By Carl Holcomb
Moorefield Examiner
East Hardy Football has consistently been in the playoffs over the past decade and the goal remains the same as the Cougars keep growing and pouncing forward.
The Cougars are led by head coach Devon Orndorff entering his eighth year at the helm.
“Our goals mostly remain the same as every year; we wanna win the conference, earn a playoff birth, and make a deep playoff run. In addition to those goals, this year, we’ve tasked the team with improving on a weekly basis (each game better than the last). That will be extremely important with the strength of schedule we have,” East Hardy Football coach Devon Orndorff commented.
East Hardy Football offensive and defensive line will be anchored by the powerful senior trio of Bodie Brill, Bradley Kidwell and Korbin Miller.
The junior linemen are Ryan Harman, Tyler Dearstine, Connor Henderson, Hayden Baker and Jonathan Workman.
The sophomore linemen will be Nick Roomsburg, Dominck Hose, Krystian Byram, Alexander Yeater and Owen Whitacre along with freshman Hunter Nelson.
The Cougars wide receivers and defensive backs will be guided by the dynamic senior duo of Khristian Bauserman and Levi Price.
Price will also perform the kickoff duties for the special teams.
East Hardy starting quarterback will be junior Trevor Roof and backup is freshman Brinn Childers and on the defensive side both will be defensive backs.
East Hardy has a menacing junior linebacker crew of Garrett Van Meter, Dayton Dove and Ryan Harman with support from sophomores Mason Wilkins and Micah Ludwig and freshman Hunter Nelson.
Dove, Van Meter and Wilkins will spend time as wide receivers on offense, while Ludwig is a running back and Harman lands on the offensive line.
Cougars freshman Cole Lantz will provide speed at wide receiver and defensive back.
East Hardy has a speedy running back in sophomore Nehemiah Graham, who will also roam as a defensive back.
The pride of Cougars are finding the right mix to pounce forward for success this season.
“Team chemistry is great this year and I mostly attribute that to the youth of our squad. Younger players are always hungrier. They always practice a little harder because they are trying to earn their stripes. Since we are playing so many underclassman this season the practices have been more focused and productive than they were last season,” Coach Orndorff noted.
East Hardy is ready to put effort into action on the gridiron with notable players leading the charge.
“Key players to watch this season are Trevor Roof at the quarterback position; Levi Price, on both offense and defense; Garrett VanMeter, Khristian Bauserman, Dayton Dove, Jon Workman, Korbin Miller, Nick Roomsburg. All those guys have earned a lot of credibility from their play and prior seasons. The new faces to watch include Michael Ludwig, Nehemiah Graham, Mason Wilkins, Connor Henderson, Hayden Baker, and Bodie Brill,” Coach Orndorff said.
Coach Orndorff’s projected lineup: Starting quarterback is Trevor Roof. Starting running back is Garrett VanMeter. Starting receivers are Levi Price, Khristian Bauserman, Dayton Dove. Starting offensive lineman or Bodie Brill, Connor Henderson, Korbin Miller, Hayden Baker, John Workman, Nick Roomsburg. Starting defensive lineman will include Bodie Brill, Connor Henderson, Nick Roomsburg, Corbin Miller. You’ll also see Mason Wilkins and Krystian Byram on the defensive line. At linebacker we have Garrett VanMeter, Dayton Dove, Micah Ludwig, Mason Wilkins. Defensive backs include Levi Price, Khristian Bauserman, Trevor Roof, Nehemiah Graham.
Levi Price will handle the kickoff duties and Dayton Dove will handle the punts. Returners or Levi Price and Khristian Bauserman.
East Hardy has a daunting Class A schedule starting off the season against the defending state champion Wahama on the road, then battle Potomac Valley Conference foe Pendleton County in Franklin before returning home against PVC champion Tucker County.
After a bye week, the Cougars host Southern Garrett, MD before hitting the road to Summers County.
East Hardy hosts Tygarts Valley prior to the Hardy Bowl against rival Moorefield in Baker on October 17.
The Cougars stay at home against Pocahontas County and Class A state runner-up Cameron, then finish the regular season on the road in Petersburg.
“We have another difficult schedule this year. I’d venture to say it is the most difficult schedule of any Single A team. We play the defending state champions, and the defending runner-up, several AA schools, and at least half of our opponents made the playoffs last season. We believe that “iron sharpens iron” and a tough schedule will challenge our players to be their very best. It is true that we struggle to find games on a yearly basis so we also try to lead by example for other teams across the state. The new strength of schedule element to the WVSSAC playoff rankings heavily incentivizes playing quality opponents; that much is apparent in our playoff berth from last season given we had a losing record in the regular season,” Coach Orndorff concluded.
