Napoleon Football Preview

Napoleon is one of the most gritty teams in the area. They like to hit you and hit you again. They are always a physical and tough team that plays strong at the point of attack. Coach Strock always has his guys ready to go. They love being the smaller school in the NLL and they thrive off of the energy that gives them. Coach Strock has done a great job with the program and despite a mediocre 2020 season, the Wildcats are very excited for the 2021 season. Last year, despite all of the chaos they endured they managed to stay over .500 and finished 5-4. The Wildcats were up and down last year. They had a great stretch and then seemingly collapsed. They started 3-0 and were averaging 46 PPG but then they struggled down the stretch. They had a 3 game losing streak where they only managed 11 PPG. Napoleon's defense, despite the ups and downs, pitched 3 shutouts. They beat Maumee 56-0, Southview 35-0, and ended their season with a 28-0 game against Defiance at home on October 30th. The Wildcats have an array of different playmakers. Andrew Williams is their swiss army knife. He's 5'10" and 175 lbs. They use him in a few different areas. He's great in short area spaces and can make guys miss. He's able to bust long plays and take it to the house. He's shifty and they like to use him down the field and especially in the screen game. Joshua Mack is another guy the Wildcats will rely on. Mack is a very long kid who stands at 6'4" and 200 lbs. He's a very natural athlete and because of that, he plays both ways. He plays WR where they throw him jump balls and back-shoulder throws. He wins most of those contested catches. He will lay out and make a catch if needed. However, Mack thrives best on defense. He has great closing speed and has the ability to jump routes with ease. He's really good blitzing off the edge as well. He's so explosive that he has the ability to blow up read-option plays. The Wildcats leader on defense is their Junior Noah Leatherman. Leatherman plays both OLD and DE. They use him to drop back into coverage, rush the QB, and eat up gaps in the running game. He's spent his summer at camps working out. He was at Findlay's football camp this past summer. He puts the work in and wants to play at the next level. He's listed at 6'0" and 190 lbs but he's likely put on weight during this summer. The Wildcats start their season on the 27th of this month at home against Liberty Central at 7 PM. They rotate home and away games pretty regularly during their season but finish at home against Bowling Green on October 22nd. They're hopeful that with another year of work in the program and having more of a regular-season they can bounce back and have another winning season like they did back in 2019.