Kiedaisch begins tenure with Panthers
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BELLAIRE -- The Chris Kiedaisch era begins Friday night for the Buckeye Local Panthers and the first year head coach and his staff take their senior-laden roster down Ohio 7 to Bellaire for the Big Reds' first night game in school history.
No small task there.
Bellaire at home is a difficult matchup on a normal game day, let alone when the program is experiencing its first night game in more than 100 years of football history.
Kiedaisch and company and trying not to get caught up in the hoopla, however. Their primary focus was and is Buckeye Local football.
"I think one of the things we've been pushing is our energy level," Kiedaisch said. "We've gotten on the guys about working and competing and bringing that energy to practice because it translates into more energy.
"There's going to be plenty of energy based on all the fan faire (around this game), but we'll bring that regardless of how many people, tv or radio stations are at the game. We're going to go play Buckeye Local football because that's what we care about."
The coaching staff is placing extra emphasis on the defensive side of the ball. There's plenty of talent and experience to go around, but finding the best 11 to put on the field and maximize ability has been paramount.
"That's what we've spend most of our camp doing is looking at specifically defense and who we can put where," Kiedaisch said. "A lot of our seniors are skill guys, guys like Alex McDiffitt who I believe is a college-level corner. Haydn Boyce has been (starting) for a few years, Brennin Takach is a good free safetey.
"But we have a bunch of outside linebacker-type bodies. Some will line up at defensive end, some playing outside linebacker, some at safety. We'll move guys around and find the best fit."
The defense will need to be staunch against a Mark-Bonar coached Big Reds team that was so comfortable in the progression of sophomore quarterback Michael Dippel (5-foot-11) that it opted to move returning starting quarterback Luke Heatherington out to receiver.
Bonar is looking to maximize firepower and Kiedaisch admits he's impressed with what he's seen from Dippel on film.
"He can certainly throw," Kiedaisch said of Dippel. "He has a good arm and is a talented young kid. I'm not sure how much running they will have him do as he can turn and hand it to their two horses."
Bellaire's backfield stable is deep, with Sophomore Raekwon Pettigrew, senior Bradyn Beckett and senior Maurice Webb all capable of churning up yardage.
And yet, what most stood out about Bellaire on film for Keidaisch was the Big Reds' defensive -- it's defensive line in particular.
"Their defensive line plays really hard," he said. "They fire off the ball and are resilient and that's been a point of emphasis, our line play offensively."
It's an aggressive front; one that Buckeye's offensive coaching staff is trying to scheme against to take advantage of that aggresiveness.
Expect to see some traps, kick-out blocks and other options aimed at using Bellaire's speed and aggression against it.
"I think we can try to manipulate some of what they do as their strength is their defensive line," Kiedaisch said. "We will try to call plays intelligently and put our guys in position to be successful."