A conference football newcomer last season, Loudonville gave the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference (KMAC) football teams a run for their money in 2022, so much so that the school will join the KMAC in all sports next year.
The Redbirds (7-5 overall, 4-3 in the KMAC) finished in a tie for third place in the conference gridiron standings in 2022 and had good representation on the all-conference teams.
After a taste of KMAC play, Loudonville coach John Battaglia said the conference is a good fit.
“We love playing in the KMAC,” Battaglia, who is entering his third season as head coach, said. “It is a tough, physical style of football.”
That tough, physical play is right in line with Battaglia’s coaching philosophy, which, following the footsteps of New England coach Bill Belichick, is rooted in “The Art of War” by Sun Tzu. Belichick told boston.com that the only motivational sign in the Patriots’ locker room is “Every battle is won before it is fought,” a quote from Tzu’s book.
Loudonville might not have that signposted, but one can gather that the team slogan, “Disciplined violence,” draws from Tzu, too.
The Redbirds “lost a really good group of senior leaders” from 2022 who took the team to its first winning season since 2014, Battaglia said. Graduates include three first-team All-KMAC selections, Zach Frankford, Micah Simpson and James Henley, and second-team choice Boe Weiser. Still, the team has some returning talent that will make Loudonville a team to be reckoned with. Battaglia has high hopes for three in particular.
Quarterback Matt Sprang, who was second in the KMAC in passing at 1,802 yards and made the first-team All-KMAC cut, returns for 2023, and this will be his third year as a starter. He threw 17 TD passes (tied for second in the KMAC) and had a league-high completion percentage of 57%. He’ll be joined by senior Baylor Weiser, a player Battaglia calls “the Swiss Army knife” of the team because “he can do it all,” and Trevor Breneman, a four-year varsity player who earned second-team All-KMAC honors.
From a defensive standpoint, opposing runners need to be aware of Aidan Wolford, who was third in the KMAC with 95 tackles (including nine with loss of yardage) and Baylor Weiser, sixth in the conference with 85 tackles (one for loss), a year ago. Wolford also threatens the air game, as he had three interceptions last season.
The Redbirds expect to run a spread offense that “fits our players the best,” Battaglia said. “We don’t have many big linemen and/or tight ends, so we have to try to spread teams out and play in space.”
That said, they’ll be taking his team's stand-by schemes and modifying them to make the most of the talents this year’s players bring to the table. That will be complemented primarily by a 3-3 stack defense.
“It lets us get another athlete on the field compared to the four front, and we just don’t have a ton of big-bodied kids anymore,” Battaglia said.
The Redbirds might fall into a nickel or dime in certain situations, though, he added.
“All the guys are working hard and improving; I think when you look at our schedule this year that we can compete and win any game on it,” Battaglia said. “But if we don’t come together as a team and our leadership is suspect, then we could easily lose any game on our schedule, too. So it will be a big challenge for the coaches to keep this locked in.”
Loudonville started the season at home on Aug. 18 vs. Mapleton. Details were unavailable at press time.
