Anna’s Aaron Shappie kicks an extra point during a Midwest Athletic Conference game on Friday in St. Henry. Shappie ran for four TDs and kicked three PATs.
John Hemp | Sidney Daily News
ST. HENRY — Speed and athleticism wasn’t a problem for Anna last year according to coach Nick Marino. Matching opponents’ physicality was.
The Rockets are looking more physical this year.
Anna is off to a 2-1 start and began Midwest Athletic Conference play with a 40-18 victory over St. Henry on Friday. The Rockets have a tough slate coming up, starting with Coldwater (3-0) this Friday.
Marino, who is in his eighth season, thinks the squad is in a better place this year than when it started 2-1 last season and lost five in a row.
“We’re playing a little more physical football than we did last year; I think especially our defensive line and linebackers,” Marino said. “We’ve done a decent job at stopping the run. We’ve got to be consistent with that.”
Junior quarterback Alex Shappie is in his second season as the team’s starter. He has thrown for 374 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions.
“He’s a lot more mature than he was last year, especially being able to step up and run the football a little bit and make good decisions,” Marino said.
His twin brother Aaron has been one of the team’s top rushers, along with junior Zach Osborn. Aaron Shappie ran for 290 yards and four TDs on Friday; he also handles the team’s kicking duties.
Trey Heitkamp, Noah Aufderhaar, Clay Cummins and Colin Elliott are the team’s top receivers.
“We have a couple nice receivers and a couple nice running backs to go along with them,” Marino said. “We’ve got to be more consistent, but we’re improving.”
Marino credited Nolan Howell (junior) for anchoring the offensive line at center and says he’s doing well on the defensive line. Nolan Wilt and Mason Hughes, both tackles, are playing well on the defensive line according to Marino. Wilt had two tackles for loss against St. Henry. Senior lineman Lane Howell is also playing well according to Marino.
Camden Palmisano, a junior cornerback, has led the team in tackles the last two weeks. Aufderhaar, a junior, is playing in the secondary this season in addition to receiver, where he also played last year. He intercepted a pass against St. Henry, as did Cummins, who is also a junior.
After hosting the Cavaliers this Friday, the Rockets are scheduled to travel to Minster (2-1) in Week 5, host Delphos St. John’s (2-1) and Versailles (3-0) in Weeks 6 and 7 and travel to Marion Local (3-0) in Week 8.
But first is Coldwater, which finished 11-2 last year and will try to keep up its hot start this Friday in its first road game of the year. The Cavaliers beat Kenton (29-12) and Bellefontaine (28-25) in nonconference play before opening MAC play with a 35-7 win over Fort Recovery.
Junior quarterback Baylen Blockberger has thrown for 557 yards and nine TDs with three interceptions. Seniors AJ Harlamert (214 receiving yards) and Braylen Harlamert (117) are among the team’s top three receivers along with junior Ethan Elander (156). Junior Cody Depweg has gained nearly 200 rushing yards on 20 carries.
“We’ve got to do a good job defending, especially their pass game,” Marino said. “We know if you start to defend the pass a little too heavy, they’re going to come back and try to pound it on us. Have to do a good job on that. And we have to get going on offense. They seem to be playing pretty well defensively too.”
The Rockets’ coaching staff is a little different after offensive assistants Tyler Wright and Bill Zimmerman left to return to Troy and Lehman Catholic, respectively. Former Lehman assistant Kent Witt is the Rockets’ OC this year, while Chris Duncan is the defensive coordinator.
Sidney to host Fairborn
The Yellow Jackets (1-2) gave defending MVL champion Xenia a fight on Friday but lost by nine points. They’re looking to win another MVL game at Sidney Memorial Stadium this week when they host Fairborn.
The Skyhawks (1-2) are coached by Larry Cox, who is in his second season at the helm of the program. He coached at Lakota West for two decades among other stops before taking over Fairborn, which has struggled since firing veteran coach Roy Thobe in 2015. Cox is the program’s fourth head coach since Thobe’s dismissal.
Fairborn started the season by losing 32-15 to Tecumseh and 27-6 to Tippecanoe before beating West Carrollton 34-6 last week.
Most of Fairborn’s offense has come on the ground; junior running back Jay Kidd gained 164 yards and scored two touchdowns on 33 carries in the first two weeks, while Zyaire Cavitt gained 97 yards on 24 carries.
The Yellow Jackets rallied late and beat Fairborn 28-21 last season.
Lehman Catholic to host rebuilding Milton-Union
The Cavaliers (2-1) are scheduled to host Milton-Union (1-2) on Thursday at Sidney Memorial Stadium. The Bulldogs are rebuilding after losing almost all their starters to graduation.
Milton-Union dominated in its first two seasons in the Three Rivers Conference and has yet to lose a league game. The Bulldogs finished 10-2 overall in 2021 and 13-1 last season; they advanced to a Div. V regional final a year ago.
But gone are 12 seniors who earned first team all-conference honors last year, including Blake Brumbaugh, who shared player of the year honors after amassing 695 receiving yards and 506 rushing yards.
Milton-Union beat National Trail (1-2) by two touchdowns in Week 1 but lost 60-7 to Valley View in Week 2 and 35-14 to Oakwood last Friday.
The Bulldogs have gained almost all their yards on the ground. Senior RB Jordan Foose has run for 307 yards and two TDs on 58 carries; junior Payton Mayfield and senior Peyton Nichols both have over 100 yards rushing.
Lehman Catholic senior QB Donovan O’Leary ranks first among TRC players in passing yards (586) and second in rushing yards (317).
