“Changing the schedule was a priority. We want to get more competitive – want to compete against some of the more defined schools in the area.” – Lehman coach Dwane Rowley. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
Playoff success was once the norm for Lehman Catholic. Now with a quarterback like Turner Lachey and playmakers around him, Dwane Rowley’s Cavaliers are aiming to be tougher and more ready for the Division VII postseason.
(Ed. Note: Veteran writer Marcus Hartman joins Press Pros as a member of our coverage staff after a lengthy career with Cox Sports Media Group covering the OHSAA, the Reds, Bengals, Ohio State and the University of Dayton. He has previously worked for the Dayton Daily News, the Springfield Sun, Buckeye Sports Bulletin, Fox Sports Ohio, and the Associated Press.)
By Marcus Hartman for Press Pros Magazine
Sidney, OH – Past is prologue in high school football, at least until it’s not.
The drive up I-75, or any other major road or many minor roads, for that matter, is littered with programs once formidable but now fighting for headlines and past glory.
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Especially at smaller schools, where talent levels are more even and hard work is a greater differentiator with fewer kids from which to draw players, motivation is major.
Veteran columnist Marcus Hartman writes the OHSAA, Ohio State, and sports at large for Press Pros Magazine.com.
Winning can begat winning. Last year’s wins don’t remove the necessity for hard work, but they can make those long winter days in the weight room and long summer days of conditioning easier to stomach.
Proof of concept is important, and confidence has no substitute when most of the players are around the same size and speed.
A proud history can be a blessing and a curse, more the former than the latter with the right mix of people, and that seems to be the case at Lehman Catholic these days.
As the Cavaliers prepare for the 2025 football season, the big blue scoreboard by the school in Sidney presents a clear reminder of what once was.
They have 20 playoff appearances, including three in the 1990s when far fewer teams made the postseason and another seven from 2000-10 after the field expanded to eight per region (so making it was still far from easy).
Lehman made the state final four three times during the latter run and has four state semifinals appearances overall (1993, 2001, ’08, ’10). But more recently the Cavs endured four straight losing seasons from 2019-22.
Lehman’s CJ Olding is a major offensive threat as a receiver…combined with teammate Evan O’Leary for 2,500 yards in 2024.
That came to an end in 2023 when Lehman went 8-3 in Dwane Rowley’s first year as head coach. The Cavaliers improved to 9-3 last season, but 2024 ended on a sour note with a 60-20 loss to Ansonia in the second round of the Division VII playoffs.
Add in a 46-14 loss at Northridge in Week 10, and it’s safe to say Rowley and his players feel like they have something to prove as they sweat through August workouts.
“We’ve put in a lot of work in the offseason, had 6 a.m. weight lifting all throughout basketball season and in the spring, and we had longer practices this summer, and we’re hoping that pays off and we have a good season ahead of us,” offensive lineman Jace Olding said.
He is among a group of seniors Rowley is counting on to lead the Cavaliers to bigger and better things — the types of things Lehman football used to do.
The core group also includes CJ Olding, who made first-team All-Three Rivers Conference as a receiver and defensive back, and Evan O’Leary, who made the first team as a tight end and return specialist.
Then of course there is the straw that stirs the drink: Multiport standout Turner Lachey.
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Lachey made second-team All-Ohio after throwing for 3,274 yards and 41 touchdowns, while O’Leary (1,462 yards on 85 catches) made the first team and CJ Olding (1,013 yards on 46 catches) was on the third team. But numbers are secondary to the head coach.
“So they’ve really stepped up to the calling, not only this year from the leadership, but even last year, they were leaders ahead of the senior class,” Rowley said.
After falling one game short of a conference championship last year and bowing out of the playoffs in blowout fashion, the Cavaliers are not shy about saying they have bigger goals this fall.
Lehman tight end/kick returner Evan O’Leary led the Three Rivers Conference in receiving last year with 85 catches for 1,462 yards.
To win a conference title, to advance deep into November, they know they need to block, throw, catch and carry better.
They also see the need to cultivate the clutch gene.
“When it was a big game, we kind of tucked our tails a little bit,” said Lachey, who embraces the role of quarterback “because you get the ball every play. If you win, it’s on you. If you lose…it’s on you.”
Rowley agreed with his assessment.
“Like Turner said, we’ve not learned how to overcome that obstacle,” the coach said. “As I said, challenges got tough, historically we would just fold. But we’ve added some pressure during practices and in our film sessions. They’ve been standing up and not backing down but actually harnessing it and taking it internally and building on it.”
The players sounded like they understand the assignment, both in terms of winning for themselves and those who came before them in the Lehman program.
“The tradition that we have, it’s nice to know we’re able to come have a winning program,” Jace Olding said. “We have a very tough region, and to be able to compete with that is a blessing in disguise. In our conference you’re gonna play all sorts of offenses and all sorts of teams, but once you get up here in the MAC and all that you’re playing against smash-mouth. It’s just different. You’re gonna play a run-heavy team.”
The straw that stirs the drink…quarterback Turner Lachey is likely the TRC’s best athlete, threw for 3,200 yards and 41 touchdowns in 2024.
In a somewhat ironic twist, they are set to open the season against another team trying to recapture lost glory, and one that knows first-hand about the grind of the MAC.
Delphos St. John’s was the preeminent program not just locally but throughout the state in the late 1990s and early 2000s before Marion Local caught, and surpassed, them.
The Blue Jays won six state titles from 1997-2010, but last year was the first time they won more than five games in a season since going 8-5 in 2017.
“That was one of the first things I wanted to do was change up our schedule,” Rowley said. “We want to get more competitive, so we’re playing Delphos St John’s, bringing Fort Loramie back on the schedule this year, and we really want to compete against some of the bigger schools – not bigger schools (in size), but the more defined schools in this region.
The Blue Jays and the Cavaliers both made the playoffs regularly even when one game like this season-opener could make or break their chances to reach Week 11.
Things are no longer that way, but there is still something to be said for pride being on the line any given Friday night — especially when there are winning traditions to be reclaimed.
“If you look at your tradition back in the early 2000s, Delphos was the standard for high school football. Now it’s Marion,” Rowley said. “So in order to get ready for the Marions and the Minsters, we want to prepare against some of those MAC schools and the tougher competition.”
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