GALION —It wasn’t the kind of season first-year coach Matt Dick had envisioned in Galion. But he’s confident the framework has been put in place for future success.
“I think that we got the offense and the base defense in,” Dick said. “I think that it took longer than I had hoped. There was a learning curve for me as a head coach, for all of my assistants and a learning curve for the kids … and then you mix in injuries, that was tough.”
It was most certainly not the smoothest of seasons for Galion High School’s football program in 2016. The Tigers finished the season at 2-8 overall and 1-6 in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference Red Division.
Even with the ups and downs of his first campaign as head coach, Dick remained optimistic about what he has seen from his team.
“That ‘family’ approach (that the kids adopted) is the most that it’s been here in four years,” he said. “Now, we have to take that and turn it into wins,” he said.
Here are some stats for the 2016 season.
OFFENSIVE
Rushing: 290 rushing attempts for 1068 yards and 12 touchdowns; Passing: 99 completions on 201 attempts, good for 1505 yards, 8 touchdowns and 10 interceptions; First Downs: 65 rushing, 57 passing and 5 via penalties; Scoring: 20 touchdowns, 17 extra points and 11 field goals; Scoring by quarter: first-40, second-69, third-45 and fourth-19; total of 173 points scored; Giveaways: 15 fumbles lost and 10 interceptions thrown.
DEFENSIVE
Rushing: 592 rushing attempts for 2558 yards and 37 touchdowns; Passing: 103 completions on 202 attempts, good for 1314 yards, 12 touchdowns, and 8 interceptions; First Downs: 101 rushing, 53 passing and 10 via penalties; Scoring: 49 touchdowns, 30 extra points and 5 two-point conversions; Scoring by quarter: first-100, second-90, third-97 and fourth-96; total of 385 points allowed; Takeaways: 3 recovered fumbles and 8 interceptions grabbed;
TOP INDIVIDUAL STATS
Top punt returner: Harrison Ivy; 5 returns for 53 yards and a touchdown; Top kick returner: Caleb Ivy; 10 returns for 224 yards; Most sacks: Garrett Kuns and Dayvin Hagemann; 4 sacks each; Most interceptions: Harrison Ivy; 3 interceptions; Most tackles: Garrett Kuns; 107 tackles, 8 tackles for a loss; Top place kicker: Connor Moreton; 17/20 on extra points, 11/14 on field goals; broke school record with a 47-yarder and again with a 52-yarder; Top punter: Garrett Kuns; 25 punts for 746 yards; Top rusher: Garrett Kuns; 83 attempts for 423 yards and a touchdown; Most rushing touchdowns: Kade Dyer; 4 touchdowns; Top passer: Chase Cooke; 76/159 passing for 1175 yards, 8 touchdowns and 5 interceptions; Top receiver: Harrison Ivy; 37 catches for 646 yards and 2 touchdowns; Most receiving touchdowns: Charles Reuer; 3 touchdowns caught; Top scorer: Connor Moreton; 50 total points.
The Galion Tigers will lose a big senior class,including a lot of key players.
Chase Cooke, Ryan Talbott, Kade Dyer and Garrett Kuns will not be in the backfield for the Tigers next season. Caleb Ivy and Bobby Gilbert will not be running the field to get open for a deep pass. Brett May, Logan Newcome, Gabe Makeever and Nick Sorrenson will not be going nose to nose with opposing defenses. Tristan Baldy will no longer be there to chase down quarterbacks and Connor Moreton will no longer be kicking footballs from a mile out.
