STEUBENVILLE — Last season was a memorable one for Catholic Central and veteran head coach Eric Meek.

The Crusaders won their first nine games, their best start in years, and made the playoffs for the second-straight year under Meek, who was named the East District Co-Coach of the Year.

The Crusaders pitched four shutouts on defense and forced 27 turnovers while using a run-heavy offense to out-score their opponents by more than 170 points during the course of the season on the way to a 9-2 finish, falling at Lowellville in the playoffs for a second-straight season.

“It was an awesome season — every single day was fun,” Meek said of last year. “Practices, meetings, film sessions, it was all fun with that group.

“The community support was great, the parents, alumni, the school, the administration … everyone was on board. For the rest of my life, I will remember the feeling of walking into the fish fry after the ball games. It was incredible. It is a special school and a special place.

“We’re hoping we can continue in 2024 the success we had in 2023.”

Coach Eric Meek discusses the upcoming season

Departed from that group to graduation in the spring were eight seniors. They were Kody Carver, Brayden Rauch, Tyler Ialtenti, Brendan Grimm, B.J. Fallon, Daniel Bolster, Jacob Lesnefsky and Toby Rusciano.

“We had tremendous senior leadership that will always hold a special place in my heart,” Meek said. “They are a big reason why we turned the corner so quickly with the culture we’re trying to build here. They showed up every day and led the team and made my job easy.”

That group leaves some big holes to fill as Rauch was the East District’s Co-Defensive Player of the Year and a first-team All-Ohio selection. He is playing football at Wheeling University this fall. Ialenti was the team’s starting quarterback and a second -team selection in the district. Fallon was a first-team all-district pick at running back, as was Grimm on the defensive line and Bolster at punter.

Meek’s hope is that the group set the foundation for the next group to lead the way, something he’s seen taking shape going into the season.

“The hope is that those guys were such great leaders that it rubbed off on this year’s seniors, juniors and sophomores so they can follow in the footsteps of those kids,” Meek said. “That doesn’t only mean winning games, but in how they represent the school and play as hard as they can and be unselfish. That’s what it’s all about. Being great people, working as hard as they can and representing the school the best they can. If we do that, I consider it a success.”

This year’s team looking to build on the momentum of back-to-back playoff seasons consists of a mix of returners and new faces.

Meek’s 2024 unit features 10 returning letter winners, six returning starters on offense and eight returning starters on defense.

“We have some guys back on defense, and we had a very strong defense last year,” Meek said. “I feel our secondary will be strong — we have some outstanding linemen and linebackers … the key is for everyone to stay healthy.”

On defense, the returners are tackles Peyton Rauch and Johnny Kostecki; ends Noah Hough and Camden Bradley; linebacker Timmy Mihalyo; and and defensive backs Tommy Pergi, Jimmy Hernon and Matthew Sprochi.

Peyton Rauch led the team with 10 sacks a year ago and was second to his brother in tackles. Hernon and Sprochi had a pair of interceptions and Mihalyo was fifth on the team in tackles. Hough led the team with three fumble recoveries.

Peyton Rauch and Pergi were first-team all-district picks, and Hernon was a second-team selection.

On offense, the returners are Peyton Rauch at guard, Pergi at running back/receiver, Mihalyo and Hernon at fullback, Hough at tight end and Bradley at tackle. Mihalyo also will play tight end.

Pergi was one of the team’s leading rushers and receivers a year ago as a junior.

Looking to step into the quarterback role to replace Ialenti will be Sprochi, a junior who brings a different style to the position than his predecessor. Also in the mix at QB is freshman Matty Jones.

At running back, Meek and company have a selection to choose from with seniors Hernon, Pergi and Mihalyo and sophomores Nate Irvin, Kyran Busic and Ryan Holzworth and freshman Rahim Mitchell.

Pergi also will catch passes, as will juniors James McInnis, Zach Bryan and John Paul Gessler; senior Kolbe Owen; freshman DaMyus Rambsel; and sophomore Michael Fabbro.

Up front is a place with experience back as a group of five seniors look to lead the offensive line. They are Jeremy Orsay, Tino Kropka, Rusty Musacchio, Rauch and Bradley.

Joining that group are juniors Alex Federoff and Justin Roe; sophomores Hunter Kirkpatrick, Nick Mascio and Johnny Kostecki; and freshman Isaac Federoff.

That same group will also be the unit on the defensive front, along with Owen at end.

Behind them, at linebacker in the Crusaders’ 40 defense, will be inside backers Hough, Irvin, Jones and Busic, while Hernon, McInnis, Holzworth and Mihalyo will be the outside backers.

In the secondary, Pergi will be the safety, while Bryan, Gessler, Sprochi, Rambsel and Fabbro will be in the mix at corner.

All told Central has 27 players on the roster.

“We need to stay healthy and get better as we go,” Meek said. “I told my assistant coaches that player development is important every year, but I honestly, in 25 years as a head coach, don’t know that I’ve seen a season where player development is going to be as crucial as it is this season.

“There are going to be some kids that have had very few varsity snaps that get thrown into the fire early.

“With 27 kids, we have to be smart, practice smart and keep everyone healthy. We were pretty healthy last year and that was a big factor in why we won nine games.”

The Crusaders ran a throwback offense last season running the ball more than 84% of the time. While the schemes will be similar and running the ball will again be key, it may look a little different as well with personnel.

Meek, who has 145 career victories in stops at Toronto, Wellsville and Weir High and a state championship with the Red Riders in 2005, has a similar support staff.

Tedd Kostecki will be the defensive coordinator, Dave Brown will coach the running backs and defensive line, Seth White the receivers and defensive backs, Todd Phillipson the quarterbacks and outside linebackers and Michael Tizziani will coach the offensive and defensive lines.

The Crusaders open the season at home at Harding Stadium on Aug. 24 hosting Wellsville before playing three straight road games.