Chillicothe football: Previewing the upcoming season
CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — As the kids all over Ross County settle back into school, our local Friday nights once again become Football Friday Nights as fans from all across Ross County pack the stands to support their local schools. Few places better set a stage for high-level high school football than the incredible facilities at Herrnstein Field. The turf field is the centerpiece of the beautiful Obadiah Harris Family Athletic Complex. This Cavalier home will host this year’s Chillicothe football team, led by the Cavs’ new head coach Scott Bartholomew.
“I have had interest in Chillicothe for a while now,” said Bartholomew when asked about why Chillicothe is the right fit for him at this point in his career. “I really enjoyed coaching with my son (Wade, who was highly successful at Bloom Carroll and now the head coach at Olentangy), but we had both talked about the likelihood of me wanting to return to head coaching. I love this area, and I love the opportunity to have a coaching staff that has so many people who have coached and/or played for me in the past. It has given us such a good nucleus here at Chillicothe.”
The aforementioned facilities also serve as a positive for a new staff trying to generate excitement in the program.
“It is nice to have those types of things,” said Bartholomew, when asked how the outstanding facility can help in building a program. “The turf is so nice. It is so consistent in terms of practice. It is convenient. It is always important to make kids see that they matter. As coaches, we are always trying to upgrade the lockers, the weight room, and simply trying to spice things up a little. It makes them feel important.”
Even though this is Coach Bartholomew’s first year leading the Cavs, he is no stranger to football fans in the Ross County area due to his presence in the Scioto Valley Conference. He spent seven years (1998-2004) leading the football program at Westfall High School. After building a foundation in his first three seasons leading the Mustangs, he posted a 30-12 record in the next four years including a league title and a pair of playoff appearances. He has continued his coaching career as both a head coach and assistant coach over the past decade; his presence in programs such as Logan Elm and Bloom Carroll makes him no stranger to the postseason.
Following a perfect 5-0 league record two years ago, the Chillicothe football program found themselves on the wrong side of a few league games last year as they fell to third place. This has this year’s squad refocused and ready to return to the top. “We are still trying to figure out our complete identity,” said Bartholomew, who takes over a Chillicothe team that posted a 5-4 record a year ago with a 3-2 mark in the Frontier Athletic Conference. “Chemistry is so important. I like the culture we are establishing. We have a roster of around 70 kids. We have a nice size senior group, and they have done a great job of leading the way.”
The senior group Coach Bartholomew is referencing has a great leader in Max Lee (5’10”, 185), who plays on both sides of the ball as a linebacker and a running back. Beyond being an extremely talented young man, he is an outstanding leader and a great extension of the coaching staff on the field.
Carter Boltenhouse (6’2”, 210 – T/OLB) is another senior who is viewed as a great leader. Although the coaches would sometimes like to hear him be more vocal, it’s not quite his personality. Nonetheless, Boltenhouse is a great leader by example, and his work ethic has been described as contagious throughout the program. As always, many of the goals Chillicothe will be chasing this season could run through some difficult tests on this year’s schedule.
“Jackson appears to be the team that really put it together last year in the FAC (Frontier Athletic Conference),” said Bartholomew when asked about this year’s league race. “Andy (Jackson head coach Andy Hall) does a nice job. Beyond them, Miami Trace has great history and their numbers are rising. Washington Court House and Hillsboro always have nice athletes. Really, any team on any night can get you, so you better be ready to play.”
When you look at the past few seasons, the ability to play solid on special teams has proven to be a big factor for the Cavs. This is an area Coach Bartholomew feels good about with this year’s team.
“Mason Siberell does a nice job for us in the kicking game,” said Bartholomew. “He is a smart kid. He has a nice range out to about 40 yards, and his directional kicking (on kickoffs) is something that can be very productive for us.”
If things go as planned on the offensive side of the ball, hopefully Siberell will be kicking a lot of PATs throughout the year. Senior quarterback Mason Doughty and the offensive group hope to take a big step forward this season. Coach Bartholomew described the key to the offense as being efficient in getting the ball in the hands of some great playmakers.
With targets like Tre King (6’4”, 160 – Senior WR) and Tayvion Galloway (6’5”, 230 – Junior TE, who committed to LSU before the start of the season), the Cavs certainly have some home run hitting ability to go with a nice run game led by Lee.
The Cavs will look to work their way through a variety of non-league opponents in the first half of the year before opening up league play in Week 6 (Friday, September 23rd @ McClain). The remaining league schedule includes Miami Trace (Week 7/Home), Washington Court House (Week 8/Home), Hillsboro (Week 9/Away), and Jackson (Week 10/Home).
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