Bloom Carroll strives to remain at the top of the MSL-Buckeye with senior heavy team
By: Charlie Ihlenfeld
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CARROLL, Ohio (WOUB) – A team losing their leading passer and two leading rushers might be concerned about how they can keep the good times rolling. But, not the Bloom-Carroll Bulldogs.
“We’ve been great since, what, 2017?” said senior wide receiver Rusty Hutchinson. “Nothing’s changing here at Carroll.”
Ethan Thanthanavong graduated, and the Bulldogs will have to replace his incredible production from last season. Their former quarterback finished the 2024 campaign with 2,721 total yards, 33 total touchdowns on 68.1% completion and 7.8 yards per carry. He helped propel Bloom-Carroll to the second round of the playoffs where they fell to Licking Valley 29-17.
Thanthanavong is not the only key contributor departing on offense. The Bulldogs two feature backs both graduated. Jude Blair 863 rushing yards and eleven touchdowns on 6.2 yards per carry and Beau Sherman finished with 308 rushing yards and eleven touchdowns on 5.9 yards per carry. Sherman was also an integral part of Bloom-Carroll’s special teams, returning three punts for touchdowns and one kickoff.
The loss to Licking Valley hit the team hard, and Jeremy McKinney, head coach of Bloom-Carroll, said they wanted to get right back to work.
“These guys wanted to get back in the weight room a week after the season was over because no one felt good about how it ended,” said McKinney.
While the losses on offense hurt Bloom-Carroll, they will have their biggest senior class in program history. With 26 seniors, the Bulldogs will lean on a veteran linebacker corps to stifle offenses.
“We’re just ready to go at it man,” said senior linebacker Aiden Scholz. “Just hit some stuff.”
Scholz will headline a stout linebacker corps for Bloom-Carroll. He led the team in tackles with 93 and tied for the lead in sacks at four. David Mullen and Jalen Cline both enter the season with multiple years of starting experience.
As for the offense, there are still a lot of veterans for the squad to lean on. In the receiver room, Evan Cardenas, Luden Dodds and Rusty Hutchinson all return to support whatever quarterback emerges for Bloom-Carroll. Parker Couch and Matthew Cline will continue to battle for the starting job. Cline brings multiple years of experience with the Bulldog system while Couch enters from Fairfield Christian with a previous connection with Bloom-Carroll’s leading receiver Rusty Hutchinson.
Hutchinson finished last year with 837 yards on 45 catches and seven touchdowns. He spoke highly of Couch’s and Cline’s play in practice.
“He (Couch) is clicking really well with the guys. We have Matthew Cline, he’s also clicking well with the quarterbacks and wide receivers. It’s a battle right now,” said Hutchinson.
Dodds, another key contributor to the passing attack, said they will work the middle of the field more in the passing game. But, they intend to leave everything they have on the field for their final year.
“We’re thinking it’s our last year to do what we want to do,” said Dodds. “So we’re going out there expecting to leave it all out on the field.”
Kyson Cline will be the feature running back for the Bulldogs. Coach McKinney spoke highly about his ability, and he was only blocked by the talent ahead of him.
“He runs awfully hard and awfully low,” said McKinney. “He had some pretty good guys in front of him, but now, it’s his turn.”
With all the new and returning faces, the expectations remain the same.
“They can see us in the state chip,” said Scholz.
“They’re hungry,” said McKinney. “They want to make their own mark.”