Marietta Tigers 2024

[Wildcatone]

Ok you Marietta experts. Please educate me on the 2024 edition of the Marietta Tigers. I know they lost 13 seniors but who is returning and what do you think of their chances of a winning season in 2024 ? My apologies but I live in Central Ohio and do not get a chance to see the old alma matter play. Appreciate the feedback !

[pioneer19]

Glad you started a thread Wildcatone...was just thinking of starting one myself now that basketball is over.

2024 Schedule
8/23 @ Morgan
8/30 vs John Marshall (WV)
9/6 @ Athens
9/13 vs Claymont
9/20 @ Whitehall
9/27 vs Circleville
10/4 vs Williamstown (WV)
10/11 @ Fort Frye
10/18 vs Point Pleasant (WV)
10/25 @ Warren

At first glance sitting here in March, I see a lot of games that could go either way. Morgan is back on the schedule for week 1. John Marshall, Whitehall, and Circleville are all new additions that are D3 (or would be in Ohio). Pretty solid schedule imo.

[pioneer19]

Just going off the top of my head with this post. I'm sure others can add some names.

Obviously there are some big holes to fill. A lot of offensive production to replace with Lieras-Kelly, Zane Wittekind, and Junior Smith graduating. Warden will be back at QB. Some other key players returning are Seth Britton and Kobe Alexander. Zaiden Wittekind will be a player that could have breakout season. Kid is a great athlete. The second year of the Wing-T offense was much improved. Can we take another step forward this season?

Not sure who all we lose on the line. I know Bauer and Bills both return from all league seasons.

[beg003]

Glad you started a thread Wildcatone...was just thinking of starting one myself now that basketball is over.

2024 Schedule
8/23 @ Morgan
8/30 vs John Marshall (WV)
9/6 @ Athens
9/13 vs Claymont
9/20 @ Whitehall
9/27 vs Circleville
10/4 vs Williamstown (WV)
10/11 @ Fort Frye
10/18 vs Point Pleasant (WV)
10/25 @ Warren

At first glance sitting here in March, I see a lot of games that could go either way. Morgan is back on the schedule for week 1. John Marshall, Whitehall, and Circleville are all new additions that are D3 (or would be in Ohio). Pretty solid schedule imo.

JM lost at least 4 of their offensive linemen from last year. Their running back returns, and he is by far their best player on both sides of the ball. LeMasters is his name, I believe. They were enormous, but didn’t play like their size indicated, if that makes sense. Warren handed that game to them on a silver platter, so you all should be competitive or better with them. Looking forward to a good week 10 matchup.

[pioneer19]

Glad you started a thread Wildcatone...was just thinking of starting one myself now that basketball is over.

2024 Schedule
8/23 @ Morgan
8/30 vs John Marshall (WV)
9/6 @ Athens
9/13 vs Claymont
9/20 @ Whitehall
9/27 vs Circleville
10/4 vs Williamstown (WV)
10/11 @ Fort Frye
10/18 vs Point Pleasant (WV)
10/25 @ Warren

At first glance sitting here in March, I see a lot of games that could go either way. Morgan is back on the schedule for week 1. John Marshall, Whitehall, and Circleville are all new additions that are D3 (or would be in Ohio). Pretty solid schedule imo.

JM lost at least 4 of their offensive linemen from last year. Their running back returns, and he is by far their best player on both sides of the ball. LeMasters is his name, I believe. They were enormous, but didn’t play like their size indicated, if that makes sense. Warren handed that game to them on a silver platter, so you all should be competitive or better with them. Looking forward to a good week 10 matchup.

Thanks for the info on JM. I don’t know anything about them other than they seem to be way down athletically right now. Their basketball team was really bad this year as well. Just looked at their schedule and didn’t realize Warren was their only win last season. With that said, they are still a bigger school that plays some tougher competition in the Wheeling area.

Week 10 should be a battle again this season. I look for Warren to be much improved. I think Marietta can take a step forward as well, but I feel like we’ve got more question marks coming into the season.

[Jackson Football]

Marietta played a very tough game week 11 at Jackson. I like where the program is headed.

[beg003]

Glad you started a thread Wildcatone...was just thinking of starting one myself now that basketball is over.

2024 Schedule
8/23 @ Morgan
8/30 vs John Marshall (WV)
9/6 @ Athens
9/13 vs Claymont
9/20 @ Whitehall
9/27 vs Circleville
10/4 vs Williamstown (WV)
10/11 @ Fort Frye
10/18 vs Point Pleasant (WV)
10/25 @ Warren

At first glance sitting here in March, I see a lot of games that could go either way. Morgan is back on the schedule for week 1. John Marshall, Whitehall, and Circleville are all new additions that are D3 (or would be in Ohio). Pretty solid schedule imo.

JM lost at least 4 of their offensive linemen from last year. Their running back returns, and he is by far their best player on both sides of the ball. LeMasters is his name, I believe. They were enormous, but didn’t play like their size indicated, if that makes sense. Warren handed that game to them on a silver platter, so you all should be competitive or better with them. Looking forward to a good week 10 matchup.

Thanks for the info on JM. I don’t know anything about them other than they seem to be way down athletically right now. Their basketball team was really bad this year as well. Just looked at their schedule and didn’t realize Warren was their only win last season. With that said, they are still a bigger school that plays some tougher competition in the Wheeling area.

Week 10 should be a battle again this season. I look for Warren to be much improved. I think Marietta can take a step forward as well, but I feel like we’ve got more question marks coming into the season.

Yeah, that game was a classic giveaway. Two unforced red zone turnovers will do that. We certainly bring back a lot with Pepper, Sealey, and Carr but Marietta has some good young players. Love the Alexander kid on defense. Excellent player.

[boss8]

Agree with the general sentiments shared by other posters so far. Really do like the schedule, should be a lot of good games.

My thoughts:
-OL should be very good, Bauer and Bills are excellent linemen and there are other starters and depth pieces back there.
-Warden is back for another year running the Wing-T. Felt he got more and more comfortable as the season went on. He has a good arm and is a tough kid who has played a lot of football.
-Definitely will miss Wittekind and Junior Smith...both great backs, Junior in particular was dynamic carrying the ball. Elyjah was a threat on the outside with his speed, but I think they have other WR's who can take his place for the amount they throw it.
-Defense should be solid led by Bills and Alexander. There are some tough, hard-nosed kids that fly around on this team. Different than in years' past.
-Some good young athletes on the team as well who have been getting their feet wet. Much of the junior class have been playing since they were freshmen, so these guys have experience.

This team lost two very very close ones to Williamstown and Fort Frye. Overall I thought a great bounce back year for them last season. Hoping they are able to continue building!

[fielddaddy]

I always though Marietta was a hidden gem in football that just needed the right coach to direct them they always had the talent to win just never seemed to get the right coach to get the participation of the kids to buy in to the program

[boss8]

I always though Marietta was a hidden gem in football that just needed the right coach to direct them they always had the talent to win just never seemed to get the right coach to get the participation of the kids to buy in to the program

I don't really get how it's a "hidden gem". There hasn't been a sustained period of success in football at Marietta since what, the 1960's? Athletic facilities are nothing great, they get to play games at Don Drumm which is nice, but never really practice there. School district has been shrinking for a while, no plans to build new schools, and consolidation into a few old buildings has already happened. Community support for the program isn't there like it is at Warren or other area schools. You look at the other schools their size in this general area (Warren, Logan, Athens, etc.) I think all of them have more advantages than Marietta does.

I think realistic expectations should be consistent records of .500 or slightly better, with the occasional 8-2 type season when things really break right. The current staff has been there a while and I think is growing towards that, last season was a good step and I'm hopeful it continues in the right direction. At the end of the day, no one understands the unique things (some good, most challenging) about Marietta than Jason Schob, and I feel he does a solid job of navigating them.

[pioneer19]

I always though Marietta was a hidden gem in football that just needed the right coach to direct them they always had the talent to win just never seemed to get the right coach to get the participation of the kids to buy in to the program

I don't really get how it's a "hidden gem". There hasn't been a sustained period of success in football at Marietta since what, the 1960's? Athletic facilities are nothing great, they get to play games at Don Drumm which is nice, but never really practice there. School district has been shrinking for a while, no plans to build new schools, and consolidation into a few old buildings has already happened. Community support for the program isn't there like it is at Warren or other area schools. You look at the other schools their size in this general area (Warren, Logan, Athens, etc.) I think all of them have more advantages than Marietta does.

I think realistic expectations should be consistent records of .500 or slightly better, with the occasional 8-2 type season when things really break right. The current staff has been there a while and I think is growing towards that, last season was a good step and I'm hopeful it continues in the right direction. At the end of the day, no one understands the unique things (some good, most challenging) about Marietta than Jason Schob, and I feel he does a solid job of navigating them.

Great post boss. Not sure about "hidden gem", but I do think the Marietta program has the potential to be a yearly 5-7 win team/playoff qualifier with the current scheduling. I will say this about the coaching. Marietta could do far worse than Coach Schob. I do believe he is a good coach, just has never quite been able to get over "the hump".

[pioneer19]

2024 Schedule
8/23 @ Morgan
8/30 vs John Marshall (WV)
9/6 @ Athens
9/13 vs Claymont
9/20 @ Whitehall
9/27 vs Circleville
10/4 vs Williamstown (WV)
10/11 @ Fort Frye
10/18 vs Point Pleasant (WV)
10/25 @ Warren

I think it's very possible Fort Frye, Point Pleasant, and Warren will be the best teams on our schedule. I believe Williamstown loses a ton from their state championship team and I've heard Morgan should take a step back, as well. Should be a tough year in the TSL.

[beg003]

2024 Schedule
8/23 @ Morgan
8/30 vs John Marshall (WV)
9/6 @ Athens
9/13 vs Claymont
9/20 @ Whitehall
9/27 vs Circleville
10/4 vs Williamstown (WV)
10/11 @ Fort Frye
10/18 vs Point Pleasant (WV)
10/25 @ Warren

I think it's very possible Fort Frye, Point Pleasant, and Warren will be the best teams on our schedule. I believe Williamstown loses a ton from their state championship team and I've heard Morgan should take a step back, as well. Should be a tough year in the TSL.

Agreed on the TSL being a grind this year. And it will just continue to get tougher as these teams begin to see each other year after year. I prefer it that way, though.

[boss8]

I always though Marietta was a hidden gem in football that just needed the right coach to direct them they always had the talent to win just never seemed to get the right coach to get the participation of the kids to buy in to the program

I don't really get how it's a "hidden gem". There hasn't been a sustained period of success in football at Marietta since what, the 1960's? Athletic facilities are nothing great, they get to play games at Don Drumm which is nice, but never really practice there. School district has been shrinking for a while, no plans to build new schools, and consolidation into a few old buildings has already happened. Community support for the program isn't there like it is at Warren or other area schools. You look at the other schools their size in this general area (Warren, Logan, Athens, etc.) I think all of them have more advantages than Marietta does.

I think realistic expectations should be consistent records of .500 or slightly better, with the occasional 8-2 type season when things really break right. The current staff has been there a while and I think is growing towards that, last season was a good step and I'm hopeful it continues in the right direction. At the end of the day, no one understands the unique things (some good, most challenging) about Marietta than Jason Schob, and I feel he does a solid job of navigating them.

Great post boss. Not sure about "hidden gem", but I do think the Marietta program has the potential to be a yearly 5-7 win team/playoff qualifier with the current scheduling. I will say this about the coaching. Marietta could do far worse than Coach Schob. I do believe he is a good coach, just has never quite been able to get over "the hump".

Agreed. With the schedule they play now (AKA no NP, Dover, Zanesville, PHS every year), there's no reason they can't be at or above .500 every season. If they start trending toward being 4-6/3-7 every year, maybe it's time for a change. But they rebounded after a terrible year last year and should be able to maintain at the very least this year.

[boss8]

2024 Schedule
8/23 @ Morgan
8/30 vs John Marshall (WV)
9/6 @ Athens
9/13 vs Claymont
9/20 @ Whitehall
9/27 vs Circleville
10/4 vs Williamstown (WV)
10/11 @ Fort Frye
10/18 vs Point Pleasant (WV)
10/25 @ Warren

I think it's very possible Fort Frye, Point Pleasant, and Warren will be the best teams on our schedule. I believe Williamstown loses a ton from their state championship team and I've heard Morgan should take a step back, as well. Should be a tough year in the TSL.

Agreed on the TSL being a grind this year. And it will just continue to get tougher as these teams begin to see each other year after year. I prefer it that way, though.

Man, if the TSL could just get 2-4 more teams, it would be a really really good, competitive league. As it stands, I like the matchups in both football and basketball.

[beg003]

I think it's very possible Fort Frye, Point Pleasant, and Warren will be the best teams on our schedule. I believe Williamstown loses a ton from their state championship team and I've heard Morgan should take a step back, as well. Should be a tough year in the TSL.

Agreed on the TSL being a grind this year. And it will just continue to get tougher as these teams begin to see each other year after year. I prefer it that way, though.

Man, if the TSL could just get 2-4 more teams, it would be a really really good, competitive league. As it stands, I like the matchups in both football and basketball.

100% with you. If (and that’s a big word in this context) that were to happen, I believe the TSL would become the best league in our part of southeast Ohio.

[loganlocos]

First scrimmage is at Logan.

[Dundas]

Agreed on the TSL being a grind this year. And it will just continue to get tougher as these teams begin to see each other year after year. I prefer it that way, though.

Man, if the TSL could just get 2-4 more teams, it would be a really really good, competitive league. As it stands, I like the matchups in both football and basketball.

100% with you. If (and that’s a big word in this context) that were to happen, I believe the TSL would become the best league in our part of southeast Ohio.

Logan should be a possibility in a few years imo.

[beg003]

Man, if the TSL could just get 2-4 more teams, it would be a really really good, competitive league. As it stands, I like the matchups in both football and basketball.

100% with you. If (and that’s a big word in this context) that were to happen, I believe the TSL would become the best league in our part of southeast Ohio.

Logan should be a possibility in a few years imo.

I’ve thought this for a while now.

[Feedme#2WarrenFB]

Need get Athens in TSL also !