Looking for the schools twenty-third Northern Ohio League Championship, one thing remains the same in Bellevue. The Redmen have a wealth of big-play players returning for the 2004 campaign. "We have good team speed and experience at the skilled positions", said Redmen headcoach Ed Nasonti who's entering his 14th season as coach of his Alma Mater. Headlining those playmakers is senior tailback Greg Keys who has received attention from a number of division one-college football programs. Keys will have a veteran group of nine seniors surrounding him on offense yet the offensive line will be inexperienced with only one returning starter in Keith Didion. On the defensive side of the ball the Redmen look to replace as many as five starters between the D-line and line-backing core that were responsible for the leagues second ranked defense verse the run last year. In all, 18 lettermen return from last seasons NOL co-championship team. Coach Nasonti has been pleased with the progress of his team these past couple weeks including two solid scrimmages verse Sandusky High and the teams annual preview against the Polar Bears of Margaretta. Its no secret the Redmen should be able to put up some big numbers on the scoreboard again this year but much will be determined on how the offensive and defensive lines come together over the first three weeks of the season. Bellevue will be tested early with a week 1 road game verse division 5 power Delphos St. John's. Delphos who won three straight state championships from 1997 to 1999 and recorded 57 straight victories from November 1, 1996 to November 17, 2000 return their own division one college recruit in fullback Matt Schumaker who ran for over 2,100 yards last season. The Redmen then tangle with non-league foes Ashland and route 20 rival Clyde before opening NOL play at Galion.

Media's 2004 Predicted League Finish : 2nd

Passing: Jon Journay
94 comp. 170 att., 1230 yds, 13 td's 7 int's

Rushing: Greg Keys
144 att., 1065 yds., 15 td's

Receiving: Cody Koselke
29 rec., 421 yds., 7 td's

Scoring: Greg Keys
15 td's, 90 pts.

Punting: Greg Keys
24 att., 39.3 avg.

Kicking: Cory George
1/2 XPA - 0/0 FGA

Tackles: Alex Malott
55 tackles and Brian Palsa with 50 tackles

Sacks: Joe Miller and Alex Malott
each with 1 sack

Interceptions: Brian Palsa
5 ints

Kickoff returns: Greg Keys
6 ret., 40.8 avg.

Punt returns: Brian Palsa
5 ret., 28.0 avg.

Written by XBellevueplayar

Defensive line:
  Graduation took the likes of Aaron Decker, Jordan Berberick, Mike Snyder and Tyler Edgington but people tend to forget that three of those four were all first year starters last season and yet preformed extremely well on Friday nights. Senior Joe Miller (6'3" 255) who saw a good amount of action at defensive tackle last year will slide over and play the end position while junior Eddie Hupp (5'10" 180) will get the bulk of the action at the other end spot. Keith Didion will be the anchor on the defensive line at tackle while sophomore Geoff Dendinger (5'8" 190) will remind everyone of former defensive linemen Brad and Brian Weider who started for the Redmen as sophomore's during the 1989 season. Seniors Chad Zeiber, Tyler VanFleet and sophomore Tyler Kubach should spell the starters a breather.

Linebackers:
   The Redmen line-backing core should be solid this year with Senior co-captain Alex Malott (6'0" 195) anchoring his familiar position in the middle. Junior Derek Kinderman (6'0" 205) will be the other starter in the middle as he has plenty of game experience filling in for an injured Malott late last season. Outside the Redmen will have a lot of quickness with Junior Tim Keegan (6'0" 175) and senior co-captain Brain Palsa moving from his safety position. Anthony Flores (5'10" 160), Geoff Dendinger (5'8" 190) and Cory George (5'7" 165) all are in search of playing time.

Secondary:
  The defensive backfield will have plenty of youth and outside of junior corner back David Foos (6'0" 170) there is not much experience returning. Brian Palsa a mainstay at safety the past couple seasons was moved up to the linebacker position to help get better use of his solid tackling skills. Junior Dan Wollenslegel (5'9" 165) replaces Palsa as the team's safety. The Redmen's other corner position will be filled by sophomore standout Derrick Berberick who was one of three freshmen playing on the junior varsity squad last year or on Friday nights. Berberick reportedly ran around a 4.38 in the 40-yard dash this past spring and he has all the skills to excel as a solid cover corner. Linebacker Brian Palsa will be the premier backup at his old safety position for Wollenslegel while seniors Cody Koselke (6'2" 190) and Jarrid Breyman (6'4" 195) will be in the two deep at corner.

Special teams:
   Greg Keys returns as this year's punter after averaging 36 yards per punt last season. Mike Snyder and his accurate extra point attempts are absent from this year's team but enter sophomore kicker Nate Thompson (6'1" 215) who won some awards while attending the Ohio State camp this summer as a kicker. Thompson looked to have some distance on his extra point attempts during the final tune up for the season this past Friday night. Sharing the punt and kick return duties will be Keys, Palsa and Koselke.