North Union football guide: Veteran squad largely new to Friday nights
RICHWOOD — North Union will be an conundrum this season. The Wildcats are an old team that is largely new to Friday night lights.
"It’s an interesting dynamic," 10th-year head football coach Nick Hajjar said. "It’s a lot of new faces that will be out there on Friday nights, but the depth chart is going to reek of seniors and juniors. Because of the quality of the kids that we’ve had, it’s been a lot of guys waiting their turn. They’ve worked their tails off."
Over the last three seasons, North Union has been one of the Marion-area's strongest and most consistent programs, competing for Central Buckeye Conference Mad River Division championships and making playoff appearances.
While the All-Ohioans and standouts on those teams — most recently Owen Davis who is now playing at Purdue ― have cycled through, a new crop has been patiently waiting its turn. There are 16 seniors on this year's North Union football roster.
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"They’re excited and ready to take that next step to be that guy on Friday night," Hajjar said.
With only five returning starters on offense and five on defense, fans better buy a program for Week 1. Gone are quarterback Cayden Lassiter who ran the team the previous two seasons as well as Owens at running back and linebacker, All-Ohio receiver and defensive back Trey Bossaller, Marion Star Lineman of the Year Drue Duncan and defensive stalwart Dalton Wilson among many others.
Look for increased roles for players like Nolan Draper, Landon Converse, Tyler Krebehenne, Carter Skaggs and more.
"Camp has went well," Hajjar said. "It’s a new challenge for us as a staff because you’ve got to continue to coach. There’s a lot you learn over time by playing and that’s the value of experience. It’s the details and the speed of the game. It’s the things you need to be successful on Friday nights no matter who you play."
Unknowns on schedule
The transition from the Mid Oho Athletic Conference to the CBC is long over, but there is still a lot to get used to this year for the Wildcats.
The Mad River Division saw Urbana, last year's champ, move over to the Kenton Trail Division, swapped with Shawnee.
"Shawnee is really good," Hajjar said. "They’ve battled over there on a high level. If you look at them and the records the last couple of years, 6-4 and 7-3, but they make a run in the playoffs because they are Division V. Their coach has been there a while. He’s had a couple of his kids come through and has a son who is a senior this year, so he knows that class really well. You can see they are super well-coached. That’s going to be a very big challenge and brings a new dimension on our side."
North Union will host Shawnee in Week 6, but that's not the only new look to the schedule. In Week 3, they will play at Zane Trace in a non-leaguer. In the CBC crossover games, they will face Jonathan Alder and go to Urbana, and then the divisional games start with lots of new faces, too.
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"On our 10-game schedule, we have five brand new head coaches that we’re going to play against. Half of our schedule has new staffs," he said.
That means last year's scouting reports and video tapes are largely moot as Pleasant and Triad have new head coaches, Zane Trace and Shawnee are new opponents, and Graham, Benjamin Logan and Northwestern have new coaches, too. Indian Lake's head coach is in just his second season.
"It’s a lot to learn for us on a bunch of different levels," Hajjar said. "Every head coach waits for that moment to have their turn and how they put their own stamp on who they are and what they do. There’s many different ways to skin a cat, so it will be interesting. A week at a time, it’s always about us."
Approach doesn't change
As Hajjar said, it's always about his team and their approach from week to week no matter the opponent.
And while the roster changes from year to year, the goals and expectations do not at North Union where the squad wants to compete for championships and make long playoff runs.
"It shouldn’t change," he said. "That’s where we need to go and what we aspire to do. We understand that the path to that goal might not be the exact same way we’ve done it. There’s a million different ways to get to the end result."
This preseason has been spent getting the team ready for new and expanded roles, and he feels the Wildcats are moving in the right direction in that regard.
"It’s PFP: players, formations and plays in that order," Hajjar said. "When players graduate and new ones step up and get their turn, who are they? They may not be the same type of kids. Where is the strength of your football team and how do you play to those strengths? It’s understanding what players can help you win games."
It's solving the conundrum of being an old team that is new to Friday night lights.
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North Union Wildcats Football Bullet Points
Conference: Central Buckeye Conference Mad River Division.
Coach: Nick Hajjar (10th season, 56-37).
Assistants: Mike Adams, Andy Owens, Ethan Young, Cam Miller, Joe Kyte.
Postseason: Division V, Region 18.
Playoff Appearances: 9 (2009, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 20, 21, 22)
Playoff Record All-Time: 5-9.
Last Year: 7-4, 3-2.
Letter Winners Returning: 18.
Starters Returning: 5 offense, 5 defense.
Base Offense: Wing T.
Base Defense: 3-4.
2023 North Union Schedule
Aug. 18: at Pleasant
Aug. 25: Triad
Sept. 1: at Zane Trace
Sept. 8: Jonathan Alder
Sept. 15: at Urbana
Sept. 22: Shawnee
Sept. 29: at Northwestern
Oct. 6: at Benjamin Logan
Oct. 13: Graham
Oct. 20: Indian Lake
2022 North Union Results
Pleasant, W 42-6
Triad, W 35-0
Danville, W 28-0
Kenton Ridge, W 40-7
Jonathan Alder, L 28-31
Northwestern, W 34-14
Benjamin Logan, W 48-14
Graham, L 33-39
Indian Lake, W 41-7
Urbana, L 12-38
* Coldwater, L 7-41
* denotes playoff game
This article originally appeared on Marion Star: North Union football guide: Veteran squad largely new to Friday nights
