Chargers tackling summer without Hall

MONROEVILLE — It's been an unusual summer for Edison's football team. Head coach Jim Hall retired from his teaching position, and the district's union agreement prevents him from coaching until official practices start on August 1. So the Chargers have spent these preparation days without pads and without the program's long-time leader. "It's been really interesting," assistant Kyle Cory said. "We have a really experienced staff. He has put so much in place over his time, and we have been working with him hand-in-hand. He's sent the practice plans every day. We really haven't truly missed a beat." Edison's summer work reached its final key point Wednesday night in Monroeville, when the Chargers faced off in 7-on-7 passing action against the Eagles. In some ways, it was a bit of an odd matchup — two teams that will run the ball a heck of a lot this season being forced to do nothing but pass. But it was Edison's third 7-on-7 of the month, and they've grown in every opportunity available to them. "With the amount of athletes we have this year, it allows us to see what it looks like opening the field up a little bit," Cory said. "We have athletes all over the field, and to get them to be able to compete in this kind of scenario, we may need some of this stuff in a game." The focus in 7-on-7 usually falls on the quarterback spot, and that's part of what has made this month so useful for Edison. The Chargers are replacing graduated star Marcus Medina, who will play football for the University of Findlay. Into his place steps another standout wrestler and baseball player, Abe Hermes. "First off, Abe is a champion," Cory said. "He's a team champion in wrestling, an individual champion in wrestling. Having that type of leadership, you can't quantify it. Him getting these reps is invaluable." On Wednesday, Hermes threw five touchdowns across the night's action. He completed two beautiful passes over the top to fellow senior Grayson Smith, including one while on the run rolling out to his left. "He has a cannon," Cory said. "Just getting him to be able to see everything and read defenses is really the most important." Edison's experienced coaching staff has leaned on Cory this month in the absence of Hall, who was at the field Wednesday night. The team's defensive coordinator played under Hall and returned after only two years away in the early 2010s to rejoin the staff. Cory had to like what he saw at the tail end of Wednesday's 7-on-7 action. After each team alternated 10-play offensive drives, they changed into competition mode — with first downs and touchdowns or the end of a drive. In that format, Edison ended Monroeville's first three drives with interceptions — two by Bryson Wittmer and one by Grayson Smith on a one-handed snag. "To be able to see us make the plays that were necessary was huge," Cory said. "To see the change going to down-and-distance with a little added importance, and to see our guys compete at that level, was invaluable and hopefully that builds for the season to come." The Chargers also had three interceptions earlier in the evening from lanky junior Coltyn Meagrow. "He is one of the guys that I think has impressed us as a coaching staff this offseason," Cory said. "I'll tell you what really helped him was basketball season, he got some experience. Him being able to feel that competition, I think he guarded (Margaretta's) Julian Washington one game. Being able to compete at that level really helped going into this year. We're pretty excited for him." Prior to Wednesday, Edison had competed well in four-team 7-on-7 events at Kirtland and Brookside. "Our kids have competed really well," Cory said. "It's been a nice 7-on-7 season. We went toe-to-toe with Kirtland, and two days later they went to the Browns event and beat Glenville. And I thought we matched up athletically with Kirtland, and I thought that was pretty impressive." It won't be long now until the pads are back on and Edison can get back to its triple-option mojo. The returns of running backs Wittmer and Cy Finnen create an intimidating combination for opponents to deal with behind an experienced offensive line. "The one thing we have to work on is the run game, which obviously will be the most important part of our team," Cory said. "But we'll be able to hit the ground running now that we've had all these days in the summer. Everything is installed, and we've been able to build up and compete at the level that we need to." The emergence of Hermes and some athletes on the perimeter has only added to the intrigue heading into a promising season that will kick off Aug. 23 at Firelands. "We think that we have the standard, we have the expectation," Cory said. "We just have to build and get to that level. The nice thing is, we don't have to be at that level today. That level is Week 1 against Firelands. That's what we need to get to, and these days in July are just building blocks for that first week."