BELOIT — West Branch has won 45 games over the past four seasons, and expectations remain sky-high as the Warriors seek to win their fifth consecutive Eastern Buckeye Conference championship.
Coach Tim Cooper, who led West Branch to 23 wins in his first two seasons, doesn’t mince words when talking about the 2024 season.
“I think at the end of the day, that’s the goal for our kids, to win a state championship in baseball,” he said. “Obviously, it’s a very difficult task, especially in Division IV, our region (13) is full of powerhouses. Our main goal throughout the season is to play our best football at the end of the season, whatever week it may be. It could be week 10, it could be week 16, who knows. We just want to give it our all on the field.”
West Branch returns all of its top skill players from last season’s 11-2 team except for the quarterback, as well as its entire offensive and defensive line. The Warriors have won 21 straight games in the EBC and are the heavy favorites to repeat as conference champions.
But Cooper left no doubt that his 19 seniors want to complete their legacy with at least a regional championship, which would have been the Warriors’ first since 1997. They lost in regional finals to Ursuline and Jefferson Area in 2021 and 2022 and to Canton South in the regional semifinals last season.
Two schools — the 2023 state champions Cleveland Glenville (Division IV) and Perry (Division V) — are assigned to Region 13, and programs with similarly high expectations such as Cardinal Mooney, Struthers, Mentor Lake Catholic and Akron Buchtel will be big tests for the Warriors.
“Our kids have really embraced those expectations and the success of our baseball team, the success of our basketball team and the success we’ve had over the last few years makes every day of practice that much more meaningful,” Cooper said.
“We have five kids who will be lettermen in four years. They’ve been active on special teams since their freshman year, they’ve been getting playing time and maybe even second on the depth chart, so they’ve played a lot of meaningful football games over the last few years. Over the last two years, we’ve played 27 games, which has been really important to their development as players.”
West Branch will host Canfield to open the regular season, and the Warriors will also face Wood-Ridge, Girard, Cheney and Howland as non-conference opponents.
“It’s going to be good preparation for the postseason,” Cooper said. “We know we’re a big target when it comes to EBC, and we’re going to get the best out of everybody, but we also have the expectation to play good football.”
attack
Quarterback Beau Alazas, a first-team Ohio State selection, has graduated. Alazas, who led the West Branch baseball team to a Division II state championship in the spring, will pitch at Walsh University. He completed 68 percent of his passes (258 of 380) for 3,347 yards and 37 touchdowns.
There are three candidates vying to replace Alazaus. The leading candidate is junior Jeremiah Thomas. Thomas caught 51 passes for 863 yards and six touchdowns as a receiver last season and was also used at quarterback for the Wildcats at various times last year, averaging 11.8 yards per carry. Thomas was also an all-conference basketball player and was a starting right fielder on the baseball team. The other candidates are senior Charlie Biscup and sophomore Grady Hurst.
“They all have different talents,” Cooper said. “Jeremiah is the most athletic, dynamic player. Charlie knows our offense really well. He works really hard and throws the ball really well. Grady has a really talented arm. He might not be as athletic as JT, but he throws the ball better than anybody I’ve seen.”
“Jeremiah Thomas is definitely going to be there at quarterback. I don’t know if it’s 100 percent, 50 percent, 20 percent.”
Senior Boston Mulliniks returns as a running back. Mulliniks, the baseball team’s shortstop and leadoff hitter, rushed for 1,186 yards and 19 touchdowns last season and caught 16 passes for 186 yards and two touchdowns. He has multiple offers from Division II and III colleges.
“[Mulinix]played through a broken hand last year and a knee injury his sophomore year,” Cooper said. “His experience and work ethic have been really great for us and our program the last few years. He’s always willing to get better, always helping and mentoring and developing our younger players. He has great vision and is explosive. He’s definitely the most explosive back we’ve had since I’ve been here. His athleticism translates on film.”
Cooper said Mulinix is a key part of the areas the coaching staff was determined to correct after last season.
“We want to give him 10-15 touches consistently, but getting the ball to him is important because we’ve struggled with running football in big games,” Cooper said, “so fixing that and getting him a little more involved in the offense in big-game situations is kind of the focus right now.”
Even if Thomas plays quarterback exclusively, the receiver corps is deep and talented. Senior Joey Jackson has more than 1,000 yards receiving in each of the past two seasons and caught 74 passes for 1,024 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2023. Senior Anthony Perry also returns after a season in which he caught 78 passes for 769 yards and seven scores.
Seniors Cooper Anderson (15-166-3) and Carson Graham (5-35-1) are expected to see further success, and tight end Gavin Gregory (junior) returns after 22 catches for 366 yards and five touchdowns in 2023. Grady Crouse, Lucas Black and Jacob Weingart are other options.
“We have a lot of guys who can run and catch,” Cooper said. “Joey Jackson has done a great job with his weight training program. He’s been working out consistently and is here every day so we don’t have to worry about him missing practice. He’s just the ultimate competitor. Joey is really explosive with the ball in his hands. He’s improved by leaps and bounds as a player the last few years.”
“Anthony Perry is an explosive athlete as well and we have a lot of guys on the team who can fill in for him. Cooper Anderson is a big guy and Carson Graham is probably the smartest guy on the team.”
Zach Coffee had a strong summer, and Gavin Gregory is expected to provide “a different element” as a big tight end, per CPP(er.
The offensive line will return all five starters and more.
“We had some injuries late in the season, so I think we’ll have some depth,” Cooper said. “We had Jax Brooks leave the team with a knee injury late in the season and Brock Boyle was a junior who tore his ACL in Week 1. Those two guys are back, but we also have some guys that are developing.”
“Left tackle (senior) Dom Slimmon is the anchor of our team. He’s definitely the most talented offensive lineman on our team. We’re trying to be more physical up front, wanting to run the ball and play physical, and they’ve done a really good job so far.”
Cam Summers, Hayden Martin, Zach Gorby and Brooks also return as starters, while Brock Boyle, Cohen Campbell, Gavin Hann, Gavin Heavener and Nick Skofinski will also play in the rotation.
“We have a lot of depth on this team,” Cooper said. “It’s just about getting all our guys on the field and staying healthy.”
defense
West Branch moved to a three-man system ahead of the 2023 season, with Slimmon, Summers and Gregory starting and Hann, Campbell and Heavener providing depth.
“Those guys are going to be our main rotational guys,” Cooper said. “Most of them are offensive linemen, so they’re not necessarily pass-rush specialists, but I think Gregory is a guy that can put pressure on the quarterback with his length, speed and athleticism, and then we’re counting on the other guys to stop the run. Hang is a bit of a nuisance.”
“All the guys are pushing each other in practice. They’re going for the ball. That’s really important for us.”
Two seniors and three-year starters, Garin Harlan and Jack Flickinger, will anchor the linebacker position. Flickinger will move to the inside after playing the past two years at outside linebacker, and recorded 95 tackles last season, including three sacks.
Harlan led the team with 112 tackles and four forced fumbles.
“Flickinger is tough, tenacious and a really smart football player. He will use his athleticism and understanding of the game to help us defensively.”
Harlan played safety last year and will move to outside linebacker, with Coffee projected to be the other outside linebacker, and Clayton Day, Biscup and Drew Gasper vying for the Will, or weakside, inside linebacker position.
Coffee led the Warriors in 2023 with three sacks.
In the secondary, Jackson will start at one corner with a mix of Thomas, Close, Caden Porter and Weingart at the other, and Graham, Perry, Black, Jordan Waite and Brett Weisel at safeties.
Jackson led the team with four interceptions last year, while Thomas had three.
“We went to a 3-4 last year,” Cooper said, “and the kids adapted to it and got some more speed on the field. They got back on track at the end of the year, which gave us some clues on what we need to improve on. The biggest thing for us is to make sure we get our gaps in, get going to the ball, work hard, play physical and we’ll be in good shape.”
Special teams
Eliza Hurst returns for her senior season after scoring 68 points as placekicker in 2023. Perry will handle kickoffs, field goals and punting, while senior Evan Hancock and junior Gavin Clemens add depth to the team.
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