The Johnnies returned their leading rusher in senior Brad Couts. They also moved the athletic Riley Cannon from tight end to quarterback, adding the threat of running and passing.

But with a closer observation, Couts would have to run behind an inexperienced line with no seniors. Plus the numerous returnees were penciled in at new positions, playing on a learning curve.

The result was a 5-5 season and a 4-3 record in the MBC. After three consecutive postseason appearances and two league titles in a row, the Johnnies were unpacking their lockers before the calendar was flipped to November.

"When you look at it, Brad was the only kid on the team that played the same position that he did last year," eighth-year coach Mike Carter said. "Riley moved from tight end to quarterback and the list goes on and on. The kids worked hard and got better every day and looked better in every game and that's what we always strive to do."

Johnstown finished fourth in the MBC, behind Fredericktown at 7-0, Utica at 6-1, Loudonville at 5-2 and ahead of Centerburg, Danville and East Knox, all at 2-5, with Northridge going 0-7.

The Johnnies opened with a 27-7 loss to Granville on Aug. 29, followed by a 50-20 loss to Heath on Sept. 4 before defeating Lakewood 42-6 on Sept. 11 and Centerburg 48-19 on Sept. 18. They then lost to Loudonville 22-0 on Sept. 25, Fredericktown 47-22 on Oct. 2 and Utica 48-20 on Oct. 9 before finishing with three wins -- Danville 13-6 on Oct. 16, East Knox 17-0 on Oct. 23 and Northridge 62-8 on Oct. 30.

Couts rushed for 1,503 yards on 266 carries with 16 touchdowns, two 2-point conversions and scored 100 points. As a linebacker, he had 40 tackles, 14 for a loss, two sacks and one forced fumble.

"Brad's committed and he's a hard-worker," Carter said of Couts, who ran for 1,381 yards last season. "He's physically and mentally tough and he plays with his heart, and those are great qualities for a running back. You have to have a special kid to play that position."

Cannon was 44 of 93 passing for 501 yards, two touchdowns and five interceptions. He rushed for 361 yards on 61 carries with six touchdowns. As a defensive end, Cannon had 23 tackles, five for a loss, four sacks and two interceptions.

His primary receiver was junior tight end Taylor Atwood, who caught 19 passes for 231 yards and one touchdown.

"I was proud of the way we finished the season because we had such great practices (in the final week," Carter said. "What a way for the kids to go out."

Atwood was joined on the line by juniors Blake Ashbrook (center), David Jackson (guard) and Ben Schmidt (tackle), along with sophomore Brandon Hollis (tackle) and freshman Tim Sayer (guard).

"I think they have come a long way. I'm proud of how far they have come and I owe any success I had this year to them," Couts said of the line. "We didn't have any seniors starting on the line and it's been great to see them mature."

Couts was joined in the backfield by a rotation at fullback between seniors Reed Franklin, Jacob Kennedy and Scott Robinson. All three also starred on the defense with Kennedy as the team's leading tackler. At defensive end, Kennedy had 70 tackles, 18 for a loss, two sacks, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.

Franklin had 58 tackles as a linebacker with five pass breakups, one forced fumble and two fumble recoveries.

Robinson had 56 tackles as a safety, 11 for a loss, one fumble recovery, two interceptions and he returned one for a touchdown.

Senior defensive back Brian Caudill tied with junior linebacker Jacob Dassylva for the team lead with three interceptions and senior linebacker Justin Deal had 42 tackles with nine of them for a loss and one interception.

"These seniors could have gotten down on themselves, but they didn't," Carter said. "They continued to work hard and make themselves better players. That's the thing about life. Things don't always go your way, but you have to keep working to get better and that's what they did."

Other seniors were Kortney Cartwright (WR/DB), James Gorsuch (WR/LB), Josh Neudecker (OL/DL) and James Sapp (WR/LB).

Kicker and punter Patrick Benton, a junior who also played soccer, is expected to return. He made 26 of 33 extra points and was 4-for-4 on field goals with a long of 43 yards.

Several key defenders are expected back next season, including junior defensive lineman Frank Chambers, who missed three games, but had 27 tackles, two sacks and one interception, which was returned for a score. Four sophomores made their marks on defense -- lineman Joey Dismuke (47 tackles), safety Ross Franklin (58 tackles, two interceptions, one going for a score), lineman Nick SanFillipo (62 tackles, six sacks) and lineman R.D. Williams (38 tackles).

Other juniors expected to return are Cory Bailey (OL/DL), Brendin Cornwell (OL/DL), Kenny Evans (OL/DL), Alex Gabriel (OL/DL), Jack Harper (OL/DL), Tyler Hawes (OL/DL), Garrett Jackson (WR/DB), Bobby Morrison (WR/DB) and Nick Schuler (RB/DB).

Justin Campbell (OL/DL), Nick Cote (RB/DB), Tyler Deal (OL/DL), Drew Dague (WR/DB), Sam Filous (OL/DL), Sheay Holter (RB/LB), Harley O'Flaherty (OL/DL), Kota Marohl (OL/LB), Jake Moyer (OL/DL), Jordan Pickering (OL/DL), Conner Rehl (WR/DB), Seth Short (RB/LB), Matt Smith (QB/DB), Steven Smith (WR/DB) and Tyler Thompson (OL/DL) are other sophomores expected back.

The freshmen included Louis Alexander (TE/DL), Daniel Mark Almendinger (OL/LB), J.D. Arnold (WR/DB), Andrew Carpenter (WR/DB), Adam Carter (RB/LB), Dakota Crawford (OL/DL), Brandon Dingess (OL/DL), Bailey Duncan (TE/DL), Corbin Grassman (RB/LB), Corey Lamer (QB/DB), Justin Mooney (OL/DL), Nick Sadinksy (RB/LB), Scott Sammons (WR/DB), Adam Seymour (RB/LB), Ian Smith (WR/DB), Tyler Thompson (QB/LB) and Jordan White (OL/DL).