Hubbard hoping for a repeat of '99 in TAC-8

By Matt Deutsch
Herald writer

Last season was a banner year for the Hubbard High football team, but duplicating last year's success will be no small feat for head coach Jeff Bayuk and the Eagles.

In 1999, Hubbard produced a 9-1 regular-season record and a Trumbull Athletic Conference mark of 6-0, thereby capturing the TAC-8 crown. In addition, the Eagles qualified for the Ohio state playoffs for the first time in school history. Fueling that remarkable campaign was a corps of seniors whose chemistry and unselfish play served as the rallying point for their teammates.

However those seniors have graduated; consequently, Hubbard will have to rely on only seven returning starters. That's the bad news. The good news is that many of those starters are located on the offensive line, including guard Steve Pompili, an all-state selection last season. Tim Brown and Bill Tucciarone are battling for the starting center position, while Ryan Meyer, Mike Homer and Keith Wagner, as well as Donnie Smith, will form a solid line rotation.

Carrying the ball for the Eagles will be last season's stellar tandem of fullback Jerad Jordan and tailback Anthony Smith. Ron DeJulio and Antonio Owens also will see action.

Marty Kanetsky has the edge in the battle for the starting quarterback slot, but is being pushed by Matt Smith and Gabe McKee. Jerry Yoder heads the receiving corps, which also includes David DeSantis, Garrett Cravener and Eric Lubonovich. Mike Rexroad has been moved from tackle to tight end, where he will be joined by Dean Marshall and Dan Pushcar and John Dominic.

Anchoring the defensive unit are three returning starters, led by linebacker DeJulio and tackles Pompili and junior Mike Flaugher. Adding support at the linebacker position will be Marshall, Dominic and Matt Clark, while Brown and Smith contribute from the tackle spot. In the secondary, either Smith or Jason Tedrow will start at safety. Meanwhile, David Phillips, Cravener, Smith and Perry Williams are battling for cornerback jobs.

Special teams is perhaps the most uncertain aspect of the squad, with three players (Andrew Fidram, McKee, Adam Jablonski) vying for the role of punter. The placekicking duties will fall to Jordan, DeJulio or Owens. Smith, Phillips, Cravener and Williams are among those slated to return punts and kickoffs.

According to Bayuk, inexperience is the biggest obstacle his team will face this season, although it's not the only one.

"I think we're going to have two big hurdles to overcome," said Bayuk, a Kennedy Christian and Thiel College alum. "One of them is the loss of eight starters from last year's defense, and the other one is going to be overcoming the obstacle of everybody telling our team how good they're going to be.

"A lot of teams are picking us to win the league, which kind of surprises me considering we only have three starters coming back on one side of the ball and four on the other. I feel good that they respect us enough to do that, but I think the kids really have to understand that it's going to be a little bit different than last year.

"Last year, we weren't supposed to be that good and we snuck up on some people. We're not going to be sneaking up on anybody this year. Everybody is ready for us and we have a bulls-eye on our backs."

Although Hubbard posted an undefeated TAC-8 record last year, many games were close, which is typical considering the league's high caliber of play. Bayuk expects the TAC-8 to be just as competitive this year as it has been in seasons past.

"I think Liberty is going to be very good," said Bayuk. "They have a lot of skill and they have one of the biggest kids in the area (Devon Queener), who's 6-5 and nearly 400 pounds. LaBrae is going to be loaded. They have eight starters back on defense and they have all of their offensive skill people back.

"They're going to be really good. I don't know a whole lot yet about Champion and Brookfield because of the new coaching staffs. I haven't seen much of them, but I think they have some pretty good people coming back. Lakeview is always solid, so I think the league is going to be really tough again this year. That's the great thing about our league. There are good games in it every week."

Bayuk is starting his 10th season as Hubbard's head coach. He will also be in charge of the quarterbacks and outside linebackers.

His assistants this season are Mickey Sikora (defensive coordinator), Jack Arvin (centers/guards/defensive ends), Ron DeJulio (running backs/inside linebackers), Rich Perline (tight ends/defensive ends), Denny Mathews and Steve Hunt (wide receivers/defensive backs) and Rod Greenamyer (offensive coordinator/offensive tackles/special teams).