Team photo: FROM LEFT Row 1: Jon Grieger, Kellyn Russell, Jeremy Christoff, Keller Mathis, Conner Ashman, Jeremiah Lerch, Darius Calhoun, Dylan Dohanos, Josh Riggs, Noah Cotterman, Noah Nietz.
Row 2: Luke Snyder, Spencer Schaible, Chris Garber, Pierce Walker, Ryan Tyrrell, Bryce Hughes, Brett Griffin, Adam Furnas, John Knox, Blaine Brown, Trevor Craft, Alec Brown.
Row 3: Kobe Sperry, LJ Porter, Hunter Reimer, Cam Nagel, Patrick Freeworth, El-J Johnson, Jonathan Baker, Kaleb Fair, Spencer Rader, Jacob Brockway.
Row 4: Sid Grames, Matthew Avery, Jake Strata, Parker Barnes, Hezekiah Hudson, Jeremiah Williams, Nick Jackson, Brian Dible, Joey Sadowski, Sam Steffen, Gage Hardin.
Row 5: Jackson Stevens, Jayden Barton, Conner Geyman, Adam Iler, Ryan Eligon, Austin Adams, Tucker Craft, Jonah Ellis, Jason Trimpey, Bryce Hoehner, Brayden Dean-Scheele, Noah Springstead.
Row 6: Coaches Neil Thompson, Jeff Nichols, Bob Schultz, Sam Cardenas, Charlie Emenhiser, Steve Aungst, head coach Dirk Conner, Josh Heidebrink, Scott Wongrowski, Shawn Kiss, Justin Christoff, Mike Morovich.
Coach: Dirk Conner, second year
Last season: 8-3, 5-2 NLL
Returning letter winners: 15
Returning starters: Offense 8, defense 4
Schemes: Flexbone/4-4
Top players: Seniors Conner Ashman, 6-2, 280, C; Jeremy Christoff, 6-2, 215, OL/DL; Noah Cotterman, 5-10, 185, WR/OLB; Brett Griffin, 6-2, 195, TE/ILB; Trevor Craft, 6-5, 265, T; Dylan Dohanus, 5-10, 175, QB/WR/DB. Junior Brian Dible, 6-0, 180, RB/DB.
Outlook: Expectations have climbed for the Bobcats, who made a second straight playoff appearance last fall. BG had not made it to the playoffs since 2000 but qualified in 2014 under Scott Seeliger. The Bobcats bowed out in the first round last season in a loss to Cleveland Benedictine.
Conner was the defensive coordinator under Seeliger (11-11 in two seasons) before taking over in 2015.
Ashman earned All-NLL first team honors, while Christoff and Griffin were named honorable mention in the league.
Conner said the running game should also be a strength. He also has very solid total numbers with 60 on the varsity, including 22 seniors.
However, the team is generally inexperienced in terms of actual game time.
Connor must replace his quarterback, who also was the team's leading rusher. But Dible ranked second on the team in rushing with 502 yards on 55 carries (9.1 per run).
“The degree to which we are able to be a physical football team and how quickly we are able to round into form will determine our success this season,” Connor said.
On the web: bcsn.tv/bowling green
First Published August 24, 2016, 4:00 a.m.
