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Thursday, November 22, 2007

CORY STEGER
ThisWeek Staff Writer

For a football program that had grown accustomed to losing, this was quite a different season for Canal Winchester High School.

The Indians finished 10-2 overall and were first at 6-1 in the MSL-Buckeye Division. They advanced the Division III playoffs for the first time in 19 years but saw the season come to an end Nov. 9 at Dayton's Welcome Stadium with a 47-21 loss to Monroe Lemon-Monroe. Canal Winchester defeated Germantown Valley View 17-16 on Nov. 2 for its first playoff win.

"It was better than anything we could've hoped for," senior center and defensive lineman Zach Brown said. "My junior year we were 2-8, and to come into this year and go 10-2, win the MSL outright and get our first playoff victory ever, it was quite a successful year."

In the MSL-Buckeye, Canal Winchester finished ahead of Circleville (5-2), Teays Valley (5-2), Amanda-Clearcreek (5-2), Hamilton Township (3-4), Bloom-Carroll (2-5), Fairfield Union (2-5) and Logan Elm (0-7).

Canal Winchester won its first five games before a 14-12 loss Sept. 28 at Fairfield Union gave the team its only regular-season setback. The Indians defeated Bexley 14-9 on Aug. 24, Lakewood 42-0 on Aug. 31 and Whitehall 55-28 on Sept. 7 in their non-league schedule.

On the field, the Indians were led primarily by their running game. Canal Winchester rushed for 2,229 yards and 33 touchdowns with Tony Davis (1,290 yards, 23 touchdowns), Dom Cosby (524 yards, 4 touchdowns) and Mike Mainella (126 yards, 4 touchdowns) leading the way. Quarterback Travis Stevenson rushed for 161 yards and two touchdowns and added 1,081 yards passing and one touchdown.

Not to be outdone, the defense also enjoyed a stellar season as the Indians held opponents to an average of 13.4 points per game during the regular season. Linebackers Kyle Gibson (111 tackles, 4 forced fumbles) and Harrison Rosch (78 tackles, 2 fumble recoveries), defensive lineman Zack Hitchens (77 tackles, 28 tackles-for-loss) and Anthony Nixon (95 tackles, 10.5 sacks) and cornerback Mike Romanowski (38 tackles, 4 interceptions) led the Indians on defense.

Though Canal Winchester will return a lot of key players, the seniors will be missed.

"All of our seniors played a big role in our success," first-year coach Phil Mauro said. "We were fortunate to get some young guys some experience this season and they're going to have to pick up that left by the seniors."

Mauro, who spent the previous 12 seasons coaching Massillon Jackson, brought a new attitude to a team that last had a winning season in 2001.

"We expected to win," Brown said. "We knew that with a man like coach Mauro and the success he had in the past that all we had to do was do what he told us to do."

Key players expected to return include juniors Cosby (RB/LB), O.J. Green (FB/LB), Harrison Rosch (OL/LB), Cory Spelman (S), Ryan Huff (OL/DL), Mike Romanowski (CB), Matt Romanowski (WR), Tyler Steube (WR/LB), Ryan Sabin (WR/DB), Travis Stevenson (QB) and sophomores Tyler Shryock (K/WR), Ryan Rose (TE/DB), Tyler Thompson (WR/DB), Daniel Bailey (TE/LB) and Justin Whitlach (QB).

With the success of the team this season combined with the many key returning players means that Canal Winchester should be one of the favorites to win the MSL-Buckeye next season.

"Obviously, if you're getting better, that will change perceptions," Mauro said. "It's not going to get any easier but we won't change too much up. We'll just continue to work hard."

For the moment, though, Mauro and the team are reveling in their success this season.

"It's an incredible feeling," Brown said. "To be a part of history and leave a mark on the high school, it's a great feeling to know that I was able to help accomplish that."

"We're really excited about our season," Mauro said. "We obviously accomplished quite a bit. We won the league, qualified for the playoffs, won the first playoff game in the history of the school and "We just had so many good moments. The first win (against Bexley) was huge. Being undefeated at home was big and obviously the thrill of the field goal against Valley View was awesome. We're really proud of (the team's) performance."

At a glance