High school football preview: Elyria looks to be bigger, stronger, faster after winless campaign

Matt Wilson knew what his team needed to do after going winless in his first season as Elyria's head coach. He's counting on two returning linemen to lead the way in the transformation. The Pioneers will undoubtedly be bigger and stronger — and probably faster — than they were a year ago. The two linemen, senior Jackson Goodspeed and junior Parker Osborne, set the tone in the weight room and provided a positive influence at practice as Wilson prepared for Friday's opener against Mayfield. They're good players and students. They compete with each other in the weight room and have become the best of friends. "Jackson, I think he started playing a little bit his freshman year and then became a starter for his last three years," Wilson said. "Parker started as a freshman so this will be his third year starting. Both these kids have played a ton of varsity football. They are kids that are dedicated in-season and out of season. They're here all the time and they're good at their positions. They are good technically. They're two of our strongest kids. We're definitely leaning on these two." The Pioneers have a lot of guys with varsity experience, including seven returning starters on offense and five on defense. "We've gotten a lot stronger in our offseason, so we're excited about the direction that we're headed," Wilson said. Wilson got a late start a year ago, getting hired in late February. But he's been around the block a time or two, having been a head coach at Clearview and Berea. "It was kind of a pass year, to be honest," Wilson said. "Those kids had three coaches in three years. That senior group was on their third coach, so it's crazy. Now these seniors have had me for two years and the sophomores have only known me." It wasn't just the change in coaches. The players had to deal with the deaths of assistant coach De'van Bogard and teammate B.J. Todd. Wilson sees progress as he tries to build the program, even if it's slow. "We're starting to understand processes and systems and expectations a little bit better," said Wilson. "We still have a long way to go. We are not a finished product but we're definitely getting better." Goodspeed and Osborne play both ways. Goodspeed is the left tackle on offense and Osborne the center. Both play defensive tackle. Goodspeed is 6-foot-3, 285 pounds; Osborne 6-1, 290. They have been close friends growing up. Osborne, being younger, followed Goodspeed's lead. "We kind of grew up together," said Osborne. "We were friends back in the day. My eighth-grade year, coming to lift in the spring, he kind of took me under his wing. We've been together ever since. I would say we are very tight." It's been good, healthy competition in the weight room. "Very," Osborne said. "We always keep it fun, but there's that competitive spirit in both of us. We try to beat each other at everything, every chance we get. It makes us both better." They acknowledged their time with the Pioneers hasn't been easy. Losing gets frustrating and the Pioneers have won only one game in two years. "It was difficult," said Goodspeed. "Coming in as a freshman, I had Coach Devlin Culliver and had a great season with him. After that season, we learned that he was leaving. I was very upset. Brian Fox came over and he left. I was kind of wondering what to do. "Me and a couple other players had a chance to interview with Coach Wilson and we all agreed we all wanted him as coach. We stuck with it and we trusted him." Not everyone stuck with it. There were a few players who transferred. Goodspeed and Osborne are happy they stayed. Goodspeed played center, right tackle and left guard during his varsity career before switching to left tackle this season. His experience is valuable in helping the newer players on the line. "Compared to last year, we've gotten so much stronger, quicker," Goodspeed said. "We've gotten better at everything." "(Wilson) came in, obviously he got here a little late, but first day he instilled in us that we're going to be a gritty-type team," Osborne said. "He didn't try to give us every single play in the playbook first day. We had installations. "I see this year that a lot of kids are more comfortable in his offense. He's gotten to the white board. He knows what's going to work. He knows what our strengths and our weaknesses are and he's going to play into those every single game." Contact Tim Gebhardt at (440) 329-7135 or at timothygeb@msn.com.