The Elyria Catholic Panthers ended the 2016 football season on a high note, winning their last three games and ending the season at 6-4.
In 2017, they are counting on a senior heavy class to try and ensure that the three-game losing streak that took place after they started the year 3-1 doesn’t happen again.
For head coach Dave Stupka and his athletes, he is excited about the prospect of having seen this group of players grow from freshman to senior year, and how they play will dictate how the 2017 season goes.
“Well, we got off to a good start to last year, winning our first two games. (At) Midseason we suffered through a couple tough last-second losses. So we kinda reached a moment of truth the last three weeks of the season and our young men responded quite well.” Stupka said.
Players like Donovan Warfield, Gabe Hirsch, Jonah Baker and Andre Rodriguez have put in a lot of work the last three seasons to get to this point for EC, and Stupka will lean a lot on them in the early part of 2017 to get the Panthers off to a good start.
“The only way you gain confidence is by achieving things and I think the guys that remain from that team are going to carry that with us for this season” Stupka said of his senior class.
The Panthers playing in the always tough Great Lakes Conference will will have their usual tussles with the likes of Parma, Holy Name, Rocky River and Valley Forge, but will start the year with a non-conference slate that includes an opener against Brookside, at Villa Angela-St. Joseph in week two and at Cleveland Central Catholic in week three.
One area that Stupka is excited about as 2017 draws near is that of the passing game, and how it has developed from last season, and can be an area of strength for the Panthers in 2017.
“We have senior Donovan Warfield, he’s one of the top players returning for us. He’ll be a three-year starter as a wide receiver. Junior Zac Evans is a very prominent player for us as well” Stupka said. “He’s a tight end, wide receiver, halfback.”
The Great Lakes Conference is always a dogfight, like last season’s week five Panthers battle at Byers Field with the Parma Redman that came down to a last second missed kick in a 14-13 setback.
Stupka knows that winning the conference won’t be easy, and there’s plenty of great competition that he feels the Panthers will match up against once conference play begins in week five against Valley Forge.
“We were either going to grow or we’re going to perish within the conference. Competition we look forward to, we love it.” Stupka said. “We appreciate the challenge, we embrace the challenge and I do think it makes us a better football team.”
For now, the Panthers will lean on their leaders and look to make that three-game winning streak that ended 2016 carry over into this season with a group of young talented players that are hungry for more.
“I think we grew from those disappointments and are ready to flourish here in 2017.” Stupka said.
@ECHSAthletics football coach Dave Stupka on how the Panthers line up against the Great Lakes Conference in 2017 #locofootball pic.twitter.com/G0L3HxKY6i
— NEO Sports Insiders (@NEOSportsInside) August 14, 2017
@ECHSAthletics football coach Dave Stupka on some of the success the team had in growing in 2016 #locofootball pic.twitter.com/7Cw0jboMdc
— NEO Sports Insiders (@NEOSportsInside) August 14, 2017
2017 Schedule
8/25 7:00p Brookside (Sheffield, OH)
Location: Elyria Catholic High School
9/1 7:00pm @ Villa Angela-St. Joseph (Cleveland, OH)
Location: Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School
9/9 1:00pm @ Cleveland Central Catholic (Cleveland, OH)
Location: Cleveland Central Catholic High School
9/15 7:00pm Mogadore (Mogadore, OH)
Location: Elyria Catholic High School
9/21 7:00pm @ Valley Forge (Parma Heights, OH)
Location: Valley Forge High School
9/29 7:00pm Parma (Parma, OH)
Location: Elyria Catholic High School
10/7 7:00pm @ Holy Name (Parma Heights, OH)
Location: Holy Name High School
10/13 7:00pm Bay (Bay Village, OH)
Location: Elyria Catholic High School
10/20 7:00pm Normandy (Parma, OH)
Location: Elyria Catholic High School
10/27 7:00pm @ Rocky River (Rocky River, OH)
Location: Rocky River High School
Great first week. Football is back! pic.twitter.com/ol2nIIj7ZQ
— Panther Football (@ECPANTHERS) August 6, 2017
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