Hudson believes it has The Answer with Ben Gedeon: High School Football Camp Roundup

Coach Tom Narducci says Gedeon can play about any position on the field for the Explorers.

Hudson sophomore Ben Gedeon is listed as a quarterback and linebacker, but coach Tom Narducci prefers to call him "The Answer."

"Need a quarterback, running back, defensive back, linebacker, cover rusher? We have Ben," Narducci said. "He's 6-3, about 210 pounds and he's a real specimen."

Gedeon doesn't care where he plays.

"I've always been a running back and linebacker but I just want to be on the field as much as possible to help the team," said Gedeon, the third of four children.

Former Explorers standout Alex Gedeon, now a starting linebacker at Harvard, has always referred to his younger brother as "Freak."

"He's been calling me that since I was little because I've always been one of the bigger kids," Ben Gedeon said. "I never took it serious because I know it's in fun and I look up to 'Big Al' so much."

The younger Gedeon is sharing snaps under center with 5-10, 154-pound junior David Nelson so don't be surprised if Hudson takes advantage of a two-quarterback system.

"It won't be a platooning thing, rather we'll utilize what each does best depending on the situation," Narducci said. "Both can run and pass and are very good on defense. In fact, David's one of our best safeties."

Mind boggling: Junior Anthony Howard and sophomore Ramond Bell were the furthest players from John F. Kennedy coach Scott Wodtly's mind a month ago, but he can't stop thinking about them now.

"Both players immediately caught my eye," Wodtly said.

Bell, a 5-10, 200-pound linebacker, is a first-time player.

"Ramond's natural ability is unbelievable," Wodtly said. "He's aggressive, very dependable and coachable."

Wodtly knew about Howard from basketball season.

"I'd talk to him off and on, then he started showing up for workouts," Wodtly said of the 6-1, 180-pound wide receiver/safety. "He's very athletic and is catching on very quickly."

Getting ready: Avon Lake is looking forward to the season both on and off the field. The Shoremen, under veteran coach Dave Dlugosz, are preparing for a run at the Southwestern Conference title and another trip to the Division II playoffs.

However, they have been inconvenienced at times as their refurbished Avon Lake Memorial Stadium undergoes the finishing work on its revamped look. The addition of new stands, bringing capacity to 5,000, two restrooms, two concession stands and an artificial turf field will be well worth the adjustments in preseason practice schedules, according to the coach.

"People won't know it's the same place," said Dlugosz, whose team opens its season at home Aug. 27 against rival Avon.

Coming back: Lutheran West went through one of those forgettable seasons a year ago when the Longhorns went 0-10. But third-year coach Dave Geye, whose club went 7-3 in 2008, wants to stress the positives instead of the winless record.

"The players did not pack it in," said Geye, who has 53 players in training camp. "We had enormous injuries, so players were moved all over the place. Now we'll try to solidify positions."

That should bode well this season, as nine players on offense and eight on defense saw significant time a year ago. Geye said it was an oddity that his club has 15 seniors and only five juniors.

Geye said 20 players were out with injuries a year ago, three quarterbacks among the lost. Senior offensive and defensive tackle Adam Schick was the only lineman who avoided the injury bug all season.

The Longhorns open at Fairview.

Reloading at Royalton: North Royalton coach Nick Ciulli was looking for someone to take a hold of the defense since standout linebacker Clay Krafft has graduated.

Enter 6-3, 190-pound senior safety James Holodnak.

"Linebackers are usually the leaders on defense but James is smart and always around the ball," Ciulli said. "We sort of expected James would step up and he has."

What Ciulli didn't expect was 5-10, 170-pound junior Jake Lark making a serious case for the starting quarterback job, but he's been impressive enough to create a three-person battle with 5-10, 170-pound Travis Tarnowski and 5-11, 170-pound junior Bobby Barnes.

"Bobby's more of a runner and can also play cornerback," Ciulli said. "Jake and Travis can throw and are concentrating primarily on offense."

Barnes and Lark split time last season on a junior varsity team that went 10-1. Tarnowski directed the freshman team to a 10-0 record, which included a 13-7 victory over St. Ignatius.

To reach these Plain Dealer reporters: bfortuna@plaind.com, 216-999-4665,

jmaxse@plaind.com, 216-999-5168