Connor Gaynier (9) returns for Delphos St. John’s after receiving All-Midwest Athletic Conference honorable mention honors in 2022.
Richard Parrish | The Lima News
DELPHOS — Many football teams from the very competitive Midwest Athletic Conference have made deep runs in the postseason playoffs, with many playoff runs culminating in state championships.
Historically, Delphos St. John’s is one of those MAC programs that has celebrated its share of postseason victories.
As far as MAC titles are concerned, St. John’s has garnered 10 league championships in football (eight outright titles), which ranks third all-time, behind Coldwater (19) and Marion Local (16).
St. John’s has won a total of six football state championships and had one state runner-up finish in its school’s history.
The Blue Jays are hoping to get back into the top-tier of teams in the MAC this season, as they return 14 letter winners from a squad that went 5-7 last season, including two playoff games. St. John’s finished 3-5 in the MAC.
“We have quite a few skill players back,” said longtime St. John’s head coach Todd Schulte. “We only had six seniors last year. We were pretty young, all over the place. Week 1, we lost Nolan Schwinnen (to an injury), who was our starting quarterback. Grant Ulm stepped in to play quarterback for us.
“So, returning at quarterback for us this season is Grant Ulm (6-4, 185, Sr.). Like I said, Nolan got hurt in Week 1, and he didn’t throw a pass the rest of the year. With the surgery and the way things went, he (Schwinnen) just couldn’t throw. He became a running back for us. So, Grant got a lot of time at quarterback. With Grant returning, that makes things move a little faster (during the preseason).”
In 2022, Ulm was 73 of 149 passing for 742 yards, with four touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
The biggest void to fill for Schulte and his staff is replacing running back Clay Paddubny, who graduated. Last season, Paddubny finished second in the MAC in rushing with 1,184 yards (7.95 yards per carry) and 14 touchdowns in 10 regular-season games.
“In the backfield, obviously, we’re losing Clay Paddubny,” Schulte said. “He had a great year for us. He was all-league at running back. He made a lot of things happen because he was strong. He would create a lot of things.
“T.J. Werts (6-1, 220, Jr., RB/LB) is back (at running back). He got some time there, last year. But then he suffered an injury, and we lost him. That’s when we relied heavily on Clay. We also have Collin Feathers (5-10, 190, Sr., RB/LB). … He (Feathers) has not played football for a while. He’s going to play both football and golf this year. … We’re going to give it a shot. And Riley Mueller (5-9, 165, So., RB/LB) will be back there as well. So, if we have to use all three of them to keep everyone fresh, we will do it.”
Schulte plans to mix up the looks on the offensive side of the football. “We’re going to give multiple looks (on offense),” Schulte said. “In the last few years, we’ve been really balanced (run, pass). But if we get into a game and we can establish a run game, we’re going to do it. … I’d love to do that. But we’ll try to balance things up the best that we can.”
The Blue Jays have a few athletes coming back that put in ample time at the wide receiver position.
“A few guys who are coming back, that played a lot last year are Braylon Metzger (5-11, 160, Sr., WR/DB), who will be a senior, and Connor Gaynier (5-10, 170, Jr., WR/DB), a junior. Those guys have played a ton for us. Brayden Pohlman (5-10, 170, Jr., WR/LB) also played a lot on offense,” Schulte said.
“Then a guy we’re expecting a lot from as a senior is Cohen Martz (6-0, 165, Sr., WR/DB). We also have Joel Schrader (6-3, 200, Sr., TE/DE) playing some tight end. … When he (Schrader) is not a tight end, we’re going to use him at multiple positions. We also have a good backup quarterback in Drew Boggs (6-1, 160, Jr., WR/DB). Drew will also be a wide receiver for us. So, I feel good about those guys.”
Last season, St. John’s was seventh in the MAC in scoring offense (18.8 points per game) and eighth in total team offense (254.6 yards per game) in the 10 regular-season games.
Defensively, St. John’s will primarily stick with a 3-4 scheme.
In 2022, the Blue Jays’ defensive unit was sixth in the MAC on points allowed (28.5 points per game).
“We have a lot of guys, who have played a lot of time for us,” Schulte said. “We are a 3-4 (defensive scheme). We just think our body types are more like linebacker types as opposed to putting your hand in the dirt type of guys. But we do have returners.
“Carson White (5-10, 230, Sr., DL/OL) played a bunch up front. Joel Schrader (6-3, 200, Sr., DE/TE) played a bunch up front for us as a defensive end. Josh Mueller (5-11, 245, DL/OL) also played a bunch. So, right there are three guys who played a lot up front. Then, we have some linebackers coming back. T.J. Werts had a great year for us, until he got hurt. Riley Mueller started as a freshman. He (Mueller) has put on 30 pounds during the off-season. And we have guys returning on the back end. We have Braylon Metzger, who played safety for us. Connor Gaynier also played on that side of the ball.”
Schulte plans to utilize a lot of his players on both offense and defense.
“We talked today, and I told them, ‘What we do in practice – everything is (about) conditioning. Nobody stands around.’ I told them, ‘The only time you’re coming off the field, for most of you, is at halftime’,” Schulte said with a grin.
“I would like to think we are building some depth. So, if there’s a place where we can spell some of the guys, we will certainly try to do that.”
More high school football previews
2023 schedule
(All kickoffs scheduled for 7 p.m. unless noted; subject to change)
Aug. 17 — Delphos Jefferson
Aug. 26 — Lima Central Catholic, 1:30 p.m.
Sept. 1 — Versailles
Sept. 8 — at Marion Local
Sept. 16 — Fort Recovery, 1:30 p.m.
Sept. 22 — at Anna
Sept. 29 — at Coldwater
Oct. 6 — Minster
Oct. 13 — Parkway
Oct. 20 — at New Bremen
