#4 GLIAC SOUTH
LAKE ERIE STORM (4-7
OVERALL, 3-6 GLIAC)
2014 Lake Erie Preview (by Tony Nicolette, GLIAC contributor)
After three consecutive three-win campaigns, coach Mark McNellie and his Lake Erie College club finally added a win to the total and earned a 4-7 mark last year. Upon closer inspection, however, one has to wonder if there wasn’t the potential for there to be even more wins unearthed by the 2013 team. The Storm did lead the GLIAC in both scoring and total offense, and posted 33 points or more on eight different occasions. Those eye-popping numbers immediately lose their luster when referenced against the other side of the ball, as the LEC defense yielded 32 points or more nine times. In fact, in games where The Storm scored 41 points or more they were only 3-3 on the season.
So, can the defense make strides forward to match the output of the offense? One could presumably believe so, particularly when noticing that the defense was laden with underclassman a year ago and nine starters return to the unit for 2014. The linebacking corps held the top three spots on the team in tackles a year ago, and all three starters (Tanner Wells, Marcus Rogers, and Austin Hoeflich) return. The entire secondary is back as well, including DeVen Darby who led the team with four INT’s in 2013.
It’s safe to assume there are fewer questions on offense. Namely, because their output was so prolific a year ago, and the story regarding returnees is similar: eight starters are back. While replacing starting QB Brendan Gallagher will prove no small task, the entire offensive line is still in place…huge for any team. Also staying in the fold are three of last year’s top four pass-catchers, most notably Tommy Jackson who snared 72 balls for 937 yards and nine TD’s. As if these signs weren’t all positive, we still haven’t gotten to junior RB Anthony Bilal who tallied 1,542 yards and 24 TD’s on the ground. Given all of that, continued offensive explosiveness from LEC wouldn’t surprise many in 2014.
Lake Erie’s schedule is laden with challenges. Road trips to Ashland, Grand Valley, Ferris and Tech will all be difficult, and the home slate isn’t much easier with Hillsdale, Ohio Dominican, and Saginaw Valley all schedule to pay visits to Painesville.
