By ROB HAMILTON

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With 13 returning letterman, including seven offensive starters and six defensive, Highland football coach Chad Carpenter is hoping a tough non-conference schedule will prepare his squad for a potential Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference Blue Division title.

“We play a very tough non-conference schedule,” said the coach. “We open up with Loudonville, followed up by Heath and River Valley. Conference play should be very competitive this year, as many of them have a lot of returning players.”

Carpenter was able to point at a number of his guys as having important roles this year. On offense, he mentioned Jacob Ware, Jacob Christman, Steve Hylton and Jordan Alexander will man the line, while Jared Limings and Andrew Stillwell will see a lot of carries at running back. Max Schreiber will see action at quarterback and throw the ball to receivers Dylan Tuggle, Alex Wright, Kaden Bunting and Garrett Mentzer.

On defense, the coach pointed at Zack Baker, Christman, Alexander and Ware as linemen; Andrew Davis and Austyn Albanese as backers and Stillwell, Logan Veley and Alex Wright as backs.

When it comes to his squad, Carpenter feels he has a lot of speed and experience, but worries about overall depth.

“We have team speed and many players received playing time last year and should be able to contribute towards our team success this year,” he said. “The lack of depth at many positions is always a concern. We could have some new faces this year seeing some playing time for the first time.”

In the conference, the coach looks at Fredericktown and Northmor as being teams to beat if his squad is to claim the Blue title.

Rob Hamilton can be reached at 419-946-3010, ext. 1807. Connect with him on Twitter at @SportsMCS

Rob Hamilton | Morrow County Sentinel Highland’s 2015 football team is pictured above.
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2015/08/web1_highlandfootball.jpgRob Hamilton | Morrow County Sentinel Highland’s 2015 football team is pictured above.