"They understand what it means to finish." Coach Jeff Grubich
Bombers battle injuries, but program has great numbers, which helps depth. #Gdula highly touted at QB. All 5 offensive linemen return.
This Kenston Bombers team, the team that head coach Jeff Grubich has said “talks about family all of the time,” has been tested early.
A season-ending knee injury to senior Bernie Porter, and a broken wrist that has put senior Jeremy Wyers behind, have left the team without its top receivers.
Now known for their spread no-huddle offense, the Bombers have watched other starters practice with bandages.
“It’s like a hex,” Grubich said in the first week of August. “And we haven’t even tackled yet.”
But overall, this group may be best suited to weather the early storm.
“It’s the best group of kids we’ve had as a team,” Grubich said. “Overall, it’s our best team. Does that translate into victories? Well, that’s why you play the games.”
The Bombers have reached the playoffs in Grubich’s first two years. And with arguably the county’s top passing QB in Parker Gdula, they are poised to do it again.
OFFENSE
Gdula is a junior QB who started all 11 games his sophomore season. A tremendous offseason in the weight room has added 20 pounds. And a year of experience has other coaches talking.
He’s the leader in year two, and knows everyone is watching.
“This offense is perfect for what I love to do,” he said, “which is put up big points. That’s a lot of fun.”
“His thing is, he showed everybody he had the athletic tools to be a good quarterback,” Grubich said. “He struggled at times with the decision-making. We’re hoping he’s going to clean up those decisions.”
Gdula threw for 1,610 yards, completing 56 percent of his passes, in 2013.
Now skill players like seniors Jake Silbermann, tailback and slot receiver, and Josh Hummer will have to step into key receiving roles.
“I feel like my role on the team is to pick up guys when we’re down,” Hummer said. “When a bad play happens, forget about it and think about the next one.”
Wyers was wearing a helmet and shoulder pads at practice despite the blue cast on his wrist. If all goes well, the cast will come off and Wyers will play in Week 1 or Week 2.
“We should have the best year of offense we’ve ever had,” the senior said. “As long as we stay healthy, there’s no defense that can stop us.”
Sophomore James Thigpen, described as “big and thick,” will get carries with Silbermann.
A major advantage for Kenston: all five offensive linemen return.
Led by Nick Lewis and Carmen Gianguzzo, the trenches will be a strength.
Lewis sees more intense practices as a good early sign.
“Everyone knows what all the plays are,” he said. “We know what the defense is doing, and we bond over that.”
“We feel that our run game can be a good weapon,” added Gianguzzo. “The camaraderie is good on the line because we’ve all played together.”
Mike Kruger, Joe Zoretich and Mike Sirna are the other three members.
DEFENSE
Kenston will again run a Base 4-3 defensive scheme, with strength at the ends in Kruger and senior Will Bush.
Zach Silbermann, starting at MLB, was an All-CVC performer as a sophomore and is a team captain as a junior.
Silbermann has been playing defense his whole life. He thinks it fits his characteristics as a football player. “I’m really aggressive, I like to hit, and I’m a good tackler,” he said.
He added Bombers fans can expect to see a very physical and aggressive defense that is technically sound and won’t give up many points.
Hummer will start at LB, as well.
“He’s a natural football player,” Grubich said. “He’s one of those kids you don’t have to tell him how to tackle.”
Hummer said the defense will “play every play the same way — like it’s your last.”
Collin Kure will also play LB.
The Bombers coaching staff is also excited about two young cornerbacks, Charlie Randall and Mikey Bell, both juniors. Neither played varsity last season, but both have been impressive during 7-on-7 drills this summer.
Parker Deuley will also start as a defensive back. But his most important role is the team’s returning placekicker.
Deuley’s last-second FG beat Brush in Week 3, and a couple important kicks helped seal the Week 2 win against Chardon.
Had Kenston lost either of those games, the team would not have reached the playoffs.
“They understand what it means to finish,” Grubich said. “It’s easy to run out of the locker room before the start of a game and be all pumped up and ready to go. But in the fourth quarter, when you’re tired and the game is close, it takes some guts, some moxie, some heart, to finish.”
Grubich, a health teacher now in the high school, and his staff are a big reason the program has been revived.
SCHEDULE
The Bombers schedule looks the same this season, with non-conference games against Solon, Chardon and Brush. The Chagrin Division is always tough, and Kenston has not won the conference outright since 2002.
It is the last season Kenston will compete in the Chagrin Valley Conference. The Bombers join Mayfield, Brush and remaining Premier Athletic Conference teams in the 2015-16 school year.
At least in the immediate future, that means no more games against Aurora, Chagrin Falls or West Geauga. Grubich finds that disappointing.
“It’s a shame we’re going to lose some of those local rivalries,” he said.
But schools like North, South, Riverside and, specifically, Chardon, who Kenston has played three times in the past two seasons, will open up new rivalries.
Next season the team will have long non-conference bus rides against Amherst-Steele, Median and Canfield.
Kenston sends out a close-knit group of seniors that is using early adversity, injuries, to become even closer.
“We’re just getting ready for Solon,” said Hummer.
