Junior running back Braxton Taylor returns to anchor the Coldwater running attack in 2025. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
Coming off state title number eight, Chip Otten and the Coldwater Cavaliers go about their business in typical understated fashion. Competition for spots is the word of the day, and a respect for history is their compass.
Coldwater, OH – And then there was Coldwater…
Without a state record winning streak, and without four consecutive state titles, but nonetheless the eighth title in their storied run under coach Chip Otten has the appreciative and knowledgeable football wondering once again…where do they go from here?
And where do they start?
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Some would ask, “What start? Did they not do enough in the Division VI title win over favored Kirtland (31-7) to prove that talk of a rebuild in Coldwater borders on hyperbole? Since 2012 the Cavaliers have performed so consistently that some have called them “a lot like Marion Local, except not as publicized.”
Eight titles compared to fifteen, perhaps. And Coldwater has a six-game winning streak, compared to Marion’s 64-game streak.
Or, their only loss in a 15-1 title campaign last year came at the hands of, you guessed it…Marion Local. Hence, you won’t find panic headlines about a Coldwater rebuild. And you have to go looking for what you want to know about how Otten and the Cavaliers have handled their latest adjustment for another season.
There are returning lettermen, of course, and Otten makes no bones about dancing with the girl you brought to the dance. And for 2025 it’s junior tailback Braxton Taylor, the fastest in a long line of Cavalier tailbacks, who without fanfare last year accumulated 700 yards and 10 touchdowns as a complement (not a backup) to seniors Cody Depweg and Miles Pottkotter.
“He can run, and people did overlook those 700 yards and 10 touchdowns last year,” says Otten. “And if you’ve got a player like Braxton why not give him 25 carries a game?”
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OK, but most teams play with eleven, and Coldwater (like Marion) lost a high percentage of the eleven that really counted in 2024, including quarterback Baylen Blockberger, Depweg, and Pottkotter…three of the most dependable players in all of Ohio football.
But Depweg and Pottkotter were also versatile, and their example no doubt rubbed off on Taylor.
“Even with Cody and Miles in the game we could bring in Braxton and have him as a fifth receiver, because he’s a good receiver,” says Otten, a hint of what opponents dread when they play Coldwater. There’s always one more card in the deck.
Attack on offense, and a swarming defense helped Coldwater to their eighth state title last December with a win over Kirtland.
“Now we can just keep him in all the time. And people might say there’s no way that he had 700 yards and 10 touchdowns. But he got a lot of good, sneaky reps last year.”
With Blockberter, Depweg, Pottkotter and key positions on their line now gone, Otten views his own reboot much like Tim Goodwin.
“Last year we kinda’ knew who was going to be in the main spots,” he says. “But now you start over, with different kids, and that’s what makes it exciting. There’s no transfer portal in Mercer County, and we’ve had some really good competition. So we may not have this or that, but we go with the guys we got. That makes it fun and the kids are doing what we’re asking them to do. They may not be as good, yet, but you plug in the pieces and see if they don’t get better.”
Their concepts on both offense and defense are so reliable that opposing teams take notice and try to imitate what Coldwater does – the way they do it year after year. Attack on offense…and swarm to the ball on defense.
“You watch them play and you wish your team played like Coldwater,” Rob Woodward, Wheelersburg’s fine coach, said following a playoff loss to the Cavaliers in 2015. “They execute, and they play with confidence. We tell our kids…play like Coldwater.”
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That was three titles ago, and after their impressive four-peat between 2012 and 2015. Since, in the following decade they’ve won but twice (2020, ’24), but never vary from the system that develops players ready to step in, year after year. History has shown that they’re there, waiting to play!
Blockberger was the prototype at quarterback…throw when you need, run if it’s there, and always in control. And this week Otten announces that junior Karsyn Homan will assume the responsibility for 2025 – Coldwater’s quarterback.
“Karsyn played almost every snap at quarterback on the JV team last year,” Otten begins. Caleb Schroer played wideout on that JV team, and those were the two that we chose from to play quarterback. If we had to play tomorrow Karsyn would be the starter and Caleb would go back to receiver. I know he’s disappointed, being a senior and wanting to be the quarterback, but Karsyn (5’9″) knows how to play. And make no mistake, so does Caleb. It was a hard decision. But Caleb will be a full-time starter on both sides of the ball, they’re good teammates, and we felt like we had to make that decision.”
The lasting reminder…NEVER GIVE IN!
And there are still decisions to make from a roster of about 61 players, a bit smaller than Coldwater teams of the past…but the expectations won’t change, nor the personality imbued by Otten and his staff.
“We’ve had the conversation with them,” says Otten. “We told them…Cody Depweg and Miles are not coming back. This is your time. And they’ve got a lot of pride, their own expectations, so we have to find the pieces, put ’em out there, and see what happens. They’re doing all the things that our guys did last year, good or not, and everyone has to go through that. But I know they want to keep their place in line with those teams in the past.”
It started under John Reed, that first state title in 2005, followed two years later with a second in ’07. He passed away in 2010, leaving the program in the hands of former player, and assistant, Chip Otten, and probably without reservation. John Reed was known to have that kind of confidence in the people around him. His expectations served as a cornerstone for the future, six more titles, and the respect of rival coaches like Rob Woodward. You never underestimate Coldwater, regardless of graduation.
And so the question…what would Reed have thought about the evolution of Cavalier football (178 wins and 31 losses, 6 state titles) in the past fifteen seasons – and prospects for the new one?
“That’s a great question,” Otten began. “And I think he should be pleased – proud that so many of his guys that played for him are coaching here now. And while there are different personalities, we still have a similar approach.
“We try to be disciplined. We try to do things the right way. And importantly, that the old guys continue to help the young guys. He was always big on that. He’d say, ‘If you really want to be successful you have to help someone else.’ And our coaches and players have continued to do that. We don’t just focus on coaching the starters. You never know what can happen in a couple of years.”
Or when the next frog will become a prince.
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