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Not long after the Upper Arlington High School football team's 35-10 loss to Hilliard Darby in the first round of the Division I playoffs Nov. 3, junior fullback Tommy Farwick shifted his focus from what the Golden Bears could have done differently in that contest to what they need to do in the offseason.

"I try not to think about (the loss to Darby) too much," he said. "The night of the game, I thought about what I could've done better to help the team. But I try not to think about it. It's in the past. My focus is on working hard in the offseason and getting better for next season."

Coach Mike Golden also is trying not to dwell on the loss to Darby, which was ranked sixth in the final state poll and was the top seed in Region 3. He prefers to focus on the season as a whole.

"It takes a while to get over it," said Golden, whose team finished 8-3 overall and 4-1 in the OCC-Buckeye Division to place second to Dublin Coffman (5-0) and ahead of Hilliard Davidson (3-2), Reynoldsburg (2-3), Westerville North (1-4) and Grove City (0-5). "But I'm really proud of the kids and how hard the seniors worked. Not many of the seniors played much last year. It was through their hard work, their commitment to excellence, that we had the season we had."

UA also lost to the Panthers 22-7 during the regular season on Sept. 21. Its other loss was to Coffman 31-24 in overtime Oct. 5.

The Shamrocks were fourth in the final state poll.

"Those are two of the better teams in central Ohio and probably the state," Golden said of Darby and Coffman. "There's nothing to be ashamed of."

The most satisfying victory may have been a 14-6 decision over 2006 state champion Davidson on Sept. 28. The win ended its six-game losing streak against the Wildcats, who defeated the Bears twice last season, including 17-0 in a regional semifinal. The Bears' previous win in the series was a 30-14 decision in 2002.

"The biggest highlight was beating Davidson because the four years prior we had lost to them," Farwick said. "To come out and beat them was a huge accomplishment."

UA loses 35 seniors, including Kyle Angelos (WR), Mikel Berry (FB/DE), Travis Calkins (OL), Cal Case (FS), Eric Clements (DT), Andrew Colosimo (TE/DE), Adam Donahue (CB), Matt Ghidotti (WR), Nolan Kleinhenz (LB), Gabe Krimm (RB), Brennan Kurfees (OL), Braden Layer (QB), Colin McClain (LB), Danny Nygren (CB), Josh Root (OL), Thomas Sauter (DT), Tyler Shroyer (K), Jared Sylvester (K/WR), Brandon Von Voigt (WR) and Charlie Williams (OL).

Berry, who was fourth on the team in tackles with 71, including a team-high 10 sacks, and Colosimo, an Akron recruit who had 69 tackles and four sacks and caught six passes for 66 yards and a touchdown, were first-team all-district. Donahue, who had 45 tackles and two interceptions, was special mention all-district.

McClain was third on the team in tackles with 77 and Kleinhenz had 66 tackles, including five sacks.

In his only season as a starter, Layer completed 59 of 133 passes for 966 yards with seven touchdowns and four interceptions.

"We'll miss the seniors," Golden said. "They poured their heart and soul into everything. But we've got quality players coming back and our (junior varsity) went 8-1 and the freshman team went 7-2, so the program's heading in the right direction."

Among the players expected to return are Farwick and juniors Blake Annen (WB), Chris Cennamo (WB/LB), Mark Crawford (LB), Wade D'Andrea (DL), Alex Drake (RB), Anthony Finissi (SS), Phil Gross (LB), Nat Kell (OL), Noah Krimm (DB), Zach Steen (WR), John Townsley (QB), Isaac Wildermuth (RB) and Kacy Yuhas (OL).

Farwick led the team in rushing with 1,119 yards on 170 carries (6.6 yards per carry) and scored a team-high 19 touchdowns. He also led the team in receiving with 14 receptions for 213 yards and was second-team all-district.

Drake, who rushed for 756 yards on 123 carries (6.1 yards per carry) and scored seven touchdowns, and Wildermuth, who ran for 463 yards on 60 carries (7.7 yards per carry) with four touchdowns, were the team's second- and third-leading rushers.

"We'll have over 2,000 yards rushing back," Golden said.

Yuhas, the starting center, was second-team all-district.

Crawford, who made special mention all-district, had 103 tackles to lead a defense that posted five shutouts and allowed 11.1 points per game. Finissi, who made honorable mention all-district, was second in tackles with 81 and had a team-high three interceptions.

"We have so many guys coming back and so much talent coming up," Farwick said. "Next year will be a good year for us. Hopefully we can do a little better than we did this year."