Marlington Dukes 2023 high school football preview

MARLINGTON DUKES

HEAD COACH: Joe Cardinal, first year

LAST YEAR: 1-9, 1-4 in EBC

POSTSEASON: Division III, Region 9

RETURNING LETTERMEN (17)

• Bo Bratten, Sr.

• Ray Cleveland, Sr.

• Daniel Dager, Sr.

• Dillon DiDonato, Jr.

• Carter Difloure, Sr.

• Qwintin Hancox, Sr.

• Beau Himmelheber, Sr.

• David Hoebeke, Sr.

• Bryson Jones, So.

• Brady Keller, Jr.

• Landon Kensinger, Sr.

• Ty Knoch, Sr.

• Diontae Lester, Sr.

• Bryson McCord, Jr.

• Caiden O’Brien, Sr.

• Drew Simons, Sr.

• Koby Vance, Sr.

IMPACT PLAYERS: Beau Himmelheber returns for his senior season and will touch the ball in a variety of ways out the backfield and as a wide receiver. ... Bryson McCord will be the starting quarterback. The new coaching staff is impressed with McCord’s intelligence and is planning to allow him to call audibles at the line. ... Bo Bratten (6-foot-5, 275 pounds) starts at left tackle. Bratten has tremendous footwork and provide stability to an otherwise young unit at the point of attack. ... Defensive back Ty Knoch leads the defense. Knoch is a sure tackler and has tremendous breaking speed to get to the ball as a pass defender. ... Defensive end Koby Vance leads the pass rush. The coaching staff loves his speed and his motor.

WHAT'S NEW: The Dukes have a new coach in Joe Cardinal, who is planning to run a vertical spread offense and a 4-3, 3-4 hybrid defense. ... Carter Difloure has had a good showing at running back in the preseason. Difloure was on the roster last year but missed nearly the whole season due to injury. ... Sophomore Malcum Salyers possesses tremendous speed and will be a threat in the passing game. Salyers also missed much of last season because of an injury.

OUTLOOK: Marlington is a program that historically has been lauded for its high-scoring offense, but this team might be known for its defense by the end of the season. Knoch and Vance are impact players who should draw plenty of attention. Despite having a new head coach, the Dukes have managed to maintain quite a bit of consistency otherwise. Marlington returns five assistant coaches from last year’s staff that Cardinal credits with helping with a smooth transition to his system. The Marlington program should take a step forward this year.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Ohio high school football: Marlington Dukes 2023 preview