2026 Football Preview: Minford Falcons

MINFORD — In the “Die Hard” movies, someone would always tell John McClane that he was “in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

But McLane always got himself in the right place at the right time that made for a happy ending.

Enter first year head coach Josh Bailey who is looking to write a happy ending to the Minford Falcons season. And he’s doing it by getting his players in the right place at the right time.

“We, coaches, sat down and brainstormed how we can get our best athletes the ball. We feel like we’ve got them in the right positions. Now it’s up to them to prove the rest,” said Bailey.

Two of the coaches on Bailey’s staff are veterans Bob Ashley and J D Mattix.

“Having coach Mattix back is huge. Coach Ashley has had a great career and was willing to be an assistant. Having two experienced coaches is a blessing,” said Bailey.

“It’s an honor and very humbling that they would come back and help me out.”

Bailey knows this isn’t a Hollywood movie script where the writers make the outcome positive. He has a young team that will need a lot of work, but he’s not shying away from the challenge.

“It’s a blessing to be here. I know we’re in a rebuilding stage, but where we’re at from even when I started has got me tickled to death. It gives me goosebumps just talking about it,” said Bailey.

“These kids mean a lot to me. It’s a legit blessing to be here. I’ve seen so many kids lock in this year. They’ve got a different mind frame. A different place out of them. We’ve asked some to switch positions and they’ve locked in and took it in stride. We had kids stepping up to be leaders.”

With Ashley on the staff, Bailey has leaned on him to help implement a Wing-T offense which has triggered several moves on the offensive side of the ball.

“We’ll be more wing-T, but we’ll go under center some, we’ll be shotgun wing-T. We’ll have a little mixture of both,” said Bailey. “If we need to, we can spread it.”

Sophomore Wyatt Swick was one of the top wide receivers in the area last season and has moved to tight end. Bailey said “He’s taking that role and working hard.”

Junior Colt Donahoe was a tight end last year and has been moved to a running back and slot receiver.

“Donahoe has a great frame,” said Bailey.

Sophomore Mason Bailey will be the quarterback and coach Bailey said “he’s put on a lot of weight through the winter.”

Heading up the offensive line will be junior Austin Wheeler (5-11, 230) who is a returning starter at guard.

“Our biggest worker in the offseason is Austin Wheeler. I can’t speak highly enough of him. He’ll be a junior and he’ll be one of our captains. That says a lot when you’ve got a junior voted in as a captain,” said Bailey.

“He works his tail off. He leads by example. He always goes above and beyond.”

The Falcons plan to play more 4-3 alignment on defense.

“We’ll play that style and just let our athletes be athletes,” said Bailey. “We only lost one lineman from last season. We’re rebuilding, but we really do have a lot to look forward to.”

The anchor of the defense will be senior linebacker Bryce McLaughlin (6-1, 210) who had more than 125 tackles.

“McLaughlin, in my opinion, is the best linebacker in the area,” said Bailey.

The secondary should be a strong point for the Falcons with Donahoe moving to cornerback, senior Noah Estep playing safety and Swick getting some playing time at corner or safety.

“Donahoe has one of the best sets of hands in the area, so you let him go up there and make a play on the ball,” said Bailey.

Wheeler will be at tackle along with senior Taylor Malone and senior Maddox Porter (6-3, 220) will be at defensive end.

As for the kicking game, Bailey said sophomores Beau Scarfin and Bryson Culbertson “both have very strong legs. I think our special teams will be very solid this year.”

Looking at the team overall, Bailey has a lot of positive vibes.

“So, just from last year to this year, seeing their mind frame change from we think we can do it to we know we can do it. We want it. It’s been great,” said Bailey.

“My biggest outlook on the year is I can’t promise any wins. The biggest thing I can promise is change. I want people to look at our sidelines and see change in our attitudes and the discipline we’re bringing into Minford.”

Bailey said the Southern Ohio Conference will once again be a tough challenge with several good teams to contend with each week.

“The schedule is always tough. Being in the SOC, you’ve got Wheelersburg, you’ve got West, you’ve got Valley. They’re tough year in and year out,” said Bailey.