By Mark Carpenter

People’s Defender

In the early days of the Southern Ohio Independent League, the West Union Dragons were the dominant force. In recent years, though, the SOIL championship has eluded the reach of Coach Scott McFarland and his troops. As the 2021 season begins, the Dragons will be looking to climb back to the top of the mountain.

Last year we were 8-2, both losses to Peebles, and as a coach you always think about those losses,” said McFarland. “We lost by two points both games, but really all three games with Peebles were fantastic games and that’s what our league needs, good competitive football. I remind our kids that losing a game like that is usually just one play and you work to get better to be sure that next time that one play goes in your favor.”

The Dragons lost some talented seniors to graduation, including Jack Steed and Ryan Roquet on the offensive and defensive lines, and Philip Jarivis, who is now plying his talents as a wide receiver with the Wilmington College program, proving again that football in Adams County can be a springboard. The Dragons also lost quarterback Brian Hunt, kicker/tight end Jordan Gibson, and linebacker Bryan Dennis. That leaves the 2021 West Union squad with some holes to fill.

“Every year you have good seniors that graduate and that’s why we have to develop the young guys to come up and fill those spots and they’re usually excited to do that,” adds Coach McFarland. “We’ve got a little smaller roster this year than we traditionally do but I really like the chemistry of this team. Everyone seems very dedicated is and working super hard so I’m optimistic that we’ll be right in the championship hunt again.”

The Dragons boast seven seniors on their 2021 roster , most of whom have played a lot of football, according to the head coach. “You look to those guys for experience and to provide leadership, but even in our juniors and sophomores we’ve got guys who have played a lot of football,” says McFarland. “I’m not concerned about having that smaller roster because we have a lot of experience from top to bottom.”

Those seven seniors include All-League returnees Waylon Queen and Bobby Gallowitz, along with A.J. Frye, who, a lineman who returns after not playing in 2020. Offensive/defensive lineman and four-year player Eyan Trotter returns, as well as long snapper/lineman Jachin Irwin. Add in hard-working Logan Applegate and Dakota Pell and the Dragons are solid with their senior group.

On offense, the Dragons will have a two-headed monster at the quarterback position, with Queen and junior Domonic Webb. “Both of them could start and play every game for us, they both know the offense that well,” says Coach McFarland. “Each of them has their strengths and room for improvement but I have full confidence in either of them leading our offense.”

At running back, the Dragons have some depth, with sophomores Chris Steed and Matthew Hurley leading the way, while either Queen or Webb could slide back to that position when they are not under center. McFArland is also high on freshman Jaden Cockrill, whom he describes as a “terrific” player. At fullback will be muscular sophomore Carson Briner, who may also see time on the offensive line.

The West Union offensive line will have to compensate for the loss of sophomore Gabe Fite, a starter in 2020 who will likely miss 2021 with a knee injury. Trotter will anchor the line at center, The guards will be newcomer Conner Evans and either be Brinker or Frye. The tackle position will be a combination of Pell, Frye, another newcomer Harry Sheldon, who has never played football before but as Coach McFarland says, “you’d never know it.”

The West Union offense is “run first” but in the passing game senior tight end Gallowitz provides a big target.

“Bobby is a nice target at tight end and we throw a lot to our backs and we have a couple of strong wide receivers in juniors Colby Harover and Dylan Spires,” says McFarland. “Dylan is new to this area, playing in North Carolina last year.”

The Dragons run a 3-5 defense and Coach McFarland says that up front fans will see a lot of the offensive line, including Frye, Trotter, Evans, and Pell, The Dragons sport an athletic linebacking corps, who are asked to do a lot in the 3-5 scheme on a team that does a lot of blitzing. On the outside will be Queen and Hurley, in the middle will be Steed, Brinker, and Cockrill, and added depth includes first-year player Jaden Davis.

“Our expectations every year are to win the league and win the Super Bowl and I think that’s very much in sight fir us,” said McFarland. “It’s not going to come easy and I fully expect every game we play to be a challenge. We’re going to have to earn everything but if this team keeps working and stays healthy we should be in that championship game with a shot to win it.”

With the current shutdown due to COVID, the Dragons, as of press time, had played just one regular season game, a 24-7 win over North dams on Aug. 20. A showdown with Peebles set for Sept. 3 has been postponed so the two teams will still play each other twice at some point.

All of the scheduling issues could be solved if the SOIL teams from Adams County became OHSAA-affiliated,a hot-button issue with many.

“That would give up the opportunity to play other teams,” said Coach McFarland. “We play a home and away with everyone in our league but it would be great to get out and play some other OHSAA teams like Fayetteville and Manchester to name a couple. It would also give us the chance to have better accountability and the ability to close the gaps. Working with our school system and the community closes some of those gaps that we have today with our kids.”