Sports
Crooksville to Host Maysville in MVL Opener
By: Nathan Wiseman
Posted on:
A week-one league game on Thursday night will set the pace for another competitive season in the MVL. Crooksville will play host to Maysville on Aug. 27 at 7:30 p.m. for the inaugural MVL game of the 2015 season.
“Week one is always exciting no matter what,” Maysville coach Craig Clarke said. “Playing on a Thursday night adds another special element. A lot of fans will come out since the schools are close.”
After finishing 3-5 in the conference and 5-5 overall last season, second-year Crooksville coach Chad Mickey acknowledged that offseason lifting would be key to competing with the larger schools in the league like Maysville.
“We’re trying to get back to some old school Crooksville football like in the 80s and 90s,” Mickey said. “It was a much more physical brand of football back then, more run heavy, and that’s what we’re trying to do.”
Containing the speed of Maysville will be the toughest challenge for the Ceramics’ secondary. Senior Chase Roberts is returning from injury and spearheads a trio of energetic running backs. Roberts and Chase Himmelspach’s speed combined with Johnny Runkle’s hard-nosed running style will present Crooksville with one of the hardest tests they will see all season.
In addition to containing the Panthers’ quick backs, Mickey noted that their goal is to utilize their passing game when they choose and to not have to rely on it to dig them out of a hole.
Maysville routed Crooksville 49-15 last season and return a plethora of varsity starters. Coach Mickey noted that last year his team let one play dictate the entire game and allowed Maysville to run away with it. He truly believes, though, that his team’s biggest improvement in the offseason is the strength of the line and expects Thursday to come down to a battle at the line of scrimmage.