When your football team loses to the same team two years in a row in the state playoffs, what do you tell your players afterwards?

That’s what Genoa fourth-year coach Mike Vicars faced after his team lost a 16-6 Division IV regional final to Orrville at Avon Lake Memorial Stadium. It was the second straight year Genoa’s season came to an end with a playoff loss to Orrville.

“When you play at this high level, any loss cuts hard and it hurts,” Vicars said. “But that’s beside the fact. You know, you’re a 12-1 football team, and you finished in the top eight in the state in Ohio again. You know, you are the epitome of laying it on the line for some major goals and you came up short. It hurts, but Jiminy Cricket, in a couple days from now and probably when you are in your forties you are going to be awfully proud.”

Vicars repeated as the Alan Miller Jewelers All-Press Coach of the Year, and his sophomore running back, Kyle Nutter, is Offensive Player of the Year, and his 6-0, 260 pound senior tackle Andrew Hayes is Defensive POY.

Vicars won the COY honor overwhelmingly. Oak Harbor coach Mike May and Toledo Christian coach John Miller

Genoa Coach Mike Vicars

 finished tied for second. May led Oak Harbor to a resurgence, competing for a league title, then finishing 7-3 overall and second in the SBC at 5-2.

Also getting COY votes was Northwood’s Ken James, whose team reached the Division V playoffs and finished second in the Toledo Area Athletic Conference behind TC. Voting were 11 area football coaches and 11 media members.

During the regular season, Nutter rushed for 1,143 yards on 163 carries, good for an average of seven yards per carry. He also scored 18 touchdowns.

What Nutter has is “a mix of everything,” according to Vicars.

“That's probably what makes him pretty good,” Vicars told The Press. “He has good vision to find the seam. He doesn't have super-duper breakaway speed, but I wouldn't call him slow. He can get from zero to 60 right now. That's a very strong attribute of his.”

Another one of Nutter's intangibles is his ability to finish what he starts.

“He finishes the run,” Vicars said. “When you think the run is done, he gets you more yards. He always finishes the carry to get you another couple yards.”

Eastwood can vouch for that.

The 5-foot-10, 165-pound Nutter ran the ball 41 times for 219 yards and three touchdowns to help the Comets post a 32-20 Suburban Lakes League victory over Eastwood at Freedom Field. The win was crucial for Genoa to winning its fourth straight SLL title.

Nutter won POY by two votes over Toledo Christian senior quarterback Nick Rightnowar, an Oregon resident who threw over 3,000 yards this season and 7,000 for his career. Northwood senior running back Zach Bermejo, who ran for 1,061 yards on 126 carries (8.4 per carry), finished a close third.

Also getting votes for Offensive POY were Eastwood running back Pernell Conner (940 yards on 188 carries, 20 touchdowns) and Oak Harbor back Jake Scott, who led area with 1,227 yards on 250 carries (4.9 per carry).

Hayes had 76 tackles for Genoa during the regular season to go along with a Press-area leading 25 tackles behind the line of scrimmage, combining tackles for a loss with sacks. Hayes also had an interception in Genoa’s playoff loss to Orrville which led to the Comet’s only touchdown.

But Hayes does not take all the credit for his team’s defensive prowess.

“You’ve got Matt Keaton at left tackle, and he’s probably one of the hardest hitters on the team, and he’s just mean. Then there’s Evan Wendt at left guard, and even though he’s only a junior, he’s come out there and really got the job done. He works hard,” pipes Hayes, dishing out props to his mates on the offensive and defensive lines.

“This team is about Kyle Nutter, who I love to death, because he just works so hard every day, and he deserves it,” adds Hayes. “It’s about (wide receiver) Garrett Scott, who you don’t hear about all the time, but who never gives up, and who had a great catch against Gibsonburg for a touchdown. It’s about (quarterback Josh) Bryer, who is becoming a great leader and handles himself really well out there, because he trusts us. It’s about throwing runners for a loss with my other defensive linemen, Justin Upham, and Casey Wojciechowski. It’s about (Devin) Sibby and David Cremean at the ends. It’s about Matt Murphy getting the chance to do some exciting stuff.”

Hayes has also answered a call on special teams as the team’s long-snapper. There, he helped all-star junior kicker Tyler Pickard boot 53 extra points and nine out of 12 field goal attempts during the regular season. Pickard, a first team kicker, had a Genoa record-setting field goal of 47 yards in Gibsonburg.

Hayes won Defensive POY by a huge margin, but Northwood linebacker Nick Whitmore, who led the area with 139 tackles and had 13 tackles for a loss, finished second. Also getting votes were Genoa middle linebacker Seth Dufendock, Clay linebacker Dylan Gore, Cardinal Stritch linebacker Mike Kiss, and Waite linebacker Garry Cummins.

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