ELYRIA — If you happen to see Elyria football coach Steve Hamilton driving around town, don’t expect him to check his rearview mirror.
All Hamilton wants to concentrate on is the road ahead as he prepares the Pioneers for their second season in the Valley Division of the Northeast Ohio Conference — arguably one of the strongest leagues in the state of Ohio.
Last season, Hamilton’s first as head coach, could only be described as ugly — the Pioneers struggling with a young, out-sized team against the likes of perennial playoff powers such as Brunswick, Solon, and Avon Lake, along with unusually strong senior classes from North Royalton and Parma. It added up to a 1-9 season, Elyria’s worst in a 114-year history.
“We don’t want to forget (last year), but we definitely want to move on,” Hamilton said. “I know the kids hurt last year. Anytime you go 1-9, you’re just trying to keep the morale of the team up. You’re trying to move forward and get better. We were playing an awful lot of young kids.”
Hamilton is hoping that’s the blessing in disguise.
“The kids showed a lot of character in the winter,” he said. “They knew what we had to do. Last year we just weren’t very strong, we were real young, but the kids got after it in the weight room.
“I kept telling them, ‘Don’t forget about it (last year) but just remember the pain you experienced every time.’”
Size and strength were the ingredients Elyria lacked a year ago. The Pioneers made the playoffs in 2005 and started the ’06 season at 5-0 with a strong class of seniors. Hamilton took over the program without much experience returning, knowing he’d be taking his lumps with an underclassmen dominated group.
Leadership was also lacking, but Hamilton expects senior Greg Davison and junior Isiah Byler to fill those roles this season.
“We’re real anxious to get going,” said Davison, a 6-foot-3, 230-pound fullback/defensive end. “We’re focused on the future and having a good season. It was obvious last year we needed to be stronger.”
“Last year left a sour taste in our mouths,” said Byler, a 6-5, 300-pound offensive lineman. “We didn’t like that bitter taste of losing. We think about it every night. We can’t wait to get going.”
“Our senior class this year is not very big in numbers,” Hamilton said, “but they’ve stepped up and they know exactly what we’ve got to do. They kind of took it on their shoulders to take up the leadership role and the younger kids are buying into the program.
“(Greg) worked his butt off in the weight room. He’s probably our strongest kid. (Isiah) has worked hard. He’s jumped rope every night. He’s out running miles even after I told him he didn’t really have to be out there running every night. They’re both leaders by example. A lot of kids are following that lead and moving forward.”
Elyria will have only 12 seniors on the team with 30 juniors and 20 sophomores, but 23 lettermen return from that mix.
“And we have 45 out for our freshman team,” Hamilton said. “That hasn’t happened in a long time.”
Elyria opens its season against Amherst. It’s the first time the schools have met since 1930. The remainder of the schedule is the same as last year.
“We’ve got to get out and jump on some people,” Hamilton said. “We play Amherst, Marion Harding and Avon Lake (in the first three games). Out of those games, we’ve got to win some ballgames.”

Contact Tim Gebhardt at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com 

ELYRIA PIONEERS
CONFERENCE: Northeast Ohio – Valley Division
2007 RECORD: 1-9 overall, 0-5 NEO Valley Division
COACH: Steve Hamilton, 2nd year (1-9)
RETURNING LETTERMEN: 23
RETURNING STARTERS: 9 (4 offense,
5 defense)
BY THE NUMBERS
3 — Years since Elyria reached the playoffs for the first time in school history.
88 — Yards traveled by Matt Arnold on a fumble recovery last year during Marion Harding, which accounted for the longest in EHS history.
9 — Elyria touchdowns that came on plays of 67 yards or longer last year.
FAST FACT
Elyria High has fielded football teams for 114 years with an overall record of
547-419-48 in 1,014 games (.566 winning percentage).

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