Until then, he’ll settle for fulfilling the immediate goal of returning Carroll to its place among the area’s best high school football programs. To do that, the Patriots must first become a Greater Catholic League North Division contender.
“The GCL has a lot of tradition,” Tom said after practice last week. “There are a lot of powerhouses in the GCL. It’s one of the best conferences in Ohio. The thing about Carroll, we’ve been the laughingstock in the GCL for a while. We don’t want to do that anymore. We want to be one of those winning traditions that people talk about.”
That’s taking winning to heart. It’ll be up to Tom and 18 other seniors to do what no other Carroll team has done since 2010.
That was the last time Carroll posted a winning season (7-4) and qualified for the playoffs. The Patriots are 6-22 in divisional play since then, but all those wins were against GCL Central Division crossover teams. Carroll hasn’t beaten a GCL North rival since knocking Fenwick out of playoff contention in Week 10 of that 2010 season.
That’s a whole lot of wincing tradition that the Patriots hope to end as soon as possible. To do that, the Patriots will rally around that robust senior class and second-year head coach Ben Rulli.
A former standout lineman for the Patriots during their great playoff runs in the early 2000’s, Rulli left a successful private program at New Hampshire to pack some punch back into the Patriots.
“That’s the plan,” he said. “It’s a process. We had a great offseason. The boys worked hard in the weight room and we had great senior leadership. Those private victories that you have behind closed doors will eventually turn into Friday victories that the whole community wants to see. We’ve got to start somewhere.”
Rulli lured his father, Tom Rulli, out of retirement to once again serve as the Patriots’ defensive coordinator.
Last season started well for Carroll with Week 1-2 defeats of Meadowdale and Beavercreek. But the Patriots didn’t win again and lug an eight-game losing skid into an opener against Meadowdale that was pushed back a day to Friday, Aug. 28 at Welcome Stadium.
“It’s our second year with coach and that always helps,” Tom said. “We bring a ton of seniors back with a lot of playing experience. It’s always easier the second year with a coach. You know the expectations and you know the system.
“As a senior class, when we were young and coming up, we saw Carroll dominating. We want to do that again. We want to be the class that brings that dominance back.”
GCL North outlook: Alter is coming off a 14-1 season, losing only to Cleveland Benedictine 21-14 in the Division IV state championship. That was a senior-laden Knights team, which is the norm for highly successful head coach Ed Domsitz.
Despite those personnel losses, look for Alter to be among the region’s best. Domsitz is 220-59 in 24 combined seasons at Alter. The Knights have their traditional opener at neighboring rival Fairmont on Aug. 28.
“Coach Domsitz does a heck of a job at Alter,” Rulli said. “He built it on discipline and structure. That’s the same thing we’re doing here at Carroll.”
• Chaminade Julienne (5-5) was hardest hit by the senior transfers of quarterback Jacob Harrison (to Centerville), receiver/defensive back Tyler Traylor (Centerville) and defensive lineman Jeffery Pooler, 6-4, 270 (Dunbar).
Like Carroll, CJ also is looking to return to the playoffs and GCL North contention under head coach Marcus Colvin. CJ hosts Troy in its opener at Wayne on Aug. 27.
• Fenwick (6-4) takes a four-game win streak into its Aug. 28 opener at Anderson. That should provide some winning momentum for the Falcons and second-year head coach Joe Snively.
Ones to watch: Alter seniors Connor Ryan and Chris Beech will be hard to miss. Ryan is a 6-5, 255-pound menacing defensive lineman. Beech, 6-2, 270, is a load at center. He's verbally committed to Ball State University.
• Josh Simons, 6-2, 220, sr., TE/LB from CJ was a second team All-GCL North pick last season.
• Derson Pratt, 6-3, 255, sr., OT/DE from CJ also was a second team All-GCL North selection as a junior.
• Cory Hastings is an outstanding prospect at running back/linebacker for Carroll. At 6-2, 225, the senior has the experience and size to make a difference.
• Fenwick senior offensive linemen Sean Sherman and John Stomps were All-GCL North first team as juniors.
Key matchups: Alter gets every team's extra effort, so all of its divisional and crossover games are key. Also intriguing is a Week 3 contest against City League heavyweight Thurgood Marshall at Fairmont.
• CJ will host Alter in a Week 10 regular-season finale at Wayne. The extra interesting twist is this is a Saturday night game and could determine if either or both advance to the postseason.
• Fenwick is at D-II power Mount Healthy (12-1) in Week 2.
Notable: Because it doesn't have a home field, Alter will call Springboro, Fairmont and Franklin home this season. CJ is in its second season of playing home games at Wayne.
• All GCL games will start at 7 p.m.
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