Durst; fourth row, Kyle Walborn, Devin Bradley, Rodney Avery, Thomas Ford, Ty Thomas, Michael Warner, Jackson Cordell, Chase Hecker, Drue Instine, Nathan Carranza and Kyle Walborn; back row, assistant coaches Dylan Warner and Matt Harper, head coach Zachary Winslow and assistant coaches Wes Brown and Lane Crabtree. More Triad team photos may be found at www.marysvillejt.com.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Sam Dillon)
The Triad Cardinals will return to the 2019 football season with a new coach at the helm.
Joe Cardinal stepped down after going 7-23 in three years.
New coach Zach Winslow looks to increase the Cardinals’ 5-5 record from 2018 during his first year with Triad.
However, he will have to do so with a young squad of 35 players.
“Our team is very young with only four seniors,” said Winslow. “A lot of guys are getting varsity reps for the first time.”
Winslow will be taking over an offense that will be led by senior quarterback Jordan Simonelli.
Simonelli missed several games in the beginning of the season last year due to injury and was backed up by returning letterman Logan McCoy.
With Simonelli back under center, this will free up McCoy to fill another skill position.
“I think our skill kids will be able to match up with most in the league,” Winslow said. “We need to stay healthy and be able to run the ball. We also need to be physical at the line of scrimmage.”
Winslow said he will lean heavily on the other two seniors, Jacob Jenkins in the backfield and Ian Crabtree on the offensive and defensive lines.
Helping round out the team will be the returning letter winners, Isaiah Leasure, Blake Boldman, Tyson Brown, JC Alexander and Coleman Hauck.
The trio of Alexander, Hauck and Jenkins will be the mainstays in the backfield for the Cardinals as Winslow tries to establish a solid running game this season.
“We will be built around playing physical on both sides of the ball and establishing the run game,” he said.
Winslow’s defensive plan is to have his core of upper classmen play both ways while filling holes with his defensive specialists like Mason Harper and Aiden Sanford in the secondary.
“We will be a 3-4 for the base and plan to be front multiple and coverage simply to allow players to play fast,” said Winslow.
The coach believes that for the Cardinals to have success this season, it has to start with mental toughness at the line of scrimmage.
“My expectations are to become mentally tougher and compete with every team we play,” he said.
That toughness will be needed, according to Winslow, as the Cardinals compete for an Ohio Heritage Conference title.
“The north side of the OHC is always tough,” Winslow said. “Greeneview is going to be a big cross-over game for us as well.”
Helping behind the scenes to get the Cardinals ready for a run at an OHC title is a entire new crew of assistant coaches.
Winslow said the new coaches are dedicated to seeing Triad back on top.
“I am lucky to have a staff that has deep Triad and OHC roots and is invested in raising Triad to the level of the top teams in on league,” he said.
The Cardinals will open their season at home against Benjamin Logan on Friday.