BOWLING GREEN — The experienced Bowling Green Bobcats are diversifying their offensive attack with a pair of dynamic senior running backs providing the bulk of the punch.
First-year BGHS coach Shawn Kiss, a longtime Bobcats assistant, plans to challenge opposing defenses in a variety of ways.
“The big goal this year was to open up the playbook on offense. We can't be one-dimensional like we were last year,” Kiss said. “We've got to be able to move the ball and keep defenses on their heels.”
Led by a run-oriented offense, the Bobcats finished 5-6 in 2023. Senior running backs Jackson Shafer and Ja'ceous “Jay” Shannon combined for 1,769 rushing yards and 25 touchdowns.
“We're definitely excited to have coach Kiss,” Shafer said. “He's opening up the playbook. We're all getting some more looks. We're going to mix it around with the more athletic kids in different spots.”
Shannon, who rushed for a team-high 1,134 yards and 14 touchdowns, said he has been involved in the throwing game in past seasons. But he said Kiss wants to put all of his players in the best position for the team to succeed.
“Coach Kiss really knows how to utilize us and he knows exactly where to put us,” Shannon said. “And we do a lot of experimenting. So if some things don't work, it doesn't matter. One thing that I'm looking forward to is being in multiple spots. We're going to be a threat in any way possible.”
BG has 17 returning letter winners, including 23 seniors. Senior quarterback Jamison Horst is back and ready for a bigger role in the offense.
“We're real heavy with experience, and we're going to lean into that,” Kiss said.
Last season, BG qualified for the Division III playoffs. But the Bobcats, longtime members of the Northern Lakes League, did not win a game in the revamped league. BG went 0-4 in the newly formed, smaller-school NLL Cardinal Division.
But the Bobcats beat two teams in the league's bigger division, NLL Buckeye, with wins over Springfield and Northview. BG is the second smallest school in the NLL with only Napoleon having a smaller enrollment.
“It's tough football,” Kiss said of the NLL.
And that's the exact brand Kiss and his players will employ. BG last won a league title in 2000.
“We're definitely a really physical team,” Shafer said on Day 1 of fall practice last week. “We're out there, and even the scout team is buzzing around. We're all hitting each other out, but we're having fun.”
Shafer, a 6-foot-1, 217-pound bulldozer, carried 92 times for 635 yards and scored 11 touchdowns last season.
Shafer said the BG attack does not rely solely on himself and Shannon.
“We have lots of weapons. So it's nice to get a lot of relief,” Shafer said. “We have athletic guys. When I'm blocking out there for them, it's nice.”
Shannon, a 5-8, 178-pound back, averaged 9.5 yards per carry and scored 1.3 touchdowns per game. This year, Shannon will play primarily out of the slot position.
Kiss called Shannon a home-run hitter and a great leader.
“They can expect us to go out there and fight to the very last play of the fourth quarter,” said Shannon, a four-year letter winner. “We're going to control what we can control. Hopefully we'll come out with wins and come out with a title. We're just going to do what we've got to do and execute.”
The Bobcats lost another 1,000-yard rusher, Peyton Harris, to graduation. Kiss said he plans to line the returning duo up in “exotic ways.”
“We'll use them as H-backs, as running backs, we use them as receivers,” Kiss said. “They do all the dirty work but they're both so talented that it opens up the playbook to a lot of possibilities, a lot of different looks that we can give a defense.”
Bowling Green produced a long string of success in the late 1990s. The Bobcats captured four straight NLL titles from 1995-1998. BG won eight NLL titles in a span of 13 years from 1988-2000.
Kiss coached under Dirk Conner and Josh Wade before taking over this season. Kiss, who also is an assistant track coach, ran track at Ashland University. He is a native of Brunswick, Ohio.
“This is a community that I've just fallen in love with. I'm excited,” Kiss said. “I feel like I've done a good job of preparing myself along the way and I can't wait to get going. There's no other job that I'd rather have.”
Kiss said his team had great summer attendance where all of his basic offensive and defensive playbooks were installed.
“We're just kind of continuing what we've been doing in the summer. It just transitions right into our first day of fall practice, which is great,” he said.
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