TOLEDO, OH (WTOL) - The Bowsher Rebels finished their 2015 season with a disappointing 4-7 overall record.
They enter this season's campaign with plenty of hype.
This year's Rebels will bring back several key players well over the 6-foot mark, including University of Toledo commit Bryce Mitchell.
"We're a quicker defense than we were last year," Mitchell said. "We have a bit more bigger bodies."
One big change this year for Bowsher is under center, where former linebacker Rodney Ray will start senior season at quarterback.
"He played defense for us last year so we know that he can take some hits," said head coach Chip Strahm. "My goal is to try to keep him out of as many hits as I can this year. He's a heck of a baseball player. He had a really strong arm and that transferred over to the football field, so I think he's going to be one of the best in the area."
This will be Strahm's first season as head coach of the Rebels. He says his team is focused on a championship this year.
"This year they came in with a very serious attitude," Strahm said. "During the winter we had 30 guys religiously in the weight room all the time. They came out and they were focused from the very beginning, very serious about it."
Team chemistry seems to be something bountiful in the Bowsher locker room this year.
"I want to be on the field with my friends, that's really all I want to do," senior Bryce Mitchell said.
"This year it seems like they all have their mind set on one goal," said Coach Chip Strahm. "And right now the goal is game number one."
Bowsher kicks off their season at home against Maumee on August 26.
