2026 McClain Tigers Football Preview

GREENFIELD — The McClain Tigers football team is set to start the 2026 season by adding to all they gained playing in the tough Frontier Athletic Conference last fall. 

The Tigers were a young team gaining varsity experience under the Friday night lights a season ago, and their 10-game schedule wasn’t easy, especially playing in the FAC with the likes of Jackson, who, once again, won the conference championship in ’25.

McClain finished the ‘25 season at 0-5 in the FAC and 3-7 overall with non-conference victories against the Adena Warriors (20-0), Paint Valley (35-22),and East Clinton (54-0). Though the Tigers lost their final six games of the ’25 season, they still fended off opponents by scoring no less than six points in each of those final six games, as they were not shut out all season.

MHS also finished the ’25 season with 247 points scored, and they allowed 316 points with 202 of those points allowed coming in five FAC games. 

McClain’s roster consists of the following players: Gavin Anderson, Landon McNeal, Taitum Lyons, Leiland Bond, Hudson Lovett, Julian Swan, Rooker Stark, Holden Clendaniel, Brady Binegar, Holden Lyons, Jodeci Rickman, Hunter Peabody, Justin Scott, Bentley Marsh, Ryan Roeder, Bryson Bihl, Cain Ackley, Haydn Faulconer, Ross Roman, Kai Cornett, Hunter Skaggs, Charlie Gipson, Michael Foley, JP Williams, Aiden Whitten, De’andre Ford, Jayce Storts, Kamden Penwell, Peyton Alexander, Gavin Watson, Kentley Patterson, Ethan Fryer, Lucas Warren, Luke Sanders, Noah Sponcil, Cameron Skaggs, Chase Minzler, Leland Corey, AJ Louk, Camden Barrett, Peyton Grate, Robert Long, Isaac Lee and Parker Beatty. 

This is a new season, and head coach Keith Penwell spoke about how much the Tigers have worked this offseason. 

“The kids have worked hard, and they have been pretty consistent in the weight room,” he said. “They have shown up every day with a great attitude, and they are working hard. They are good kids, and we are pushing them harder this year. We’ve got some more experience this year, but we are still young, that's the thing. We are still young, but we have more experience. We have some guys who have been starting for three years now, and they will just be juniors. 

“That leadership should help us there as we go forward. We return quite a bit. Pretty much all of our skill guys return. We lost a couple, but overall it has been pretty good this summer.”

Having a good number of the skill players returning to the team is huge for Coach Penwell as the preseason eventually turns into the regular season. With McClain still being a young team, Penwell spoke more in-depth about how important the experience gained the past couple seasons by the Tigers will help with their overall abilities this season. 

“Just having the experience is key,” Penwell said. “Getting in the right spot, running routes correctly, creating space, that takes time, and they are starting to figure out the spacing and the timing with Hudson (Lovett), which has been really good.”

In ’25, the Tigers had two first-Team All-FAC selections, those being quarterback Hudson Lovett and now-graduated linebacker Andrew Roeder. All-District selections for MHS in ’25 were Lovett (first team, Div. IV) and Roeder (special mention, Div. IV). With the graduation of Roeder, the Tigers’ defense loses 83 tackles (33 solo tackles), four tackles for loss and the experience of the three-year varsity player. 

Also with Lovett, he was also a Div. IV All-Ohio honorable mention selection at quarterback last season as a sophomore. 

Also returning for McClain is senior defensive tackle Noah Sponcil, who as a junior totaled 33 tackles, five tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks, as he will be a four-year varsity player this season. 

Wide receiver and defensive back Hunter Peabody will be a junior in ’26, and during his sophomore season he totaled 39 tackles, one interception, eight pass deflections, and on offense he collected 291 yards with 63 yards rushing and a total of three touchdowns. 

Leiland Bond returns for his senior season, and last year the wide receiver/defensive back finished his junior season with 275 yards receiving with seven touchdowns, plus he led the Tigers with four interceptions. 

Lovett — who will be a junior in ’26 — played in 10 games last season as a sophomore and finished with 1,440 yards passing, 15 touchdown passes and 839 yards rushing with 11 rushing touchdowns. 

“We’ve had some really good passing scrimmages this summer,” Penwell said. “We've challenged them this summer with the passing scrimmages, and they have really done a nice job. Passing wise, we looked pretty good in those scrimmages.

“Hudson is a great talent. He can run it, and he can spin it. It is no secret, everybody around knows he is a pretty good quarterback, and now he’s taken more of a leadership role. He can audible at the line of scrimmage now. He is picking up coverages. Hudson is a student of the game, and he works hard at what he does. He has great instincts and made some plays last year where we didn’t draw them up that way, but he makes plays. He is just a super good athlete and an even better young man.”

Speaking of the quarterback’s leadership skills, Lovett is setting an example as he works on his football craft on his own time, and the receivers and running backs have also joined in, with Penwell saying it is like having leadership by committee. 

“Hudson comes in on his own time with the receivers and comes in early in the morning, and they practice on their own,” Penwell said. “They are dedicated, and Hudson had taken that leadership role and gone with it. We are excited to see what he does.

“He had a great year last year (Lovett as a sophomore) where he threw for over 1,400 yards and almost rushed for a 1,000, so that’s a pretty good year for a quarterback. Hopefully he is going to keep growing and he’s going to keep getting better, and the kids around him will get better because he is that kind of kid, and his teammates have gotten better. Those receivers and running backs have taken on leadership roles too. It is almost they lead by committee and they lead in different ways. It has been really positive. 

“They hang out together, and it is a pretty tight-knit group.”

The running backs for McClain (who will also be receivers with the five-wide looks the Tigers have on offense) will be a committee consisting of Landon McNeal, Brady Binegar, Holden Lyons, Bentley Marsh, Hunter Peabody and Holden Clendaniel. Playing receiver will be Leiland Bond, Gavin Anderson, Taitum Lyons and Charlie Gipson.

“They (running backs/receivers) have another year of experience and another year of maturity. Once again, they did this last year, and understanding the offense better and quicker is exciting. Hudson has been throwing to these same kids for three years now,” Penwell said. “Like before, they show up on their own in the morning at seven or eight o’clock and run their routes and then go to weight lifting. They do that – I don’t ask them to, they just do it.”

No team is competitive without a solid offensive line, and McClain will be no different. Their o-line will consist of Kam Penwell (guard), Ethan Fryer (tackle), Noah Sponcil (center/tackle), Cam Barrett (center), Peyton Alexander (guard), Jayce Storts (guard), Leland Corey (tackle), Hunter Skaggs (guard/tackle), Chase Minzler (tackle) and some young players who are still learning at the varsity football level. 

“Coming in last year, everything was new, so we changed a lot of things up last year, but this year they picked up from last year, knowing we always need to get better, but it is moving along faster than last year,” Penwell said of the o-line. “I think that repetition has some confidence going.”

The tight ends for the offense of McClain are Leiland Bond and Bryson Bihl. 

“Bryson didn’t play last year, but is coming back and he’s a tight end, a bigger kid who can run. He’s athletic. Both Leiland and Bryson will play wide out and tight end depending on our formation call,” Penwell said.
The defense of the Tigers has been working on improving too, and they expect to be stronger than they were a season ago.

“We return quite a bit on defense too. The secondary we return everybody. Leiland Bond led the FAC last year. Hudson will play a little bit of defense this year at safety, and he’s pretty excited about that. We have Gavin Anderson at corner, Hunter Peabody at corner and Leiland Bond can play corner. He is one of those guys who is going to play everywhere. He’s smart, and he’s football smart. Leiland is going to play safety,” Penwell said. “Holden Clendaniel has been doing a good job for us, and safety-wise Brady Binegar and Holden Lyons are both back. 

“Our linebackers, Landon McNeal had some time at linebacker last year, Camden has started for two years for us at linebacker, and Julian Swan is a senior and he had some time last year. Bryson Bihl and Bentley Marsh are both linebackers,,and those guys will be rotating around and giving each other breaks because most of our kids play both ways.”

The defensive line includes Noah Sponcil (a four-year player) at nose tackle and Hunter Skaggs, who started as a sophomore at defensive tackle. Also on the defensive line are Ethan Fryer, Leland Corey, Jayce Storts, Peyton Alexander, 

McClain is excited for their defense this season. 

“I think the kids are more excited because it is more aggressive,” Penwell said. “It is a little different, and our goal is not to give them too much responsibility and just let them play.” 

The Tigers’ non-conference schedule for the ’26 season sees them open the fall campaign with a Week 1 game (Aug. 21) against Adena at AHS, followed by a Week 2 game (Aug. 28) against the Northwest Mohawks, which will be the home opener for the Tigers at McClain Field. 

McClain will host the Paint Valley Bearcats in Week 3 (Sept. 4), playing in the third annual “Battle of 41” with the Tigers currently holding possession of the game-winners trophy as MHS defeated PVHS, 35-22 last season. The current series with the traveling trophy is 1-1 since the trophy was added to the rivalry in 2024. 

From there, the Week 4 (Sept. 11) matchup for McClain is an away game at East Clinton, then the Tigers will complete their non-conference slate on Week 5 (Sept. 18) at home against the Circleville Tigers. 

The FAC schedule for McClain in ’26 is vs. Chillicothe (Week 6, Sept. 25), at Washington (Week 7, Oct. 2), vs. Jackson (Week 8, Oct. 9), at Miami Trace (Week 9, Oct. 16) and at Hillsboro (Week 10, Oct. 23) for the annual Rotary Bowl. 

What is Coach Penwell excited for this season?

“I want to see growth. I want to see maturity. I want to see physicality. We got another year under our belt, we have guys returning, and I want to see how we react to adversity. It is football, it is just like life … you are always going to have adversity, and I am looking forward to it,” Penwell said.