Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes Western Reserve senior quarterback Luke Henning throws a pass against Liberty during a 7-on-7 scrimmage at Liberty High School. Head coach John Armeni has described Henning as the “heartbeat” of the Western Reserve football team.

BERLIN CENTER — Western Reserve was dealt a bad hand last year.

Head coach John Armeni joined the program late into the offseason, and the team never got the chance to gel as a full unit.

With a boatload of returners from last year’s squad and a full offseason together, the Blue Devils are looking to right the ship in 2023 and return the program to its former glory.

A total of 23 letterwinners return to the Western Reserve sideline this season, and they are still a young team so growing pains are to be expected. But, now everyone knows the expectations are raised and as they enter the new season, there’s a hunger and desire to make it happen.

“We have nine starters on offense, and eight starters back on defense,” Armeni said. “We played a lot of young kids. We have some work to do, but it’s nice having kids that understand now what it’s supposed to look like. They got their feet wet on Friday nights and going into year two, they know the speed at which the game is played out.

“They know the expectations a little bit better, and they also understand the physicality of Friday nights. They were able to approach this offseason and work a lot harder on getting stronger and faster and they understand that that’s a necessity.”

The slate this year isn’t an easy one. In weeks one and two, Reserve starts the year with a pair of road games against playoff teams in Division VI and V, Malvern and Conneaut respectively, then return home to take on an improved Columbiana squad.

“Other than Springfield, I think that we probably play the toughest out-of-conference schedule,” Armeni said. “The Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference in our tier is very tough. I think our tier, team-for-team, can compete with a lot of other small school conferences. Springfield is exceptional. They’re kind of the measuring stick in our area. That’s a place where we want to be. We want to compare ourselves and try to be able to compete with them on a down-to-down basis.

“Lowellville has been very good recently, Jackson-Milton has been very good recently and you have Mineral Ridge as well. I think that you have kind of a meat grinder schedule there. But 16 teams get in the playoffs, the name of the game is peaking in Week 10. Hopefully that schedule gets us prepared, and we’re able to have some success so we can see some postseason play.”

With all this said, there’s a hunger within the program. The coaches see it and the players are talking about it. They still have to go out and make it happen, but the Blue Devils are determined to be back on top.

“I want to just get obviously way better from last year and get back up to what the standards used to be a couple years ago on our football program,” senior Luke Henning said. “I think this year we’re a lot closer. We have about nine returning starters relatively on both sides.

“Last year, I think we got unlucky. We had some injuries, we had some dudes that couldn’t play because they transferred. I think once we got on a losing streak, we kind of just got in our own head. We didn’t really know how to react, I feel like and (this year is going to be different.)”

OFFENSE

Henning will be under center for the Blue Devils again this season.

Like the rest of the roster, he had to grow last year, but with another year of experience under his belt, there’s confidence in the program that he’ll have a breakout season.

“He’s the heartbeat of our football team,” Armeni said. “He’s a tough, physical kid, dual-threat kid. He had a little bit of a learning curve last year, we asked him to do an awful lot, and this offseason he’s been very focused and motivated and has been much more of a leader. We’re going to lean on him heavily to run the football, to distribute the football passing-wise, and he’s a Western Reserve kid through and through. We hope that he throws us on his shoulders from time to time.”

It’s a running back “by committee” situation for the Blue Devils this season. Jack Darney, Dom Ricciardi, Nathan Hemberger, Joey Sigworth and Josh Stamp will each see time in the backfield. They all fit the mold of a ground-and-pound back, which isn’t an issue.

“We have a good stable of runners that we think will run the football,” Armeni said. “Not too many of those guys go around people. They like to go through people. But we’re okay with that. Those are some of our pound-for-pound strongest guys. We think we have a lot of guys that can carry the football for us.”

Chris Pater and Jack Darney will anchor the wide receiver positions with the team adopting a tight end “by committee” approach as well. Mitchell Butts and Nathan Hemberger will split the role.

The Blue Devils have enough weapons in both the backfield and out wide to where they can throw a curveball to opposing defenses.

“We have some athletes on the outside that we can get the football to in space that can create some matchup problems so teams can’t just focus in on us running the football,” Armeni said.

Western Reserve is optimistic about its offensive line this year, with Armeni citing it as arguably the team’s most improved unit this season.

They’re returning four starters: Fischer Himes, Nathan Fusillo, Isaac Burnett and Dylan Krut. They’ll add Andrew Hendricks, a transfer from Leetonia, to the mix as well.

The Blue Devils have had a reputation for big linemen, and this year will be no different.

“Krut started last year as a freshman and pretty much doubled his weight room numbers in the offseason,” Armeni said. “He’s going to be a barrel-chested, tough-nosed football player, and we have some young guys that are pushing behind them.”

DEFENSE

Expect to see those same offensive lineman names up front on the defensive side of the ball. Each are expected to see some time on the line.

The linebacker position will be anchoring the Blue Devils’ defense, and Darney is at the head of that snake. The junior was an all-county and all-league selection last year, boasting 85 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, and four interceptions. Hemberger, Stamp, and Sigworth round out the starting linebacker core.

They return three of the four starters from last year’s secondary unit.

Pater, Henning, and Ricciardi will each return to their spots.

There’s a battle for the final spot in the defensive backfield. Eight guys saw time rotating in and out of that spot during 7-on-7 drills.

Nate Alexander, Peyton Hartsel, and Brock Wellman have each been in the mix and are expected to see time in the secondary.

SPECIAL TEAMS

The Blue Devils are in a great spot special team-wise. Junior Andriy Chuta Suy will be handling the bulk of the kicking duties.

“Special teams is our hidden weapon,” Armeni said. “Chuta Suy last year kind of emerged as one of our kind of unsung heroes, and he’s gotten a lot better. We have a place kicker that is pretty good from around 45 yards. He’s added a little bit of distance in his kickoff this year too, and he’ll probably punt for us. We have some talent in the kicking game.”

Pater, Riccardi and Henning will each handle returning duties.

2023 Schedule

Aug. 18 at Malvern 7 p.m.

Aug. 25 at Conneaut 7 p.m.

Sept. 1 Columbiana 7 p.m.

Sept. 8 at McDonald* 7 p.m.

Sept. 15 Lowellville* 7 p.m.

Sept. 23 at Everett (Pa.) 7 p.m.

Sept. 29 at Springfield* 7 p.m.

Oct. 6 Waterloo* 7 p.m.

Oct. 13 Mineral Ridge* 7 p.m.

Oct. 20 Jackson-Milton* 7 p.m.

*-Conference game

2022 Results (3-7)

at Liberty (4-6) W 41-20

Conneaut (8-3) L 17-20 (OT)

at Brookfield (10-2) L 3-47

Jackson-Milton (7-4) L 21-22

at Waterloo (3-7) L 24-27

at Mineral Ridge (8-3) L 13-40

McDonald (3-7) W 27-19

Springfield (7-5) L 0-21

at Sebring (0-10) W 49-0

at Lowellville (11-1) L 7-34

Coaching staff

Head coach: John Armeni, 2nd season, 3-7 at Western Reserve

Staff: Mike Schneider (offensive coordinator), Collin Dotson (defensive coordinator), Joe Alessi, Marc Bjelac, Nate Ostas, Derrick Acord, Konner Johnston

Team facts

Division VII, Region 25

Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference-Scarlet Tier

Players on roster: 38

2022 season: In John Armeni’s first season at the helm, the Blue Devils had a bumpy road. There were promising signs, but Western Reserve finished 3-7. With a full offseason as a complete team, the Blue Devils are looking for a stark improvement this season.

Returning letterwinners (23): Jack Darney, Luke Henning, Nate Alexander, Dominic Ricciardi, Chris Pater, Andriy Chuta Suy, Nathan Hemberger, Vance Story, Alec Abrams, Ethan Cannon, Joseph Sigworth, Josh Stamp, Peyton Hartzell, Mitchell Butts, Jackson Young, Fischer Himes, Nathan Fusillo, Sincere French, Isaac Burnett, Dylan Krut, Andrew Hendricks, Caleb Sinn, Parker Namie.