Rootstown football senior Cody Coontz has totaled 1,180 yards and 16 touchdowns through the Rovers’ first five games.
Tom Nader/Portage Sports

By Tom Nader

Publisher and Editor

When you ask Cody Coontz to talk about himself, he speaks politely, but softly.

His voice is filled with confidence, but his modest personality does not allow him to get excited.

Even though his statistics would justify it.

However, when you ask Coontz to talk about his coaches and teammates, specifically his offensive line, his eyes instantly light up.

His smile beams.

He rattles off the names with enthusiasm.

Tony Karp, Linden White, Brian Youngblood, Dominic Siglow, Kyle Kuharich, along with H-Back Drew Nero and tight end Ryan Piscitani.

“They are the best. I love those guys. I have so much trust in them,” Coontz said. “I know there will always be a hole for me. They are big, strong, move well. They are the reason I have been able to have some good games.”

Coontz’s analysis is accurate except, in humble truth, he would need to change the phrase from “good games” to great games.

If he won’t speak highly of himself, others will have to do it for him.

Rootstown head coach Chris Knopick said getting Cody Coontz to believe he could be elite was all it took, because Coontz had already been putting in the required work to make it happen.
Tom Nader/Portage Sports

In five games this year, the senior has rushed for 1,180 yards and scored 16 touchdowns.

He is averaging 236 yards per game for a Rovers team that is now 4-1 and opens Portage Trail Conference play on Friday at home against St. Thomas Aquinas.

“Cody hits the hole harder than most backs I’ve seen,” Rootstown head coach Chris Knopick said. “He often is hitting the line of scrimmage at full speed, which is one of the things that makes the difference between good and great backs.”

Another is self-motivation.

While Coontz had been a key contributor for the Rovers’ offense last season, returning from a sophomore hip injury (avulsion fracture), it was his loss in the second round of last year’s Division III state championship wrestling tournament that reset his mindset.

Coontz had won his opening round at 157 pounds with a pin of Newark Catholic’s Brendean Sheehan, then led 10-5 in the third period of his second-round match against Northmor’s Niko Christo, who rallied back and pinned Coontz in the final 20 seconds.

It was only the third time in Coontz’s wrestling career that he had ever been pinned.

It was the first time that hurt this much.

By Monday, he was in the weight room.

Focused.

Determined.

And, admittedly, still a little upset.

But he worked to channel those feelings and recycle them into positive energy.

“From that point on, I told myself that I was going to do everything I could to help my teams have the best seasons they could ever have this year. I don’t ever want to feel like I did after that wrestling loss again.”

Coontz was already one of the hardest-working players in the program, but his rejuvenated attitude coincided perfectly with Ben Sherman being named as the new strength and conditioning coach for the Rovers.

Suddenly, Coontz’s individual workout sessions were being tailored specifically for him and the results followed. Just as they did for all of his teammates.

Coontz increased his squat by 75 pounds, which correlated to a burst of speed on the gridiron that has set him apart. His bench reached 290 pounds, which allowed him to grow into an every-down back.

“Cody has always been a tough downhill runner, but through our speed work this off-season, our biggest goal was for Cody to develop the breakaway speed,” said Knopick, who described Coontz as a genuine person who enjoys everything about the game of football and is one of the nicer kids he has ever coached. “He isn’t a true power or scat back, but a good combination of speed and power.”

Coontz’s 16 touchdowns this season include six of 30 yards or more, with a long of 71 coming against Crestwood in Week 1 of the season.

“Our biggest battle for Cody was the mental one, convincing him that he could be an elite player,” Knopick said. “He was already putting in the work, he just had to let it translate.”

Week 1 became the translation, with Coontz running for 318 yards.

It launched a season that rates him as one of the best backs in Northeast Ohio.

Just don’t ask him to talk about it.

Rootstown senior Cody Coontz used a loss at the state championship wrestling tournament to motivate him for the 2022 football season.
Tom Nader/Portage Sports