SCIOTOVILLE — With small schools such as East, it’s always about playing a football numbers game.

But, the Tartans hold an experience card —in the form of seven seniors on a roster of 25, and a junior circuit to supplement.

That’s a far cry from only one 12th grader apiece — in both 2020 and 2021.

Following a 5-5 regular season in which East improved vastly at the end, can these Tartans take another step forward —in Adam Bailey’s fourth fall as head coach and 19th as East’s athletic director.

So far, from the summer reports, so good.

“We had a great summer, we averaged over 20 kids a day coming to summer workouts. Our numbers have stayed good and steady at 25 the last three or four weeks. For a school our size that’s pretty good,” said Bailey. “There’s things we need to get better at, but right now I am pleased with where we’re at and with what we’ve seen. Our attitudes have been really good about showing up and working to get better.”

The Tartans of 2022 did graduate eight seniors, including Austin Baughman at quarterback, Landehn Pernell at running back, and Keegan Jackson on the defensive line.

There was quality amongst that quantity, as on the all-Southeast District Division VII list, East ended up sweeping both Green and Notre Dame on the road —and got two first-teamers along with three Special Mentions.

Jackson repeated as a first-team defensive lineman — as Baughman made it as a first-time first-team QB.

The Tartans’ Special Mentions were Pernell, Tyell Baker and Dylan Fitzgerald —as Pernell was a three-time Special Mention pick, while Baker repeated to that level.

“For us, that’s a big class, especially in the last five to 10 years. We’ve got some shoes to fill in a lot of different spots with who we lost. Several of those kids played both ways,” said Bailey. “We have our work cut out for us filling some gaps and holes in key spots.”

Fitzgerald at fullback and Cam Justice at halfback are both four-year starters, and anchor down the defense as linebackers.

Another senior, newcomer Norris McKinley, could share several carries in East’s run-oriented offense —with Fitzgerald, Justice, and freshmen Jagger Childress and Amani Brown.

Both Brown and Childress could play perhaps outside linebacker, but Brown may be more of a defensive end —and Childress in the secondary.

Two juniors, Keegan Barker at tight end and Kaiden Huston at quarterback, can be expected to contribute in the ground assault as well.

Bailey said his offensive line — and his top backs — are big and experienced, but areas of improvement indeed exist.

“A lot of our seniors and juniors have played a lot the last two years. We have several of them back that played key roles in big games. On our (offensive) line is a slew of big kids, we have three juniors who have started since they were freshmen. We have a senior that played a good bit last year,” said the coach. “In any football game, the line of scrimmage is so key. We are big, but there are a lot of things we need to clean up. Just assignments, driving people off the ball after the point of contact and playing to the whistle. Defensively, we have a lot of guys in different spots, but we still have to fly around to the football and get multiple hats around the ball.”

Plus, with schools this small of size, staying healthy — especially at running back, up front or at inside linebacker — is arguably the tallest order.

“If you get a kid or two hurt it really makes big difference,” said Bailey. “Especially in certain spots.”

The Tartans did hit a rough spot last season, including not one but two regular-season losses to South Gallia, before East bounced back with the sweep of Notre Dame and Green.

Then, the third time was in fact the charm —as the host Tartans drew South Gallia in the Ohio High School Athletic Association state playoffs first round, and gained ultimate revenge with a win.

“We showed a lot of resolve last year. Really resilient the way they showed up every week and continued to work, even through that really bad stretch in the middle of the season. Regardless of the reason, the kids showed up, worked the right way and continued to want to improve and get better,” praised Bailey. “We did that throughout the end of the year, and I think that has carried over into the summer.”

It now has to carry over into the season.

East opened at Zanesville Rosecrans on Friday night, then hosts Manchester and has an open date on Sept. 8 —sandwiched around two more two-and-a-half hour road shows, at Miller (Sept. 1) and at Bradford (Sept. 15).

The Tartans’ trek closest to historic Allard Park?

At Symmes Valley in the hills of Lawrence County.

“Weeks one, three and five are all two-and-a-half hour trips. Our closest trip is Symmes Valley,” said Bailey. “I guess we’ll be road warriors this season.”

That may be true, but an experienced East squad should have numbers — and effort and work ethic — on its side.

“This has probably been one of our best summers getting the numbers up and getting kids here. It was rare when we didn’t have at least 20-some kids in the weightroom,” said Bailey. “For them, I think they got a little taste of success and I think they understand if they want it to continue, they are going to have to work.”

Reach Paul Boggs at (740) 353-3101 ext. 1926, by email at [email protected], or on Twitter @paulboggssports © 2023 Portsmouth Daily Times, all rights reserved