What began as a promising year quickly transformed for the Gahanna Lincoln High School football team as injuries and a couple close losses stopped its momentum.

However, the Lions again feel positive about the future of the program after an emotional 35-28 win over Groveport in the season finale on Oct. 30, five days after the death of freshman coach Tim Nester.

"I think everybody left that field hungry for more," second-year coach John Snoad said. "That's the last feeling they felt about football for the next eight, nine months."

The Lions finished the season 4-6 overall, matching their record from 2008. After a season-opening 38-0 loss to DeSales on Aug. 29, Gahanna won three consecutive games before a five-game skid ended its conference title and playoff hopes.

In the OCC-Ohio Division, Gahanna tied Reynoldsburg for fifth at 2-4, behind Pickerington Central (5-1), Lancaster (4-2), Pickerington North (4-2) and Groveport (3-3) and ahead of Newark (0-6). This was a strong season for the league. The top four teams were 29-11 overall, including 13-3 against non-conference opponents.

In the finale against Groveport, Gahanna came up with a critical defensive stand with three minutes remaining, and the offense followed with a 61-yard game-winning drive.

On the second play of the drive, quarterback Tanner Zwelling hit Brice Frentzel on a screen pass for 26 yards. Two plays later, Earl Cunningham took a direct snap out of the Wildcat and broke free for a 33-yard touchdown run with just 38 seconds remaining.

"Senior night, last game of the season -- that was everything we ever wanted," Cunningham said. "That's how we wanted to end our season."

The Lions will lose a much bigger senior class than they did in 2008. In all, 28 seniors were on the team, including starters from all over the field.

"This is the first group that we got to spend an offseason with, so that was a positive thing to be able to get to know these kids," Snoad said. "I always felt bad that last year's seniors, we just had such a short time with them that we never got to know them very well, at least I didn't because I didn't get down here until June. I think we got to know these kids a lot better. And I think there are some great personalities there that we're definitely going to miss."

Cunningham will be among the biggest losses. He had 633 yards rushing, 435 yards receiving and 182 yards passing. He scored 15 touchdowns, including one punt return and one kickoff return, and he also threw two touchdowns. Brice Frentzel, the team's second-leading receiver with 397 yards and four touchdowns, is also a senior. They'll also lose fullback Nick Earl and starting offensive linemen Spencer Fisher, Logan Stygler and Devin Saunders.

Cunningham made second-team all-district.

The defensive backfield will take a significant hit with the departure of two-year starting cornerback C.J. Bryant and two-year starting safety Casey Goad. Bryant was second-team all-district. The other starting cornerback, Bryan Hairston, is also a senior.

Tyler Hayes, Max George, Clay Moore and Emaari Watson were key contributors at linebacker the past two seasons, and Darien Moody was a two-year starter at defensive end.

Next season, the defense looks to be in good shape. With several seniors going down with injury throughout the season, underclassmen played key roles. Sophomore Jeffrey Baasch and junior Kameryn Carter saw plenty of action at linebacker, and Baasch had an interception for a touchdown against Groveport. Junior Jotjr Duncan and sophomore Julian Lowe saw significant action at defensive back, with Lowe tying Baasch and Bryant for the team lead with two interceptions. Duncan forced one fumble, blocked a kick and broke up two passes.

Offensively, Zwelling is expected back after starting all 10 games. A junior who has been on the varsity the past two years, Zwelling threw for 837 yards and eight touchdowns.

However, the leading receiver among underclassmen is Lowe with four catches for 41 yards.

Junior Rashawn Ponder was second on the team in rushing with 373 yards and three touchdowns.

On the offensive line, junior Mike Shaw is a two-year starter. Juniors Evan Bergenstein and Tanner Yates also started, and junior Nick Rozler saw significant action at guard.

Sophomore kicker and punter Tyler Grassman made four of six field goals, including a long of 43 yards, and averaged 36.2 yards per punt.

He kicked 16 touchbacks on 45 kickoffs and was named special mention all-district.