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| Friday, September 3, 2021
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Ready or not, here comes Ashland Rebuilding Grizzlies set for a return to varsity play in 2021 By Danny Penza Mail Tribune
ASHLAND — When Beau Lehnerz first took over the football program at Ashland High School in 2017, it was about building up a very young team at the varsity level. As Lehnerz enters his fifth year at the helm, that same theme is very much the case in 2021. Without playing a varsity schedule in the spring due to a handful of concerns that included player safety, Lehnerz always knew that the Grizzlies were going to be young when the regularly scheduled fall season arrived. And with only six seniors on the roster, that is still very much the case. But knowing that he and the Grizzlies have been in this situation before, he has a clear example of something to point
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for immediate results will be a thing that Lehnerz and his coaching staff expect to battle this season. Lehnerz fully admits that his team will take some lumps as the vast majority of his roster gets their first taste of varsity football. But what Lehnerz knows is that his team will be gaining valuable experience, a lot like the young Grizzlies in 2017 and 2018, that could very well pay off a year or two down the road. “Similar to the team that we had in 2019, a lot of those seniors, when they were sophomores, a lot of them were playing,” Lehnerz said. “That was my first Ashland High quarterback year as head coach, and they took Ronin Kimbrough is one their lumps. But they got better of the few seniors on the and better and better, and by the Grizzlies’ roster this fall. time they were seniors they had DENISE BARATTA / an amazing year. There’s a lot of FOR THE MAIL TRIBUNE similarities there that these kids are going to have to be thrown to as the end product for this ended up in the quarterfinals of about patience, and that’s really into the fire and compete and group of youngsters. the state playoffs in their senior been what we’ve been stressing take their lumps, but hopefully “We’ve had a young team year,” Lehnerz said, referenc- as much as we can just because grow from it.” before and we were 2-7, but ing the last time the Grizzlies we’re so young.” SEE ASHLAND, 13 those kids kept fighting and they played a varsity schedule. “It’s Impatience amid the desire
