Muscle Connection H.S. Football Preview: Leetonia Bears - WFMJ.com News weather sports for Youngstown-Warren Ohio

It's been a tough go for the Leetonia football program over the years, but with eight starters back on both sides of the ball, the Bears are hoping to turn the corner.

"We're kind of bouncing guys around. Looking at them. But every where else, we have our returners. So we're excited about that. We're pretty solid in the secondary, plus the addition or Roman Ferry helps that even more." said coach Hadi Hadi. 

Ferry fills the halfback spot along with some other returners. 

"Once we find the right fit for Colton Barsey on offense,  I think he's going to be a huge contributor. He's a big kid, at 6'0", 240 pounds, very athletic.  Isaac Thompson is back, so we're excited about having Isaac back. But we have some pretty young kids. We're excited the average weight is probably 230 right now, they need groomed. They are young, but they are surprisingly strong and athletic. So we' re excited about that," Coach Hadi said.

Defensively, the Bears return some quality players. "Tyler Heffner, who's going to be a senior, is going to move into the inside linebacker. He's been playing there. Him and Colton Barsey are going to be inside. Those two are probably going to be the guys and we're looking for some leadership from Logan  Lenick.  Derrick Rosen is a senior. He's going to be back in the secondary with the other guys. Those are primarily juniors Brock Simpson and Roman and Chris," said Hadi. 

Leetonia finished 1-9 last season. They kick off this year against Lowellville on Friday, August 25th.