Club football looks to rebound after dissapointing season

The Wright State club football team hopes to regain their reputation as one of the most feared programs in the country after last season’s 5-5 campaign.

In their first season in 2009, the team went 7-0 and earned the title of MCFC champions and the top ranking in the national club football polls.

The 2010 team finished with an 8-2 record and claimed the third spot in the national poll.

Last year, the Raiders had their first non-winning season. But the team believes they have the pieces to compete for a club football national championship.

“Our expectations are as always to win the conference, but retaining players and building a stronger class is also an expectation,” defensive coordinator Keith Mora said. “However, the conference title is still within reach this season.”

Mora thinks WSU has the quality of players, just not the quantity. Only 25 players are currently on the roster as the season approaches.

“The only way it (few players on the roster) could affect us is with respect from the community and campus. They see so few guys and think we are a joke. We've had a couple guys quit because they don't like the low numbers. It's very frustrating,” Ryan Tucker (Sr.) said.

Tucker plays wide receiver, defensive end and punter for the Raiders this season. But he’s not the only one with a heavy workload as many players are expected to play on both sides of the ball.

To combat the shortage of players, Offensive Coordinator Aaron Stratton is installing a new offense to give opponents a different look. Stratton is replacing the option-style offense in favor of a pistol offense popular similar to what NCAA schools like Nevada use.

“It’s a style of offense that a lot of our opponents haven't seen so it should give them troubles,” Tucker said.

While the Raiders finished with a .500 record last season, the team went undefeated at the new Rinzler Student Sports Complex. In the past, home games were played at Bellbrook High School . The football team hopes to build what Mora calls a “true college atmosphere environment”. Aiding his vision are a new scoreboard for Mullholland Field and a 500 seats to accommodate larger crowds.

Club football plays an eight game schedule with four home games this fall. The home schedule opens against Ohio State on September 22nd with remaining home games against Onondaga Community College, Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Miami University.

Tickets are $2 for students and $5 for non-students.

If you are interested in joining club football, call Head Coach Paul Grimes at (614)-404-3309 or email him at coachgrimes@wsufootball.com.