Canton South Wildcats high school football preview
CANTON SOUTH WILDCATS
HEAD COACH: Matt Dennison, third year, 21-11
LAST YEAR: 9-4, 5-2
POSTSEASON: Division IV, Region 13
LETTERMEN (21)
Jayson Clark, OL-DL, 6-0, 245, Sr.
Max Cochran, OL, 6-4, 290, Sr.
Grady Cordes, WR-DB, 6-0, 170, Jr.
Josh Fitzgibbon, WR-DB, 6-3, 175, Jr.
Ethan Fricke, RB-LB, 5-10, 215, Sr.
Aidan Geer, OL-DL, 5-8, 220, Sr.
Alan Hubbard-Wray, WR-DB, 6-0, 165, Sr.
Janon Hill, WR-DB, 5-10, 165, Jr.
Luke Johnson, TE-DE, 6-1, 210, Jr.
Landon Karovic, H-LB, 5-10, 190, Jr.
Trystan Kimberlin, QB-LB, 5-7, 200, Jr.
Zanden Lewis, TE-LB, 5-11, 180, Sr.
Lance Long, WR-DB, 5-11, 175, Jr.
Joe Meyer, OL-DE, 5-9, 200, Sr.
Tyler Pugh, WR-LB, 6-1, 180, Sr.
DeAngelo Spear, OL-DL, 5-9, 250, So.
Landon White, K, 5-7, 130, So.
Tre Wilson, WR-DB, 5-8, 180, Sr.
IMPACT PLAYERS: Poochie Snyder was top dog at quarterback for a third straight season in 2022 when the Wildcats led opponents 3,567-1,430 in passing yards. His speed and sixth sense also enabled him to rush for 1,156 yards and 21 touchdowns on 111 runs. His per-carry average was 10.41, not far behind his 11.66 average gain over 306 passing attempts. Snyder threw 35 TD passes and five interceptions and was sacked just five times. Now he is a 6-foot-1, 180-pound senior. "He has great stats," coach Matt Dennison said. "The fact he is a great leader really sets him apart." … Fourth-year varsity linebacker Ethan Fricke made 130 tackles in 2022. He has a nose for the ball and is willing to get it dirty. He has beefed up to 205 pounds and will be used in a hybrid role linebacker-end role the team calls "bandit." … Seniors Tavon Castle (75 catches, 1,195 receiving yards in 2022) and Tyler Pugh (39, 640) lead a deep receiving corps. … Dennison said center Aidan Geer is one of the better lineman he has coached in 20-plus years.
See Canton South's football schedule: Stark County-area team-by-team 2023 high school football schedules
WHAT'S NEW: Numerous Wildcats have added weight and muscle. … Xion Culver, who ran for 820 yards and 11 TDs as a freshman, Fricke and 220-pound transfer Rome Cox loom as a "three-headed monster" at running back, Dennison said. ... Run defense was a 2022 weakness. Experience, strength training and a less complicated play-call sheet could turn that around. … Dennison beefed up the top of the 2022 schedule by adding St. Clairsville, which beat the Wildcats and went on to a 9-3 season. St. Clairsville now comes to South, and Dover has been added for Game 2, providing a pair of interesting home games to get rolling. Dennison's 18 meetings with Dover when he was coach at New Philadelphia often were great games, including a 45-38 win in four overtimes in 2017. … The 2023 attack operates without wideout Xavier Williams, who produced 959 receiving yards in 2022 and capped his senior year by winning a state high-jump championship. Tre Wilson, who caught 31 passes in 2021, returns after sitting out 2022.
OUTLOOK: Dennison's third season stands a good chance of producing one of South's better teams from over the years. "Our expectations are high," he said. "We have a lot of big goals. We have a very veteran team coming back." … The offense should be lights out. A key will be not to let better opponents score every time the Wildcats do. … The dynamic 2022 team averaged less than two punts a game and would just as soon punt even less in Poochie Snyder's final year. … Electric Fridays filled the Wildcats' 2022 switch from the EBC to the PAC-7. They beat Fairless 39-38 and Northwest 21-20. They fell 42-36 in overtime to CVCA and lost 38-35 at Orrville. … The 2023 preference is to win the championship outright rather than share it as in '22, when there was a five-way title tie. Still, it was the first time in 59 years South so much as shared a league title. … The Wildcats won two postseason games for the first time in school history. … Salem and Beaver Local, the teams they beat in the playoffs, also are back in Division IV, Region 13. So is Jefferson Area, the team that eliminated South.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Ohio high school football: Canton South Wildcats preview
