2026 Football Preview: Valley Indians

LUCASVILLE — Nolan Crabtree probably doesn’t consider himself a deep thinker. He’s more focused on finding a deep roster.

He might have dug deep enough this season.

“We’ve got some experience back and we have some depth,” said Crabtree with a sigh of relief.

The Indians were 8-3 last season and finished third in the Southern Ohio Conference race at 4-2.

Among the key returning players is senior quarterback Braxten Conaway which is a quick solution to what is normally a yearly question mark.

“He’s our full-time quarterback this year. This is the first time since I’ve been coaching that we’ve got a returning starter at the varsity level at quarterback. We’re hoping for some big strides there,” said Crabtree.

“He’s an exceptional runner. He’s got a good arm and he can throw the ball. He just needed to learn how to play quarterback.”

Although the Indians return their quarterback, the rest of the backfield took a hit with the graduation of Anthony Aaron and Gabe McNeil.

“You lose an Anthony Aaron and Gabe McNeil, that’s a lot,” said Crabtree. “Those guys were ultra-productive guys.”

Looking to fill those shoes are Jay Hughes, Gallahan and Parker Robinson.

“Hughes was a kid who was really working to get in there. He’s shown that he is the guy. He’s going to get the opportunity to be the bell cow. Hughes, Gallahan and Robinson are guys who can really carry the ball,” said Crabtree.

Veteran receivers Blake Lundy, Nick Queen and Isaiah Clark all have started over the past three seasons and all three are seniors.

“Clark is a really dynamic receiver. He’s had some really big games and big catches under his belt. Blake Lundy is very steady and he allows us to do multiple things. He can slide down into the H-back or the slot. Queen is so good on the outside.”

Aiden Spain suffered a knee injury last season but is healthy and will contribute along with sophomore C.J. Maynard has been working to gain playing time.

“Those guys have been around for a while and we had some guys who came into their own like Colton Stuart, and we’ve got Jehu Howard, who’s a junior now,” said Crabtree.

“We have some kids who are ready to make some plays. We’ve really been working hard this summer.”

Up front the Indians have experience and depth which has made things more intense in practice.

“It’s a big deal. We’ve got some absolute competition going on right now. We’ve got starting battles on both sides of the ball,” said Crabtree.

“We’ve got Craton Howard who’s been a starter for us for a few years. Colton Stuart came in and was an all-conference player,” said Irwin. “But you’ve got players like Solomon Toller who’s our biggest, strongest kid.

“I can tell you that Colton Stuart is going to start at guard, Craton Howard is going to start at one of those spots, Solomon Toller will be a tackle, but further than that, it’s wide open,” said Crabtree.

On the defensive side, Branson Barnett “is another guy who played a lot and found his way into the starting lineup late last year on the defensive side.

We have a bunch of guys who are sophomores and juniors who are fighting for a spot.

The Patrick twin brothers are new to the program and “they’re in there doing the same thing. We have between eight or ten guys who are really fighting for those five offensive line and four defensive line spots. There’s some depth there, but who’s going to be the starter is really yet to be determined.

“Up front we’ve finally got some guys there. We do have a heavy senior class. The freshman class came in and they had a lot of success at the junior high level.”

The Valley freshman class is considered talented, but Crabtree said the thing that everyone must remember is the fact they are just freshmen.

“We don’t want to get in the habit of playing freshmen. That is something that is going to lead to success. We had some kids who came in and they're going to supply some depth. They’ve shown they might be on the cusp of being two deep,” said Crabtree.

When it comes to the defensive side of the ball, Crabtree said the Indians' success starts with linebackers Lundy and Queen.

“The strength of our team overall is our linebackers. Lundy is a four-year starter. He knows our defense inside and out. He’s a tough kid and he’s rarely wrong with what happens. He gets everybody out there in spots,” said Crabtree.

“Nick Queen is the same way. Those two on the inside were tremendous last year for us. We were 8-3 last year and we played three bad halves of football.

Senior Gavin Hannah started some on the outside but will join senior Jared Kenison as the third wheel at inside linebacker and Crabtree is looking for him to be a key member of the special teams.

“We know we’re going to get great effort out of those guys. They may allow us to transition to a 3-4 at times,” said Crabtree. “Our linebacking unit as a whole has been really good.”

The safeties will be Conaway and Howard with Spain, Maynard, Clark and Robinson candidates to play cornerback.

“Both Conaway and Howard have 20 or 30 starts and that’s a really good thing for our secondary,” said Crabtree.

The defensive will be comprised of the same players involved in the battle for the offensive line.

The kicking game lost outstanding placekicker Jaylen Bender — a Drake University recruit — and the search for his replacement appears to have found senior Caysen Zieber.

“Losing Jaylen who has been so special for us is tough, but coach Evan Richard does an amazing job with kickers. He always finds guys and teaches so well,” said Crabtree.

“Caysen Zieber is giving it a shot this year and we have all the faith in the world in him and coach Richard will do a good job.”

Crabtree expects several teams to battle for the Southern Ohio Conference title this season. Not only does Valley have its sights set on the league, dropping to Division 6 in football means a whole new outlook for the postseason.

“Wheelersburg was a juggernaut last year. All these other games have been so close. I expect nothing different this year,” said Crabtree. “I feel good about where we’re at. Our goal is to win the league and get in the playoffs. We’re all chasing Wheelersburg.”

Valley is in the Cincinnati region for the football playoffs which creates another set of challenges.

“There’s a bunch of teams that came down there with us. You get put in six and the Cincinnati region and you’re in there with all the MAC schools. St. Henry is in the and they won the state last year. Marion Local is in there and Versailles is in there. And you’ve still got the local teams,” said Crabtree.