Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes Mathews’ first-year head coach Matt Polta, black shirt, gathers his team during a 7-on-7 passing scrimmage at Liberty High School earlier this summer. The Mathews alum is looking to continue what legendary coach Bill Bohren has put together over the past few seasons.

VIENNA — A new era for Mathews football is underway.

After the program was resuscitated by legendary coach Bill Bohren, Mustang alum Matt Polta is taking the helm of the program.

While there will be some changes, Polta’s goal is to add to the foundation that Bohren put in place.

“We’ve got a lot of quick, speedy kids,” Polta said. “We’ve got a lot of kids with good hands. We’re going to be able to move the ball around a little bit more on the outside and throw a little bit more than last year, I think.”

Just a few years ago, Mathews was on the brink of folding its football program. Participation was low and it seemed like the program was going to slowly shrink away but there’s been a resurgence in the last few years.

“We discussed it quite a bit with them. Our coaches on staff here, they know the situation,” Polta said. “We talked a lot about the way things had been here before and the way things can be here now. I think the kids understand what they can do here. I think they’re going to be ok.”

The journey to keep the program on the right path is far from an easy one. In addition to a league rival in Pymatuning Valley that has given Mathews fits over the years, the Mustangs have upped their schedule quite a bit.

The Mustangs open the season on the road with Jackson-Milton and Ravenna Southeast, then return home for a three-game set with Newton Falls, Lowellville and Springfield.

The latter is the team that knocked them from the playoffs last season in a 42-0 loss. That was a slap in the face that they want to grow from.

“You should have seen how many younger kids were playing. We had a lot of guys injured in that game,” Polta said. “We had kids that hadn’t played much all year starting on both sides of the ball. I mean, it was just a crazy game for us.

Nobody backed down. They beat us up a little bit, but we never quit. There’s no quit in these guys. I think we’re going to be up for the challenge this year. We’re going to have a few tough ones here and there. I know that we’ve got a lot of teams we’re gonna be playing, but I think they’re up for the challenge we’re going to face this year.”

It’s all in an effort to strengthen the team. Mathews has yet to host a playoff game, or win one, and they’re looking to change both of those this season.

“It’s a redemption tour,” junior Dom Toto said. “We have to go through all these teams that are higher than us and may think they’re better than us, but I mean, with our coaches and staff and our players I think we can put ourselves in a position to beat them.”

Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes
Mathews quarterback Trenton Hyde throws a pass during a 7-on-7 passing scrimmage at Liberty High School.

OFFENSE

If you’re familiar with the Mustang teams of the last few years, this team is going to look very different.

Utilizing a more open offense, Mathews has the chance to showcase its athletes in ways it hasn’t done in years past.

“Last year we were strictly pretty much under center,” Polta said. “We didn’t really have any shotgun, we did a little bit in one game that was about it. But this year, we have a quarterback that can move around and throw really well. I think they really liked that kind of different look. And the kids nowadays love that spread (offense) stuff.”

Trenton Hyde will be the man in charge at quarterback this season.

With the ability to run and throw, his versatility under center is going to be very important for the Mustangs.

Speaking of versatility, Toto has been Mathews’ “Mr. Do It All” across all three athletic seasons. Toto will primarily be a running back, but his ability to play multiple positions will give Polta the opportunity to use him all over the field.

Toto will share backfield duties with Zach Mazey and Tim Gregorino. To single out Mazey, he’ll be a staple on both sides of the ball.

“He’ll be playing a lot of running back for us,” Polta said. “He can go from fullback to tailback, he’s talented enough to do both. Then he’s going to be anchoring our defense at outside linebacker. It’s our anchor position. He’s going to be setting the edge a lot, really talented kid super strong, fast. He’s just a great kid. He’s one of our captains as well.”

At wideout, Dom Spagnoletta will be the primary option, but expect some younger players like Seth Wyatt and Drew Spagnoletta to be getting touches as the season goes on.

Zach Hopkinson will split time blocking and catching passes as the tight end.

Jayden Perkins, Jeff Easterday and Joseph Linkesh all return to anchor the offensive line once again. Linkesh and Perkins will man the tackle spots with Easterday at center.

Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes
Mathews’ Dom Toto runs for a few extra yards after making a play against Liberty during a recent 7-on-7 passing scrimmage at Liberty High School earlier this summer. Toto will be a big piece of Matt Polta’s offense this season and has been “Mr. Do It All” for the Mustangs across all three sports seasons.

DEFENSE

The Mustangs are switching things up on the defensive side of the ball as well. The theme this year is modern. Mathews will be boasting a 3-4 defense, opening things up for its athletic linebackers to make plays.

“We’re opening that up too. We went from an old school 50, to a more modern 3-4,” Polta said. “It’s kind of like a 50, you got the same backfield, same core three, but now we’re taking those ends we’re getting them off the ball a little bit. With all the spread offense that’s out there and stuff, you kind of have to do it now. We’ve got a couple of good outside linebackers and we’ve got some ones in reserve, too, that we think are going to be able to do all that stuff.”

Perkins, Easterday and Linkesh each will see significant time on the defensive line as well, along with Hopkinson.

At linebacker, Gregorino is going to occupy one of the middle spots. He had a promising sophomore campaign after building off an impressive freshman season, but an injury derailed it. Look for him to have a breakout season this year.

Toto, Spagnoletta and Hyde are returning to the secondary, with a glut of young talent battling it out for the final position.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Spagnoletta will be handling a majority of the kicking duties this season, including both kickoffs and field goals.

“Spagnoletta is a good place kicker. PATs and that kind of stuff, too,” Polta said. “He actually had a lot of really good kicks last year. He was getting some touchbacks towards the end of the season, so we’re hoping nobody’s returning kicks on us this year.”

Toto is set to handle punt duties, but Hyde can be an option back there as well.

2023 Schedule

Aug. 17 at Jackson-Milton 7 p.m.

Aug. 25 at Southeast 7 p.m.

Sept. 1 Newton Falls 7 p.m.

Sept. 8 Lowellville 7 p.m.

Sept. 15 Springfield 7 p.m.

Sept. 22 St. John School* 7 p.m.

Sept. 29 at Mineral Ridge 7 p.m.

Oct. 6 at Pymatuning Valley* 7 p.m.

Oct. 13 Windham* 7 p.m.

Oct. 20 Fairport* 7 p.m.

*Conference game

2022 Results (8-3)

at Catholic Central (4-7) W 38-7

vs. Sebring (0-10) W 64-8

at Leetonia (0-10) W 49-0

vs. Edison (10-1) L 10-48

vs. Madonna (WV) (5-5) W 16-13

at St John School* (2-7) W 48-6

at Fairport* (4-7) W 35-7

vs. St John School* (2-7) W 41-8

at Windham* (4-6) W 56-20

vs. Pymatuning Valley* (4-7) L 14-24

#at Springfield (7-5) L 0-42

*-Conference game

#-OHSAA playoffs

Coaching staff

Head coach: Matt Polta, 1st season

Staff: Drew McLaughlin (offensive coordinator, quarterback coach, linebackers coach), Chris Marsco (defensive coordinator, running backs/linebackers coach), Tim Stull (special teams, wide receivers/defensive backs coach), Mike Mazey (offensive/defensive line coach)

Team facts

Division VII, Region 25

Northeastern Athletic Conference

Players on roster: 29

Returning letterwinners (13): Jaden Dickey, Dom Toto, Zach Mazey, Zach Hopkinson, Jayden Perkins, Trenton Hyde, Mike Young, Brody Polonus, Jeff Easterday, Joe Linkesh, Connor Thompson, Dom Spagnoletta, Tim Gregorino

2022 season: After winning eight of their first nine games, the Mustangs dropped their final two games, a regular season finale against Pymatuning Valley and a first-round playoffs loss to Springfield. That loss to Springfield was its first playoff appearance since 2017 and finished with the team’s best record since 2007 (10-1).