With the football team’s loss to Huber Heights Wayne on Friday, the 2014 fall sports season has officially come to a close. Though the Panthers didn’t win any State titles, it was still a highly successful season for the Football, CC, and Soccer teams.

A standout event from this season was Junior Joey Sabato’s epic five goal game against the McNicholas Rockets. Perhaps the most awesome event was the Football team’s 21-14 victory over #1 ranked powerhouse Lakewood St. Edwards.

Elder C.C., the Purple Pack, had a great year this year. Accomplishments include making it to Regionals and being named one of the top three teams in the district. Usually finishing within the top three teams at every meet, the Purple Pack definitely did a good job of competing. A highlight of the year came when Senior captain Michael Hushcart was named to the first team GCL.

I asked Junior Jacob Geiser for some early expectations of the Purple Pack for next season. He told me, “The team has a lot of depth with good runners like Ostertag, Mack, Kehling, Theders, and Barsan. Underclassmen that add to our depth are (currently) sophomore Ryan Schenkel and Freshman Nick Merk. Though our depth is good, the issue is varsity experience. Only three guys consistently ran varsity this year. While this could potentially cause a problem, I doubt it will phase us in the least. As long as our guys put in the work in the offseason and stay healthy, we should have a good season next year. In short, Elder C.C. has a clean slate, and all the talent and potential to do big things next year.”

The Elder Soccer team found much success this past season. Junior Joey Sabato had a storybook season, and is set to lead the team into the 2015 season. I asked Junior and former JV Captain, Adam “Deubs” Deuber to enlighten me in the successes of Elder Soccer and the future for the program. Deubs told me, “We had a good year considering the fact that we had a very young team. There were a couple of games that we probably should have won but that was all in the growing up process. We were the only team to score on X and beat them in the city. Winning a playoff game is always another positive to add to the year. Next year, we have ten-plus returning players so I expect big things. Our success will be determined by the work we put in during the offseason. We will have enough talent to make a run in the playoffs and anything can really happen after that…hopefully a state title”.

Elder’s most followed sport, Football, had a winning season. Though the Panther’s faced much adversity in the latter half of the season, they still gave it their all through thick and thin. Looking forward to next year, I asked junior sensation Peyton Ramsey a very simple question, what can Elder fans expect from the 2015 Varsity football squad. Ramsey told me, “Fans should look forward to watching a bunch of experienced guys that are hungry for a championship.”

I don’t know what I’m more excited about, the fact that Elder had a great 2014 season or the things to come in the 2015 season. Either way an important offseason for all three teams, and the work they put into it will determine just how successful they will be. One thing is for sure, every team has all the talent needed to make a deep post-season run.