Staff photo / Greg Macafee Newton Falls wide receiver Carter Rapczak takes a handoff from quarterback Keegan Howard during a practice at Newton Falls High School earlier this month.

NEWTON FALLS — Jim Hogue is the latest to step up to the challenge of trying to restore the roar to the Newton Falls Tigers football program.

Newton Falls hasn’t posted a winning season since 2004, which was the same season Hogue began his coaching career as an assistant after serving time in the military.

The 1996 Newton Falls graduate is hoping to oversee a new era in which football can find similar success to the school’s basketball program.

“Basketball is king here,” he said. “We do have athletic kids and talented kids or we wouldn’t have success in basketball. We need to build the football culture, get kids interested at a young age and develop that same mentality.

“Kids here want to grow up to play basketball. Well, I want to get them to want to grow up to play football, too.”

Hogue knows all about that. Falls football is in his DNA. He said his brother and dad, as well as uncles and cousins, all played football for the Tigers. His son is a freshman on the roster this year.

Hogue was an assistant with the Tigers under several coaches through the years. He was the offensive coordinator for Liberty in 2017 when the Leopards went 8-3 and won a league title. He returned to Newton Falls in 2020 and was the defensive coordinator. Last season, he was an assistant at Warren G. Harding.

Hogue replaces Greg Lazzari, who led the program the past three seasons in his second stint at the helm.

“This is my dream job, really,” Hogue said. “It’s the third time I applied for the position. I’ve always been very close to this program and to this community.”

However, he realizes turning things around usually takes time. Lazzari spent the past three seasons trying to change the culture.

“I see glimpses of a culture change, but we’re still working at it,” Hogue said. “It’s a daily process. A lot of these kids have been around in other sports, but football culture is a different beast.

“It’s just obtaining and maintaining a practice mentality and being willing to dig deep and bust your butts when you’re tired. You’ve got to be hungry to improve yourself and improve the program. You can’t just go through the motions.”

Senior Carter Rapczak, a four-year starter, is anticipating a better season after the Tigers finished 3-7 overall and 2-5 in the MVAC-Gray Tier.

“We are looking forward to having a positive season,” said Carter, a first-team all-league pick last season, who is changing positions on both sides of the football. “The changes were a little difficult, but we’re adjusting. Our practices have been pretty forward. Everyone’s working hard and working together trying to put a good football team on the field.”

Hogue inherits just 17 players who were on the roster last season. There are only seven juniors and six sophomores on the roster.

“Depth is a real concern,” Hogue said. “I think the entire sophomore class has 28 boys, so it’s tough. All of our seniors will need to be leaders with so many young guys behind them.”

Rapczak, as well as seniors Jacob Maas and Caden Short are taking the reins and being the leaders that Hogue expects them to be.

“We try to lead the way and keep everyone focused during practices and have them ready to help the team,” Short said. “We talk to our backups and make them understand the plays and their responsibilities on different plays. We also are ready to answer any questions our teammates may have.”

Staff photo / Greg Macafee
First-year head coach Jim Hogue coaches his linemen during a drill earlier this month.

OFFENSE

In addition to a lack of overall depth, the Tigers have a dearth of linemen and a bevy of skilled-position type players. Therefore, Hogue has elected to use the spread offense.

“Up front, we’ll try to get some double-teams and we’ll ease the box with some RPOs as well, throw some screens and that type of stuff,” Hogue said. “We plan to use the whole field.”

Rapczak is moving from running back to the slot but is capable of lining up in either position or even behind center.

“He’s going to move around to where we feel he has an advantage on the field,” Hogue said. “He’s quick, shifty, deceptively strong and football smart. He’s not big, but he is a tough kid who would pound the ball up the middle if we asked him to do that.”

“Being a slot receiver is a big change from running back,” Rapczak said. “I think the idea is to get me into open space, give me some room and let me do what I do best. I am excited. As a team, I think we have more speed and agility, more skill sets than previous years.”

Senior Keegan Howard is expected to start at quarterback, with classmate Gage Phares at fullback.

“Keegan didn’t get a lot of time as a sophomore last year, but he’s been working pretty hard in the offseason,” Hogue said.

“His brother played at Newton Falls and threw for over 1,000 yards four or five years ago.

“Gage Phares is also a very football-savvy kid and he has grown a lot. He’s going to be pushing that ball up the middle for us.”

The Tigers have a slew of options at receiver. Short and senior Nolan Kaehne return and are expected to provide a spark, along with senior move-in Jesse Chitwood. Also vying for time are freshman Chace Clonch and sophomores Caden Clonch and Dallas Dunlap.

“Caden Short and Nolan Kaehne are stepping up and should be threats,” Hogue said. “Jesse Chitwood can catch it real well and he’s pretty fast, too. He’s a baseball guy and very athletic, quick. He’s going to be an asset at receiver and safety.”

Although Short is primarily out wide, he could also play some in the slot.

“At wideout, I’ll mainly be running some of our deeper routes,” he said. “But every receiver has to know every role – slot, wideout and running back. We need to be interchangeable so we can work in rotations or step into another role in case we have injuries.”

Junior Trevor Ruscoe (5-10, 225) and senior Rylei White (6-1, 230) return to lead the linemen, while seniors Zander Miller (6-1, 200) and Jacob Maas (5-10, 170) are moving from tight end to help shore things up. Also in the mix are juniors junior Ethan Howell (5-11, 175) and Dominic Paolella (5-10, 160).

DEFENSE

The Tigers will be buoyed defensively by linebackers Phares and Powell, while Kaehne and Maas earned starts at outside linebacker last season, along with Rapczak.

“Phares and Powell will be keys to the defense as linebackers,” Hogue said. “They’ve been in the weight room a lot and have been working hard. They’ve gotten a lot thicker, bigger, and stronger.”

Maas also can play inside.

“Maas is a little dinged up right now, but he’ll join Carter and Caden as true leaders,” Hogue said. “Maas is showing up when he’s not practicing and he’s doing a great job teaching the younger guys the ropes.”

Short is expected to line up at cornerback, with Rapczak and Chitwood playing safeties. Also looking to fill in at cornerback are Howard, Dunlap and Caden Clonch.

“With Short, Rapczak and Chitwood in the secondary or at outside backers, we give ourselves some real playmakers,” Hogue said.

Across the line, Paolella, Ruscoe, Miller, White and senior Matthew Jaster (6-2, 290) were all trying to fill the spots at ends or noseguards.

“With so many guys expected to play both sides of the ball, we’ll need to be smart and try to create some breaks for them,” Hogue said. “We might work the linemen in rotations. We’ll try to be creative and not ask the same guys to play the entire game and risk exhaustion or injury.”

SPECIAL TEAMS

Senior Nick Lampman is expected to do both the punting and kicking for the Tigers.

In the return game, Newton Falls has many options, but nothing had been settled in early camp.

2023 Schedule

Aug. 18 East Palestine 7 p.m.

Aug. 25 Jackson-Milton 7 p.m.

Sept. 2 at Mathews 7 p.m.

Sept. 8 at Campbell* 7 p.m.

Sept. 15 LaBrae* 7 p.m.

Sept. 22 Liberty* 7 p.m.

Sept. 29 at Crestview* 7 p.m.

Oct. 6 Garfield* 7 p.m.

Oct. 13 at Brookfield* 7 p.m.

Oct. 20 at Champion* 7 p.m.

*Conference game

2022 Results (3-7)

at St. John (2-7) W 41-0

at Jackson-Milton (7-4) L 14-16

Mineral Ridge (8-3) L 14-33

at Champion* (3-7) L 24-29

Garfield* (9-3) L 7-40

LaBrae* (1-9) W 27-0

Brookfield* (10-2) L 0-34

at Liberty* (4-6) L 6-20

Campbell* (2-8) W 37-0

at Crestview*(4-5) L 0-20

*MVAC-Gray Tier

Coaching staff

Head coach: Jim Hogue, 1st season

Staff: Zack Angle, Zach Brewer, Tim Frey, Marcus Fowler, Marty Hutchinson, Ned Rudloff, C.J. Shelton, Frank Tartaka, Brian Bogus and Josh Goss

Team facts

Division VI, Region 21

MVAC-Gray Tier

Players on roster: 36

Returning letterwinners (9): Keegan Howard, Nolan Kaehne, Jacob Maas, Zander Miller, Gage Phares, Ethan Powell, Carter Rapczak, Trevor Ruscoe and Caden Short.

2022 season: The Tigers won their opener 41-0 against Ashtabula St. John, but lost their next four. The losses were to playoff-bound Jackson-Milton, Mineral Ridge and Garfield, as well as to Champion. Newton Falls then blanked LaBrae before losing three of its final four. They went 0-4 against playoff teams, losing to Brookfield. Their third win came against Campbell in week 9. They scored 20 points per game in the first half of the season and seven in the second half of the schedule.