2023 Post-season interview with Columbus Northland Head Coach Ryan Sayers

[LICKING COUNTY FAN]

Ryan Sayers

Position: Head Football Coach

School: Northland High School


Entering the 2022 season, what were some of the obstacles facing the Columbus Northland Vikings?
Some of the obstacles were:
Having our guy, who we thought was going to be QB for the season, become ineligible really hurt.
Knowing we were a young team, we had to battle through some growing pains at the beginning of the season.

After all two-a-day practices were over, what were your goals for the team, and did they achieve those goals?
Our goals as a team were to win the city north, which we were able to do after beating Beechcroft and make it to the state playoffs. There were some other goals that we did not achieve, but I would rather talk about the positives!

Staying with the after After completing the "two-a-day" theme, which player stood out the most, and why did this young man stand out?
There were multiple players who stood out after the first few days of practice, but one guy that we did not have in years prior was Mekhi Kilburn, who did a phenomenal job for us. Mekhi came ready to work and never talked back to the coaches; he ran every sprint at 110% and was always pushing our guys next to him to be better.

During the 2022 season, including all games, who was the best team that the Vikings faced? Explain.
The best team that we played this past season was Watkins Memorial; we played them twice, and both games they had a really good defensive game plan, and their kids played unbelievably hard!

What was the toughest part of the 2022 season?
Losing week 3 against Urbana when we had multiple snaps over our punter's head and turnovers that killed us. That game was a really hard one to coach; it seemed things just weren’t going our way that night.

What was the best part of the 2022 season?
The best part of last year was seeing the excitement on our kids faces after beating Beechcroft and making the playoffs! That was one of the best days of my life!

What will you miss most about the seniors from the 2022 season?
I will miss the relationships and being able to spend time with them; these kids mean the world to me, and it always stinks seeing them leave!

Which team in 2022 was the toughest to prepare for? Why?
I think the toughest team to prepare for was East with the athletes they had; it was hard to game plan for that, and knowing we didn’t have Amir Brown for that game made it hard to game plan on offense without your best guy!

What are your feelings about 16 teams from each region making the playoffs?
I could sit here and complain or be happy about the playoffs, either way, it doesn’t matter, we just hope to play good enough football throughout the season to see week 11. The OHSAA does a great job. People who complain and say things are the same ones who complain and say things about the coaches. Nothing is ever perfect, but the decisions they have to make are complicated and ones that others don’t want to make.

Do you think online ticket sales have hurt or helped attendance?

I mean, I have no idea how the online sales have worked or not worked. I coach the football game and worry about my guys. I don’t worry about a crowd or how many people come to a game; that’s a weird question.

[VetteMan]

If Coach Sayers thinks that whether or not online ticket sales have or have not affected the size of the crowd at the games is a weird question, I think the only thing weird is his answer.