Get to know Preston Hopperton, Kylan Rue, Arthur Scott and the Streetsboro football team

STREETSBORO ROCKETS

HEAD COACH: Pete Thompson, seventh year at Streetsboro, 41-22

LAST YEAR: 6-5, 4-3 Metro Athletic Conference

POSTSEASON: Division IV, Region 13

RETURNING LETTERMEN (16)

Carter Baab, WR-DB, Sr.

Janiere Cook, RB-LB, So.

Leeland Darovich, OL-DL, Sr.

Jon Ekron, OL-LB, Jr.

Jackson Gula, QB-DB, Jr.

Trace Herman, RB-LB, Jr.

Preston Hopperton, WR-DB, Sr.

Cohen Klimak, RB-DB, Jr.

Alex Light, OL-DL, Jr.

Jake Marshall, WR-DB, Sr.

Joey Neal, OL-DL, Jr.

Kylan Rue, RB-DB, Sr.

Arthur Scott III, OL-DL, So.

Hunter Smith, WR-LB, Sr.

Eric Tiller, WR-DB, Sr.

Garrett Tiller, TE-DB, Sr.

IMPACT PLAYERS: “A unique football player” who is equally dangerous as a receiver and a runner, Preston Hopperton is “that quintessential just athlete,” Thompson said. Expect Hopperton, who turned 127 carries into 915 yards and 21 touchdowns last year and had 39 catches for 740 yards and six more scores, to be lethal on jet sweeps as well as passing routes. Beyond blazing speed, Hopperton is “a weight room warrior” who is “big, fast and strong,” with Thompson noting that “it’s a great combination.” … QB-DB Jackson Gula has “been a day one starter in the program,” including leading the Rockets in tackles as a freshman. Now a junior, Gula will star in the defensive backfield as usual while “his role is going to expand greatly on offense,” whether he’s playing quarterback or wide receiver. … Coming off a 62-tackle season in which he also averaged 9.1 yards per carry, RB-DB Kylan Rue “flies around,” according to Thompson, showcasing state track speed on the gridiron, but he has also stood out for the way he has “embraced learning the game and becoming a leader for us.” … For a program that has recently churned out top linemen like Michael Hall Jr. (Ohio State) and Keisean Johnson-Wilson (Findlay), OL-DL Arthur Scott might be the next big thing. After Scott excelled on both sides of the football last year before breaking his leg midway through the season, Thompson said the “sky is the limit for him.”

WHAT'S NEW: The Rockets had a unique quarterback battle this summer between two players who weren’t even in the quarterback room a year ago. Gula would have been had he not been coming off shoulder surgery from which he wasn’t cleared until the tail end of the 2022 season. He competed for the job with Cohen Klimak, a talented defensive back, linebacker and running back who, Thompson said, “kind of came to us and said, ‘Hey, I’d like to try it.’” No matter the outcome of the quarterback battle — and the result could be the two sharing time under center — both will play a key role in Streetsboro’s offense. … While the Rockets will remain multiple on defense, they plan to play out of a “4-2-5 kind of structure” far more this season, per Thompson, given that “we have more athletic fast [players] maybe than your traditional 200-plus pound linebacker type.”

OUTLOOK: Despite suffering as many injuries as Thompson can ever recall in his 27 years of coaching, the Rockets managed to push their postseason streak to four last year. Still, while there was plenty to celebrate, including epic wins over Field (on a touchdown pass in the final minute) and Struthers (in overtime), Streetsboro spent much of the offseason mulling over how to improve a defense that yielded 30.2 points per game a season ago. Part of that was injuries and part of that was new defensive coordinator Coular Clendenning coming in just before the start of the 2022 season. The hope is with Clendenning getting another year under his belt, not to mention the Rockets’ shift to a 4-2-5 to take advantage of their athleticism, they can find far more success on the defensive side of the ball. ... Putting up points shouldn't be a problem with Streetsboro's speed, as Preston Hopperton and Kylan Rue will combine to form one of the fastest backfields around.

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Impact players, what's new and more on the Streetsboro football team