have the ball in his ….

have the ball in his hands a lot,” Diethelm said. “He will need to make the correct reads and he could be very diffi cult to stop. I expect big things from Cooper and the rest of my players. We have a lot of talent and ability and now it’s time to put it on the field.”

Coach Diethelm expects to receive good production from the following newcomers to the varsity squad this season: Seniors Aiden Guralski, LB/DL/OL; Evan Guralski LB/DB/OL and Peyton Zettler, OL/DL; junior Blake Hein OL/DL and sophomores Jacob Annala LB/RB, Ryan Peel, DB/ RB and William Perez, DB/RB.

Athens assistant football coaches this season are Craig and Cameron Diedrich, Adam Ellenbecker, Dale Westfall, Shawn Steinke, Tyson Zettler and Darion Ellenbecker.

Coach Diethelm doesn’t feel it’ll take this team too long to adjust to playing 8-man football this season.

“Once the whistle blows it’s still football and the players are excited for what’s to come and I feel they will be fine,” he said. “There will be some adjustments to be made, but there are many with high football IQ’s and their instincts will kick in as it does in the 11-man game.”