Wellington football player and 8-year-old bond over love of jersey and football

WELLINGTON — The No. 70 caught the eye of Cole Abahazi. While the 8-year-old attended a Wellington High School football game early in the season, among the senior pictures on display was one of Ashton Roessler in the same number Cole wears for his youth team. "I remembered him from football camp and baseball camp," said Cole, a second grader who also wrestles and plays baseball. "I come to all the home games." Roessler said he actually met Cole when Roessler was a freshman. "Baseball, football and then wrestling, I'd see him at all the youth camps," Roessler said. "It's pretty cool seeing someone else wearing the same number and also playing the same position. I also noticed he was moving around to different positions. I was a chunkier kid and I was always blocking all the time." The two have bonded over the shared interests and similarities. Roessler even attended a couple of Cole's games. "It kind of went viral that night and Ashton found out they were playing at the rec park and made it a point right after practice to head up there and go support him at his games," Wellington coach Rob Howells said. "Very neat to see. Again, it's that program with the family atmosphere that we try to preach and it's great to see kids taking to that." Roessler, a captain, remembers what it was like to be in Cole's shoes … and jersey. "I played youth football for a year or two," he said. "I remember as a little kid, I used to come to all the football games and I used to play catch behind the bleachers like every other little kid. Halftime I'd go out on the field and play catch some more." Cole's mother, Lauren, said he has always been interested in sports. His father, B.J., played at Midview and is his coach. "He wants to be outside doing it," she said. "He likes watching the older kids. He's at home trying to imitate their moves." Cole wants to play Friday nights for the Dukes. That was Roessler's childhood dream, too. "I thought it was the coolest thing in the world," he said. "I wanted nothing more than to be wearing maroon and playing football on this field. The only thing that changed was positionwise. I thought I was going to maybe get here and actually run the ball." The Roessler-Cole friendship is a cool one for the community. "They kind of bumped into each other on youth night," Howells said. "It was our Week 2 Mapleton game and we won so that makes it exciting for the youth. I try to tell the kids all the time (the younger kids) think you're in the NFL. They look up to you like you're an NFL player. "I know I did when I was younger. I remember that night inspiring me to be a Ranger. I grew up in North Ridgeville and that's what I did. Obviously a good group of guys and friends around me that I graduated with, we made it our mission to stay and win there. That it could be done if people did the right things. We were able to make that happen and hopefully with guys like Ashton, they're starting to make that true and resonate here in Wellington." Roessler is a versatile lineman who has played center — Cole plays center — and tackle on offense. Roessler also plays on the defensive line. "He's been our offensive tackle but our sophomore center was struggling last week so he moved right to center and helped those struggles," Howells said. "He'll do anything for his football team. His football team comes first. I'd go out on a limb and say he'd especially do anything for me. I have a great relationship over the years, working together and things like that. I have the utmost respect for his work that he puts in off the field." Roessler didn't argue. "Whatever the team needs," he said. "(We need) to be disciplined and doing the things we're coached to do every day. That's the only time we don't have success is when we veer away from what we're coached to do. We're set up with all the tools to succeed. It's just a matter of taking advantage of it." Contact Tim Gebhardt at (440) 329-7135 or timothygeb@msn.com.