Elida’s David Etzkorn will be moving to running back this season.
Jackelyn Johnson | The Lima News
ELIDA – With more than 15 returning letter winners, Elida head coach Kyle Harmon is optimistic about the upcoming football season.
In 2022, Elida went 4-6 overall and 3-6 in the Western Buckeye League.
At the end of last season, the Bulldogs’ defensive unit was fifth in the WBL in yards allowed per game (270.8) and seventh in scoring defense (20.2 points per game).
This fall, Harmon is hoping to see continual improvement on the defensive side of the football.
“We have a lot of guys that have played a lot of quality minutes for us,” Harmon said. “Defensively speaking, we have four DBs (defensive backs) back– three full-time starters, and one guy that got some rotational playing time (last season). We feel comfortable with those guys.
“We have two linebackers back, who were our leading tacklers for us, last year. We return Parker Crim (6-3, 230, Soph., DL/OL)) and Kevin McGuire (6-3, 330, Sr., DL/OL) on the D-line. As a whole, defensively, we are missing some parts. But who we have back, have played a lot of football for us.”
Elida will show both 4-3 and 4-2 defensive schemes.
Last season, on the offensive side of the football, Elida was fifth in the league in scoring (18.1 points per game). However, in total team offense, the Bulldogs finished ninth in the WBL with 233 yards per game (1,409 total yards rushing, 921 total yards passing) in 10 games.
“Offensively speaking, we lost our running back from last season; and our quarterback (Larkin Henderson) went down mid-season,” Harmon said. “Ryan McGue (6-4, 200, Jr., QB) stepped up for us (at quarterback) and got some good, quality experience. With the off-season, we’ve tailored a lot toward his skill set. Our offense was built for a running quarterback last year. This year, we’re built more for a pocket passer. So, we’ve made some changes.”
In 2022, McGue completed 47 of 102 passes for 443 yards (46.1 completion percentage), with four touchdowns and eight interceptions.
Harmon feels confident with the other skill players on his roster.
“Looking at our skill (players), we’re still up there with anyone in the league,” Harmon said. “They’re fundamentally sound. We have some team speed. Looking at our wide-receiver corps, we have Jackson Covault (5-11, 175, Sr., WR/DB), Seth Sharp (5-11, 175, Sr., WR/DB) and Amari Wash (5-10, 170, So. WR/DB) back. Then we moved Keaton Hawkey (5-11, 195, Sr., TE/DE) to tight end (from wide receiver). He (Hawkey) has been a three-year starter for us. He’s played a lot of quality time. We moved David Etzkorn (5-11, 190, Sr., RB/LB) to running back (from wide receiver). So, we have five skill guys. And they’re all used to touching the football and making plays for us.”
Elida will employ a spread offense this season.
Etzkorn, who also will start at linebacker, is looking forward to coming out of the backfield this season.
“I’m thrilled. … I’m very excited,” Etzkorn said. “I saw it coming last year, with playing some (running back). I’m really excited about being a full-time running back this year.”
Ideally, Etzkorn would like to be on the field all four quarters of every game.
“I didn’t come out (of the game) the last couple years on defense,” Etzkorn said. “I don’t plan on coming out this year. I’ve been playing both ways since seventh grade. I really don’t come off the field very much. When I do come off the field, I’m not very happy about it. I want to play as much as I can.”
Harmon said his team’s offensive scheme will look a little different this fall.
“As a staff, we took some time to revamp some things during the off-season. We’re going to let him (McGue) throw the football. But we’re going to be a little more balanced this year. … We haven’t been (balanced) in the past. But we’re looking forward for him to sling the football around,” Harmon said.
Harmon said he will need to fill a couple holes on the offensive line.
“We have Tyler Siefker (5-10, 200, Jr., OL/DL) back at center. He was a starter, last year. We have Parker Crim (6-3, 230, So., OL/DL) back, who was a part-time player on offense (starter on defensive line). And we have Travis Adkins (6-4, 220, Sr., OL/DL) coming back. We will have to fill the two guard spots. But we do have some guys that put some time in the weight room, who are ready to step up.”
Seth Sharp (5-11, 175, Sr., WR/DB), who will play on both sides of the ball this fall (wide receiver and safety), feels like this year’s offensive unit should be a little more explosive.
“I feel that last year we were very one-dimensional. This year, we’re hoping to spread it out a little bit more. We want to put more points on the board than last year. We feel like we kind of depended on our defense. Ryan (McGue) has a big arm. He can really sling that thing around. That will open up our run game,” Sharp said.
This season, Elida has a few more players on the roster.
“We’re sitting low to mid 50s (players on the roster), right now. That’s good for us,” Harmon said. “We’re able to practice the way we want to – getting the younger guys up to speed, while working on the stuff with the older guys.
“We finally have some depth this year at our skill spots and with our O-line, which has been good for us. We didn’t have a ton of guys last year. With the numbers being up, we have some guys competing for spots.”
Harmon feels like his team can compete in the always competitive WBL.
“Wapak returns a lot. They’re a well-coached football team,” Harmon said. “They (Wapakoneta) have a lot of skill guys back. They won the league last year. So, they’re the champs until someone knocks them off. There are some really good football coaches in this league. So, anybody can sneak up to beat anybody.”
Harmon is keeping the goals simple.
“Our first goal is to have a fast start to the season and win our out-of-conference game,” Harmon said. “Secondly, is to compete in the always tough Western Buckeye League. And thirdly, would be to qualify for the playoffs.
“We will focus on one week at a time; and our main goal each week is to finish 1-0 at the end of the week.”
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TEAM PROFILE
Coach: Kyle Harmon (fourth season)
Division: III
Last year’s record: 4-6 (3-6 WBL)
Ticket information: home.elida.k12.oh.us/hometown-ticketing
Returning 2022 varsity letter winners include: Ryan McGue (Jr., QB), David Etzkorn (Sr., RB/LB), Keaton Hawkey (Sr., TE/DE), Jackson Covault (Sr., WR/DB), Amari Wash (So., WR/DB), Seth Sharp (Sr., WR/DB), Isaac Earl (Sr., WR/DB), Tyler Siefker (Jr., OL/DL), Travis Adkins (Sr., OL/DL), Parker Crim (Soph., OL/DL), Kevin McGuire (Sr., OL/DL), Luke Burkholder (Jr., LB), Ayden Dailey (Sr., LB), Sam Mattox (Jr., RB/LB), Logan Crow (Jr., P), Tyler Dillon (Jr., WR/DB), Maddox Espinoza (Jr., WR/DB), Tytus Daily (Sr., DL), Bentley Mooney (Jr., WR/DB)
Promising newcomers include: Dom Kohli (Jr., TE/LB), Cameron Kaufman (Jr., RB/DB), Landen Crates (Sr., OL/DL)
2023 schedule
(Kickoffs scheduled for 7 p.m.; subject to change)
Aug. 18 — Toledo Rogers
Aug. 25 — at Shawnee
Sept. 1 — Kenton
Sept. 8 — Ottawa-Glandorf
Sept. 15 — at Bath
Sept. 22 — at Celina
Sept. 29 — Defiance
Oct. 6 — at Wapakoneta
Oct. 13 — at St. Marys
Oct. 20 — Van Wert
