'The expectation is to win.' Top players, schedule for Bath Haverling football
Recent history tells us that if Bath Haverling can keep their top players on the field, the Rams will go right back to being Section V Class C title contenders.
"I think we had a total of five guys we lost for the season." Rams coach Matt Ford said about fall 2022. "Every week you are just shuffling guys around."
Injuries caused the Rams to patch together a four-win season after advancing to back-to-back sectional finals.
Linemen Ethan Brotz, Dyllan Becker and Corey Hoad II, plus running backs/defensive backs Jordan Miller-Vogt and Lawrence Duncan - all starters whose seasons were cut short by injuries - are back.
The Rams have a total of seven 2022 starters on offense and seven on defense in place, including Brotz, a senior and a true two-way lineman.
Brotz, the team's best lineman, suffered his season-ending injury in Week 1. Becker's junior year season was over the same week. Duncan, now a junior, made it to Week 7, right after he rushed for 167 yards with a touchdown. Miller-Vogt's injury came in the final regular season game. Hoad, the rare freshman promoted to the varsity, was sidelined in Week 4.
"The expectation is to win," Ford said. "(The players) are getting excited to get back.
"They want to play, they want to compete."
Bath Haverling football at a glance
Head coach: Matt Ford
Classification: C
Last season’s record: 4-5, lost to LeRoy, Class C first round.
Last Section V championship: 2015
Bath Haverling football schedule for 2023 season
Friday, Sept 1: at LeRoy, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 7: vs. Livonia, 6 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 16: Penn Yan/Dundee, 1 p.m. at Dundee
Friday, Sept. 22: vs. Hornell, 7 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 29: vs. Bishop Kearney/Rochester Academy Charter, 7 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 6: Letchworth/Warsaw/Perry, 7 p.m. at Letchworth
Saturday, Oct. 14: vs. Lyons/Sodus, 1 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 19: East Rochester/Gananda, 7 p.m. at East Rochester
Marquee matchups for Bath Haverling
There is no ramp into the first pair of key games for the Rams. The season opener is at LeRoy, the team that put the Rams out of sectionals last season. Then, comes the Rams' home opener against Livonia, a familiar rival from Livingston County league days. The Week 8 game, the regular season finale, at East Rochester could show how much the Rams are on a roll or how much they have progressed from their matchups against LeRoy and Livonia.
Bath Haverling top returning players
OL/DL Dyllan Becker, OL/DL Ethan Brotz, RB/DB Lawrence Duncan, WR/DB Ezra Hoad, RB/DB Jordan Miller-Vogt, TE/LB Gavin Price, WR/DB Dylan Wenban
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Bath Haverling football 2023 schedule, top players, preview for Rams
