High school football previews – Philo Electrics

DUNCAN FALLS, Ohio — For the first time in 20 years the Philo Electrics claimed a piece of the MVL Title in 2016.

With the loss of key seniors like Nathan Baker and Jacob Mohler on the offensive side of the ball, Philo will need some new players to step up if they are going to have a chance of repeating in 2017. But head coach Dirk Lincicome isn’t worried about long terms goals, he’s worried about his team fine-tuning the small details as they approach the first game of the season.

“Right now we’re just trying to get through the daily grind and improve on all the little things that we do; all the nuances of our offense, and all our coverage’s defensively and our different fronts,” Lincicome said cautiously.

Since the departures after last season, senior wide receiver Cole Smith says that he and the other receivers have been putting in extra work to make sure they are ready to fill any voids left when the season kicks off.

“We lost every receiver we had last year. Isaac (Gill) is a really good athlete, he was our quarterback in junior high. We’ve been good friends, we’ve been working out outside of football, coming into summer workouts and I think we’re ready,” said Smith.

The Electrics have just eight seniors on this year’s team, but those fourth-year players are trying to make a positive impact on the younger members of the team. The seniors attended a leadership seminar to provide them with skills and tools to help make them successful mentors to the underclassmen.

“We went on a leadership class that really taught us a lot. We’ve taken a lot of kids underneath our wings, and we’ve got to know this is our team but they’re going to have to fill in spots and be ready,” exclaimed Smith.

While senior linebacker Nick Hoffer added, “we’ve been taught a lot of leadership skills and I think we’ve talked to the younger guys and gotten them to come along with us and understand what’s in front of us this year.”

And while much of the focus is on how the Electrics will replace play-makers on the offensive side of the ball, Hoffer said one strength he sees on defense is a deep group of linebackers.

“I think that we’re pretty deep at linebacker, we’ve got a lot of younger guys that get after it and are aggressive they know what they’re doing. So if someone has to step out to take a break, we’ve got another guy lined up ready,” Hoffer added.

And while coach Lincicome and his seniors will surely be hoping to get a piece of that MVL Title again and earn a spot back in the playoffs, right now their focused on making sure they are the best team in the stadium every time they take the field.

“You know, right now it’s just one day at a time. As far as setting goals, we want to be the best team in the stadium every time we’re at the stadium. So other than that, you know we’re just one week at time, playing one game at a time.”

The Electrics open their 2017 campaign this Friday, August 25th, at home at Sam Hatfield Stadium against the Walnut Ridge Scots out of Columbus.

2017 Schedule

08/25 Walnut Ridge
09/01 @ Crooksville
09/08 @ West Muskingum
09/15 John Glenn
09/22 @ Tri-Valley
09/29 Sheridan
10/06 @ Coshocton
10/13 Maysville
10/20 @ Morgan
10/27 @ New Lexington