Staff photo / Greg Macafee McDonald senior running back Zach Shobel breaks off a touchdown run during a scrimmage against Champion at McDonald’s new athletic complex. Shobel is expected to garner a significant amount of carries in the backfield for the Blue Devils this season.

McDONALD — McDonald High senior Zach Shobel grew up watching the Blue Devils win league championships and post undefeated seasons.

Shobel is well aware of the program’s rich history, which includes 32 league championships, 15 unbeaten seasons, 18 playoff appearances and a pair of trips to the state finals.

Shobel also is very aware of the fact that he and his teammates are on the wrong side of history.

“We didn’t have to be told during the offseason to get in the weight room and put in the work,” Shobel said. “Everyone all through the ranks wanted to get in there, they wanted to work hard. There wasn’t any joking around. It was all business and that’s how we all wanted it to be.”

The added determination from Shobel and his teammates stems from the fact that McDonald is coming off back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since 1975-76.

Under head coach Dan Williams, the Blue Devils have enjoyed a wealth of success. Williams’ resume includes seven league titles, 11 playoff appearances and four undefeated regular seasons. Williams recently was inducted into the Trumbull County Sports Hall of Fame.

Shobel believes the recent bump in the road is temporary.

“We have a great group of coaches who know the game and who believe in us,” Shobel said. “We believe in ourselves, we know that if we put in the work every day good things will happen.

“This team is still young in many areas. You could say that things look bright for future years but that’s not good enough for the senior class. We are determined to make our mark. We’ve seen what Springfield, Lowellville and Mineral Ridge did in recent years. We’re determined to get back to that level to where we are in the mix every week.”

Senior Logan Presco says that he and his veteran teammates embrace the opportunity to lead by example.

“This program has always had upperclassmen lead the way and set the tone for future generations,” Presco said. “We want to do the same thing.

“When you look at the McDonald football history it gives you hope because you know that there has always been success in this program. But we know that nothing is given to us, we have to work harder than we’ve ever worked before to get things turned around. One thing I do believe is that we have the players and coaches willing to do whatever it takes to achieve success. We’re going to work every day toward getting better day in and day out.”

McDonald will indeed feature a mix of experience and youth. The Blue Devils return 14 lettermen, but just five seniors. It returns six starters on both offense and defense, but it is young in key positions.

“We are still a young team but our JV team was undefeated last year and we got a senior and junior group that wants to be that group to turn this thing around,” Williams said.

“This team is not going to accept losing. There has been a strong level of determination since last October displayed by our three-year starters, and it has had an effect on the entire program.”

Williams is excited to see how his team will fare in the Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference, which he believes will be “wide open” this season.

“In recent years you had your one team that really dominated the league,” Williams said. “This year I think it’s going to be wide open and you’re going to see battles week in and week out with nothing being decided until the very end of the season.

“We feel like we can be right in that mix.”

OFFENSE

The Blue Devils will enter the 2023 season with a sophomore behind center. The question remains, who will it be — Drew Zajack or Kyle Puckett?

Williams says a clear starter might not be established until right before, or even after, the season is underway.

“Both are really good players, both are very much ahead of the curve as sophomores, so it might take some game time experience for one to separate from the other,” Williams said. “It’s been a battle all camp. We might play them both early and go from there.”

Whoever is under center will be handing off to Shobel, James Hipple, Tobias Domitrovich and Jayden Taylor. Shobel and Hipple both have experience in the backfield while Taylor is in his first year with the Blue Devils.

Hipple also will see time at tight end.

Staff photo / Greg Macafee
McDonald junior linebacker Gionni Carkido celebrates after making a play during a recent scrimmage against Champion at McDonald’s new athletic complex.

“Any one of these four can step up at any time and make plays,” Williams said.

Jordan Perry, William VanMeter and Elias Tingler are the wideouts while Antonio D’Avanzo will provide senior leadership from the slot position.

Up front, Presco will be called upon to supply leadership to an otherwise youthful front line. He’s an all-league selection and is the only senior lineman on offense. He is a three-year starter at center.

“We only have 10 linemen on our entire roster out of thirty-five kids,” Williams said. “It’s not always a position that kids want to play when they’re growing up.”

Junior Gionni Carkido, who like Presco started all 10 games up front a year ago, will play at either the guard or tackle spot.

Jullien Sattarelle, Landon Isaac, Jacob Bowser and Caleb Smith will be called upon to fill out the line.

Anthony Pecorelli, who suffered an injury last spring while running track, is expected to be healthy and return to the football program by the start of the season.

DEFENSE

As is usually the case at McDonald, the offensive linemen also will play up front on defense.

Taylor, Hipple and Carkido will man the inside linebacker spots while Zajack, Puckett, D’Avanzo and Domitrovich will rotate on the outside.

“Hipple will be our go-to guy inside. He started all 10 games last year,” Williams said. “D’Avanzo has been a three-year starter outside so we’ll rely heavily on those two in terms of being that sort of quarterback on defense.

“We do have a little bit of depth at linebacker, which hopefully will make up for the inexperience we have on the line.”

Shobel returns as a three-year starter in the defensive backfield, while Perry will join Shobel at the safety spot. VanMeter, Tingler and Casey Miller will rotate at the corners.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Hipple will handle the kickoff, extra point and field goal duties while Zajack will serve as punter. Both are new to the kicking and punting teams, replacing a starter from a year ago who handled both kicking and punting duties.

“It’s always tough finding a punter and kicker at this level,” Williams said. “Fortunately for us, we’ll have both of these kids around for a couple of years.”

2023 Schedule

Aug. 18 vs. Southern 7 p.m.

Aug. 25 vs. Columbiana 7 p.m.

Sept. 1 at Campbell Memorial 7p.m.

*Sept. 8 vs. Western Reserve 7 p.m.

*Sept. 15 at Jackson-Milton 7 p.m.

*Sept. 22 at Waterloo 7 p.m.

*Sept. 29 at Lowellville 7 p.m.

*Oct. 6 vs. Windham 7 p.m.

*Oct. 13 vs. Springfield 7 p.m.

*Oct. 20 at Mineral Ridge 7 p.m.

*Conference game

2022 Results (3-7)

at Southern L 42-7

at Columbiana W 14-13

vs. Valley Christian L 33-0

vs. Mineral Ridge L 40-0

at Sebring W 41-8

at Springfield L 37-21

at Western Reserve L 27-19

vs. Lowellville L 36-13

vs. Waterloo W 28-6

vs. Jackson-Milton L 20-7

Coaching staff

Head coach: Dan Williams, 24th season at McDonald, 159-84 record

Staff: Joe Celli, Jeff Cintron, Steve Durbin, Bill Ifft, Tom Senich

Team Facts

Division VII, Region 25

MVAC Scarlet Tier

Players on roster: 35

Returning letterwinners (11): Jordan Perry, Antonio D’Avanzo, Zach Shobel, Drew Zajack, James Hipple, William VanMeter, Tobias Domitrovich, Gionni Carkido, Jullien Sattarelle, Anthony Pecorelli, Logan Presco

2022 season: The Blue Devils opened the season with a 42-7 setback to Southern, then rebounded to defeat Columbiana 14-13. The Devils then were shut out by Valley Christian and Mineral Ridge in consecutive weeks before earning their first league win of the year, against Sebring. McDonald would post its third and final victory in week nine against Waterloo, then fell to Jackson-Milton in the season finale.