FOOTBALL: Despite graduation losses, Oak Harbor has high hopes

Oak Harbor’s football program has won three consecutive conference championships, including the past two in NBC play, but the Rockets will have to find a way to replace several talented seniors in 2025.

“It was a really talented class,” 18th-year head coach Mike May said. “We had a lot of three-year starters there.”

Those losses include Michael Lalonde, who started the past three seasons at quarterback; Carson Ridener, who was a four-year starter on defense and three-year starter on offense; Jacob Ridener, who was a First Team All-Ohio selection on defense the past three seasons; and Tyler Thompson, who was a two-year starter at wide receiver.

All four of those players are reigning All-Ohio players.

At quarterback, the No. 1 guy right now is Breydan Porath, who will be a first-year starter as a senior.

“He's doing well,” May said. “He's been in our system, and he’s been our JV quarterback the last two years. He has experience running our offense and is doing a really good job leading our offense right now.”

With Thompson gone, Wyatt Augsburger, a returning starter, and Cooper Schultz will be the team’s senior wide receiver duo. Schultz started on defense last year.

May said the team also has some major contributors returning on the offensive line in reigning First Team All-Ohio selection Isaac Schulte and Alex Rife. Ryder Lindsay is also back as a starter at guard.

The Rockets will look to Hudson Lindsay at center and Bryar Myerholtz to fill in the other two spots on the offensive line.

On the defensive line, where Jacob Ridener was a First Team All-Ohio selection the past three seasons, the duo of Isaac Schulte and Hayden McGee return.

Garrett Perkins looks to slide into Ridener’s spot, while inside linebacker Travis Bouyer is back for his fourth year as a starter.

Going further on defense, there’s also a couple position changes. Schultz will move to free safety this year after starting at corner last year, while Blake Nickel is now at outside linebacker instead of defensive end.

Overall, the Rockets return five starters on offense and five on defense.

Another key returner is Micah Miller at inside linebacker, where he’ll step in for Carson Ridener. He didn’t start last year, but May feels he could be in for a breakout season.

“He played most of the Liberty Center game, which was our week 13 playoff game, because we had an injury, so he's got some big game experience,” he said.

Junior Braxtin Witt is another with breakout potential. He’s the starter right now at corner and is also a wide receiver.

In the backfield, the tandem of Nickel and Bouyer are expected to split carries and serve as co-starters in place of the departed Carson Ridener.

The Rockets will also play more of a tight end look this year, where the trio of Matthew Hubans, Perkins and Brayden Schultz will rotate.

“Competition-wise, I think our starters are pretty much set going into the end of the season,” May said.

May expects his team’s strengths to be its big game experience and depth up front on both lines.

“I like that our returning starters have a lot of big game experience,” he said. “When you look at the last couple of years and playing in key games in the regular season to win the league, we've been fortunate enough to win the league the last three years in a row, so they've all experienced big games. And also through the playoffs, they have big game experience.”

May also said that a key to his team’s success will be developing or getting explosive plays from their offensive skill positions.

“We’ve been very explosive on offense the last few years with a lot of big plays,” he said. “We just need those guys that are filling in and replacing those starters to continue to develop and give us those big play opportunities.”

With the departure of their talented senior class from last season, May feels that this year’s 15-member senior class will look to make a name for itself.

“Our senior class has kind of been in the shadows of that class that just graduated,” he said. “And I think they're kind of hungry and motivated to prove themselves. Their leadership has been really good so far.”

Oak Harbor opens its 2025 season at Huron on Aug. 22. Their home opener will be Sept. 5 against Port Clinton.

“We kind of have a mix of guys who are returning starters and have played some big games the last two years — league championship games and playoff games, and we also have quite a few new faces. But I like our depth. We have good depth along the offensive and defensive lines.

“What we're trying to build right now and establish is depth with the skill position players. We were hit pretty hard by graduation at the skilled positions on offense. But overall, our seniors have done a really nice job of leading our team, and I think our team chemistry is really good right now.”