Dane Nauman put on a clinic on the gridiron last year in a season in which the star running back was named Mount Vernon News Athlete of the Year. Entering his senior year, Highland is looking for another monster season on the ground to propel them to the playoffs.
Last year, the Fighting Scots finished 7-4 overall and were 6-1 in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference (MOAC). They outscored their opponents 297-269. Head Coach Ty Stover, who enters his third year at the helm for Highland, was happy with last year but hopes the injury bug can stay away.
"2002 was a good season for us," Stover said. " We had quite a few injuries to deal with last season and are hoping that 2023 is a healthy one."
Stover said his expectation for this season is to compete every Friday and do their best to be at the top of the league. "As a program, we strive to try to take a step forward every year," Coach Stover said. "Our whole roster has done a great job during our summer camp in being accountable, taking each practice with great focus and effort."
Stover said the Fighting Scots are going to establish the run first and go from there. This is the easy choice with All-Ohio running back Nauman in your backfield. Nauman was first-team All-MOAC and was the top rusher in MOAC with 2,380 yards and 28 touchdowns in 11 games. He had a clip of 8.1 yards per carry.
Nauman was fifth in the entire state of Ohio in rushing yards and those ahead of him played from two to four more games due to playoffs. He was third in the state in yards per game with 216.4. Nauman's most notable games included a 300-yard rushing performance and eight tackles on defense in a 17-14 win over Fredericktown, which won him MVN Athlete of the Week honrs. He also won the award for his work against Marion Harding, as he ran for 336 yards, four touchdowns, 65 yards in kick-off returns and 401 all-purpose yards. He also had 12 tackles in the game.
Defensively Nauman was a force as well, with a team-high 74 tackles, 2.5 sacks and four fumbles caused.
The team's quarterback is Kolton Stover, who last year threw for 612 yards, six touchdowns and just one interception in nine games. He was 59-for-103 passing with an 89.9 rating.
The team lost second-team All-MOAC wide receiver Zach Schmidt, who had 24 catches for 320 yards and two touchdowns to lead the team. Gavin Toombs looks to hop in as the team's top receiver, coming off a freshman year in which he led the team with three receiving touchdowns and had 13 catches for 135 yards in eight games.
Defensively, the team will need to fill a major hole in first-team All-MOAC Landon Pedigo, as he graduated in the spring. He had 34 tackles, two sacks and a team-high five fumble recoveries. Fellow first-teamer Chandler Stevens will also be missed. He had 57 tackles and 5.5 sacks and a forced fumble. Caleb Hunter, also a first-team MOAC, graduated in the spring as well.
The team does return first-team All-MOAC player Hayden Kline and second-team All-MOAC recipient Ladon Hayes. Hayes had an excellent year defensively with 56 tackles and three fumble recoveries.
Stover sees impact players in 2023 being Nauman, Kline, Hayes, Stover, Isaiah Smith, Clayton VanDyke, Aron West, Gavin Wiggand, Ethan Taylor and Bryan Mullins. He is looking forward to watching the play of Sam Hernandez, David Condron and Beau Gantz.
Due to the team's robust running game led by Nauman, the run is established first in a multi-formation offense. Stover said tweaks will be made to the offense based on personnel. The Fighting Scots run a 3-4 defense and sometimes get into a nickel or dime package.
"We try to formulate our style of play based on our players' strengths," Stover said.
Stover said his coaching philosophy comes from a mixture of his past coaches and also his upbringing.
"The foundation of how the program is directed is focused on hard work, humility and recognition of the past," Stover said.
Highland kicked off 2023 Friday at Fredericktown; results were unavailable at press time.
