High school football: Season taking shape for Elyria Catholic under new coach Chase Farris

ELYRIA — One by one, each player said the same thing when it comes to this year's Elyria Catholic football team. They'll be in the best shape of their young lives under first-year coach Chase Farris, who has brought a lot of the Ohio State ways with him. "The formula is time-tested," said Farris, a former Elyria High and Ohio State standout who won a Super Bowl with the Patriots. "It may not be mine but we're executing it right now. We've been around elite players. We know what it takes to be an elite player. That's what we try to bring here." "Coach Farris has had our football team in the best shape that we've ever been before," said Graydon Rollins, a senior who will play inside linebacker while also seeing action at tight end and fullback. "We're playing at a speed we've never played before. We've never hit harder than we've ever played before. We're faster, we're stronger." "We're all doing college stuff," senior Timmy Phillips said. "We're all in shape — the best shape of our life. We've spent hours and hours getting work in. It's starting to get easy. It's going to pay off." Troy Smith, who won the 2006 Heisman Trophy as Ohio State's quarterback, is preparing the offense while Doran Grant, who earned four letters as a cornerback with the Buckeyes, will guide the defense. "I'm extremely proud to have these guys a part of the cast," Farris said of his Buckeyes brethren. "There's only one other school in the state of Ohio that can compete with that and it's not just what they accomplished but what type of people they are. These are quality leaders in the communities and they're all family guys too. It's an amazing feeling to have that." "They're always talking about the brotherhood," said two-way lineman Kyle Fairbanks. "You've got to be there for your brothers. We're learning a lot out here and getting better every week. I'm just trying to progress as a leader and help people out as much as I can. We lost a lot of great leaders last year but we're learning to step up and help out." Farris doesn't have many starters returning from last year's 10-win team but he's optimistic the Panthers will be competitive again this season. "We'll continue to build on leadership," Farris said. "We return only five starters from last year so we have 17 spots to fill. We play both ways so 17 spots might mean we're filling 15 depending on who plays both sides. If you really want to be elite, you have to show what you can do on both sides of the ball. You have to be interchangeable." "The level he's played at, there's so much knowledge he can bring us," center/nose guard Justin Vogel said. "I was always ready to learn at any point and he pushes us. I told my parents ever since Coach Farris has been here, I feel I'm in the best shape I've ever been in my football career. It's been fun." "He's done a lot for us so far," said senior Jackson Smith, a two-way lineman. "We've had great workouts. He's pushed us. It's so much better and I think it's going to show throughout the season. We've lost a lot of guys but there's also a lot of guys stepping up this year. I don't think it will be that much of a difference. I think we'll go out there and do what we usually do." This season will be the last go-around in the ill-fated Great Lakes Conference. The league will disband following this school year with the eight public schools and the two catholic schools — EC and Holy Name — going their separate ways starting next fall. The Panthers and the Green Wave will join what amounts to be the remnants of the old North Coast Conference. For Farris, it's just another hurdle for his tradition-laden Panthers to clear as they compete for the last GLC title and another shot at postseason play. Elyria Catholic, with three state championships under its belt, are aiming for its 20th playoff appearance, behind only Avon Lake (24) among county teams. As for the product on the field, with Smith and Grant on board Farris expects both sides of the ball to be sound. "We'll be balanced (on offense) and we'll have a lot of fun doing it, too," he said. "On defense, Doran is a Silver Bullet (Ohio State defensive player), so that answers that." Contact Tim Gebhardt at (440) 329-7135 or timothygeb@msn.com.