Following a 6-5 season and a third-place finish in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference (MOAC) a year ago, head coach Matt Dick and the Galion Tigers hope to ride a strong senior class to greater heights in the 2023 season.

Galion returns eight starters from an offense that averaged 30 points per game a year ago, including a 1,500-yard rusher in running back Gave Ivy, junior quarterback Braxton Prosser, and talent along the offensive line led by Holden Hunter and Alex Griffith. Tight end Landon Campbell and wide receiver Linkon Tyrrell also return, as do H-backs Carson Frankhouse and Jimmy Hardy.

Dick, who is entering his eighth season at the helm of the program, said installing the buck sweep into the offense proved to be a significant boost to the run game last year and something his offense will again rely on this season.

“Those guys did a great job of that one specific scheme and just being really physical upfront. … I think when you return pretty much all those guys except the backside guard, we’re hoping we can do that again and be real successful on the buck sweep and off-tackle, power-type football,” Dick said.

While physicality will continue to be a trademark of the Galion offense, Dick is hopeful his quarterback will take a step forward as a passer, allowing the offense to reach the level of balance every coach hopes to develop. After beginning the season in split duties, Prosser seized the job by the end of the season en route to earning second-team All-MOAC honors. Ever the threat as a runner, he’s now taking steps to be a more complete quarterback in 2o23.

“The challenge is to not be satisfied, to keep pushing him to make cleaner reads, to check plays, to understand where to go with the ball in different situations,” Dick said of Prosser. “It’s just trying to go to that next level, and Braxton has done a heck of a job in doing that.”

Asked if there is a particular position group he believes can swing the season, either positively or negatively, Dick identified the offensive line’s development as a critical component to Galion’s ultimate success.

“The o-line has to be something that has to gel, and it doesn’t matter if most of them are back,” he said. “Holden Hunter, Alex Griffith, Landon Campbell, that’s a whole left side that is really going to be strong, powerful kids who know what they’re doing. But on the right side, we have a sophomore guard in Zach Sallee and a new center in Michael Drake, so that quarterback-center exchange is going to be new. Just getting those guys to believe in each other and trust the system, I think that’s always the hardest part of the offense every year.”

With many of Galion’s key contributors on offense also being two-way players, the Tigers won’t be short on experience on the defensive side of the ball either. Frankhouse was the third-leading tackler in the MOAC a year ago with 103 tackles, giving Galion a reliable anchor in the middle of its defense. Campbell and Tyrrell tied for fourth in the league with 94 stops each, and the two combined for 18 sacks. Both were named first-team All-MOAC performers following the season for their efforts.

Galion will need to replace Landon Kurtzman, however, which will be no easy task after he led the league in sacks to earn first-team All-MOAC honors last season.

Perhaps more than anything, Galion’s ability — or inability — to develop depth behind its key contributors could prove to be the determining factor in just how far the team can go this season.

“We don’t have great depth; we’re trying to develop that,” Dick said. “But for the guys coming back, this is year two of a really similar offense and defense. Really, it’s just plug and play and let’s do it all over again. I’m hoping that experience pays off and we can develop ways to play a couple more kids. … We’re just trying to get a kid off the field for a series of defense or offense here or there so we can be fresher.”

By doing so, Dick is hopeful he can lessen the strains of a taxing season and keep his best players on the field. Should that happen, Dick believes he has a team capable of beating every opponent on the schedule.

“If we can just stay healthy, if we can play some of the top-tier teams in our conference while healthy and have our starting lineup today available each week, I think we’ll have a chance in every game. I think that was true last year but different guys got banged up.

“But they’re a year stronger, and we definitely pushed for that this offseason. As a coaching staff, we’re starting to look at how we can get guys off for a series. If we can do that, that reduces the number of hits. They can only bang so much, and we’re trying to be smarter with that. … It’s going to be a year-long struggle to play those backups just a little bit so they have the experience when you need them.”

Reach Dillon Davis at 740-413-0904. Follow him on Twitter @DillonDavis56.