Oakwood football: preseason survey

Team: Oakwood Lumberjacks

Division/Region: D-IV, Region 16; no change from last season.

Affiliation: Southwestern Buckeye League, Southwestern Division.

Location: Mack Hummon Stadium, Oakwood (Montgomery County).

» RELATED: Urbana Hillclimbers preseason preview

» RELATED: Eaton Eagles preseason preview

Head coach: Butch Snider, entering his fourth season with the Lumberjacks after succeeding Rick Robertson; 12-18 combined record at Oakwood and 16-34 overall, which also includes two seasons at Cedarville.

Assistant coaches: Bob Franz, OC/WR; Ricky Ford, DC, LB; T.J. Smart, special teams/DL/RB; Tim Fielding, OL; Marc Pedro, QB; Nick Berger, DL/OL; Jamie Franz, volunteer; Nate Siebenaller, volunteer.

2017 records: 3-3 SWBL, 5-5 overall.

» RELATED: Committed area football seniors

» RELATED: Regions for area D-IV football teams

2017 highlights: Benefiting from a prolific passing game, Oakwood appeared to be in contention for a playoff bid following a 3-1 start, losing only 43-41 at Carlisle in a Week 3 shootout. But the defense couldn't match that scoring punch, allowing 41 or more points in five games.

Graduated QB Brian Erbe wasn’t the same after Oakwood switched to a pass-first offense in Week 5 of the 2016 season. Over the next 16 games Erbe threw for 4,747 yards (296 per game) and 46 TDs. As a senior he passed for 2,931 yards and 28 TDs, surpassing SWBL runner-up Anthony Carmichael by nearly 1,200 passing yards.

» RELATED: Centerville Elks preseason preview

» RELATED: Games on radio, TV, internet

In Week 5 Erbe torched Madison for 490 yards and four TDs. He topped that with a career-high 511 yards and five TDs the next week against Brookville. Oakwood lost both games, allowing a combined 111 points. Erbe will play baseball at Ohio Wesleyan.

Erbe’s go-to targets were Dylan Caplette (66 catches, 728 yards, 2 TDs) and Brendan Talarczyk (42-887, 10 TDs), both of whom also graduated. Caplette will play football at Ohio Wesleyan and Talarczyk at Brown.

Oakwood has posted a 5-5 record in four of the last five seasons.

»RELATED: Arcanum Trojans preseason preview

Key returners:

Josh Amongero, 5-9, 175, sr., RB.

Charlie Burke, 5-10, 180, sr., OL/DL; 4-year starter.

Mauricio Herringer, 5-6, 150, sr., RB/DB; second team All-SWBL, 4-year starter.

Tommy Lunne, 6-2, 170, sr., QB.

Jake Sargent, 5-10, 155, sr., WR/DB.

»RELATED: Greeneview Rams preseason preview

About the Lumberjacks: Four of the first five games are home, which should be a benefit. The flip side is four of the five second-half games are on the road.

This will be the sixth season Oakwood will open against Cincinnati Mariemont. The Lumberjacks dropped a 30-29 thriller in 2016 and landed a 42-41 payback win last season.

Oakwood is at Brookville in a Week 6, Sept. 27 Thursday Night Lights matchup (ABC 22 / FOX 45, Ch. 45.2, Ch. 995 (Spectrum), Ch. 44 (Dish), mytvdayton.com).

»RELATED: Valley View preseason preview

There is one schedule change from last season. Northridge (0-10) has bumped Middletown Madison (11-3) and will host Oakwood in Week 7.

“We are a very young team. Of the 40-plus players we have on the roster, only 14 returning lettermen. Several new players are out of the team this season.” – Snider.

Fun facts: Don't look for the Lumberjacks football program to ever call the newly constructed Lane Stadium at nearby Old River Park Sports Complex. The facility opened in spring of 2017 and was privately funded by $2.5 million. It accommodates Oakwood soccer, field hockey, lacrosse and track and field only.

That means the Oakwood home-game tradition of students and residents strolling to cozy Mack Hummon Stadium in droves on Schantz Avenue continues, as does the hunt for street parking by opposing spectators.

»RELATED: Key football dates

»RELATED: Saturday playoff football returns

• According to DDN archives, Mack Hummon Stadium was constructed in the mid-1930s as a Works Progress Administration project as part of the New Deal, President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s initiative to end the Great Depression and put millions of unemployed men to work. Among the area’s oldest stadiums still in use for high school varsity football, the facility was renamed in honor of the Oakwood grad.

»RELATED: New transfer rule approved

Nicknamed “Mousie,” Hummon was the first University of Wittenberg athlete to letter in four sports in one year. He played professionally for the Dayton Triangles football team and played pro basketball and baseball, according to his Tigers bio. He was an Oakwood administrator from 1925-65, coaching football, basketball and tennis.

The Triangles played what is considered to be the first NFL game at Triangle Park in Dayton in 1920. Hummon’s Triangles helmet and jersey are on display at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton.

»FACEBOOK: For more high school sports you should like Marc Pendleton

Schedule: All at 7 p.m.

Week 1: Fri., Aug. 24 CIN. MARIEMONT

Week 2: Fri., Aug. 31 at Milton-Union

Week 3: Fri., Sept. 7 CARLISLE

Week 4: Fri., Sept. 14 VALLEY VIEW

Week 5: Fri., Sept. 21 EATON

»TWITTER: You should like @MarcPendleton

Week 6: Thu., Sept. 27 at Brookville, ABC 22 / FOX 45, Ch. 45.2, Ch. 995 (Spectrum), Ch. 44 (Dish), mytvdayton.com

Week 7: Fri., Oct. 5 at Northridge

Week 8: Fri., Oct. 12 MONROE

Week 9: Fri., Oct. 19 at Bellbrook