Fall Sports Preview: Football
True Believers: Severance relishes the chance to continue to build the program.
Like the fictional title character in the soccer comedy Ted Lasso, first-year coach Ron Severance hangs a metaphorical “Believe” sign up in the Worthington Christian football team’s locker room.
Severance replaces former Warrior coach Jeff Hartings, who compiled a 41-23 overall record and had only one losing season with Worthington Christian.
“Our motto this year is ‘You Have to Believe in It,’” said Severance, whose team finished 4-7 overall after losing to Ironton 56-6 in the first round of the Division V playoffs. “Players must believe in their relationship with Christ and the vision of what we’re trying to do in the next three to five years. We’re building men of character who believe, build, and bring it.”
Severance played football at the former Worthington High School (now Thomas Worthington) and went on to play wide receiver at Eastern Michigan before transferring to Otterbein, where he continued to play. He had previously been a wide receiver coach for Worthington Christian.
The strength of the Warriors’ offense seems to be a talented corps of receivers. The team returns seniors Jacob Corbin, who earned first-team all-district honors and was second-team all-state as a junior, and Cameron Robinson, whose promising season was cut short after six games by a growth plate injury. Corbin hauled 52 catches for 718 yards and seven TDs, and Robinson had 27 receptions for 415 yards and five TDs. Senior tight end Luke Hermiz (23 catches for 253 yards, one TD) and senior wide receiver Zach Kirkley (eight receptions for 161 yards, two TDs) should also figure into the offense.
Severance believes junior running back Gabe Long should anchor the ground attack in the Warriors’ run-pass option this season. Senior Rylan Kuershner will anchor the offensive line at center.
After quarterback Hobie Raikes graduated last season, Worthington Christian began the season looking for someone to get the ball to its receivers. In nine games as a quarterback last season, Raikes completed 143 of 269 passes for 1,935 yards with 18 touchdowns and six interceptions. He also rushed for 522 yards and four TDs on 97 carries.
“(Freshman) Thomas Hartings will be starting the season as QB1,” Severance said. “His work ethic, arm talent, and understanding of our offense allowed him to win the job.
“(The receiving group) is certainly the strength of our team. We’ve got players who gained varsity experience over the last couple of years.”
Severance’s top concern may be rebuilding Worthington Christian’s defense. After allowing only 18 points a game in 2022, the Warriors struggled to slow down teams after moving up to Division V. The team gave up 33.3 points a game in a schedule that included Danville (13-1 overall last year), Columbus Academy (10-2) and Ironton (11-2).
Severance, whose team was 2-1 in games decided by 14 points or less in 2023, will use a 3-5-3 defense and emphasize conditioning.
“We did some really good things last year stopping the run, but we had some issues with guys throwing the ball over our heads,” Severance said. “A lot of that had to do with our depth. We were in every game last year, but in the third and fourth quarters, other teams pulled away from us.
“We’ve put a big emphasis during our camp days on conditioning and just trying to get better in our techniques and responsibilities.”
Worthington Christian graduated defensive tackle Tife Adesioye (10 tackles a game with five sacks during the season), linebacker Dax Zartman (9.3 tackles), and defensive lineman Andre Priest (5.4 tackles). However, Severance is expecting Hermiz (38 tackles, seven for loss) at defensive end, Caleb Holt (25 tackles, one interception) at linebacker, and Kuershner (9 tackles, 2 TFL) at the defensive line to help bolster the defense.
Severance said the key to the season rests with its five returning seniors — Robinson, Kuershner, Holt, Hermiz, and Corbin.
“We’re going to be an extremely young team this year,” Severance said. “We only have five seniors who played last year, and those guys will have to change how people look at our program.
“Any time a new coach comes in, you’re looking at change. The players have got to adapt (to the new coaching staff) and buy into what we are trying to do.”