PICKERINGTON - 2007 was a banner year for a young Pickerington North football program.

In the first year under head coach Tom Phillips, the Panthers not only climbed back to .500 but also earned a share of an Ohio Capital Conference divisional championship for the first time.

But 2008 has brought a new set of challenges despite a deep pool of talent that includes two Bowling Green State University verbal commitments.

The Panthers, thanks to the re-alignment of the OCC, move from playing Delaware, Central Crossing and Thomas Worthington to match-ups with Pickerington Central, Lancaster, and Gahanna-Lincoln.

With the toughest schedule in the school’s short history, the Panthers will need to make another leap this fall to compete for another division championship.

The Panthers are on their way to that other step forward in 2008 thanks to a 14-12 season-opening victory over Central Crossing.

On offense, the Panthers will operate in a spread formation designed by offensive coordinator (and former Ohio State quarterback) Greg Frey.

Frey has the luxury of coaching the “Tim Tebow of the OCC” in Bowling Green-bound senior H-back Alex Bayer (6-4, 226). Think of Bayer as the freshman year version of Tim Tebow - the one who won a national championship in 2006, not the Heisman winning quarterback of 2007.

Bayer will spend most of his time as an H-back moving from the backfield to tight end and splitting out at receiver, but in certain situations will also play quarterback, where he is dangerous as both a runner and a passer.

Junior Sean Flaherty (6-1, 185) will be the trigger man in the black and silver’s spread offense. Last week, in his first varsity start, he completed 12-of-18 passes for 136 yards. Bayer was the leading receiver, making six catches for 95 yards.

Other receivers in the Panthers’ spread attack are seniors Justin Young (6-4, 195), Alfred Roberts (6-1, 175), and Chris Johann (6-0, 175).

North could potentially have a potent ground game to equal an already solid passing game. Junior Gianni Lynch (6-0, 195) rushed for 828 yards and seven touchdowns in eight games as a sophomore last year but has missed most of the season so far due to injury. He could be back in the lineup tomorrow night against the Chieftains.

If Lynch can’t go, classmate Matt Ferguson (5-10, 185) is a solid backup who scored both of North’s touchdowns last week.

Up front, the Panthers don’t have the kind of depth you’d expect from a big Division 1 school, but are led by Bowling Green-bound tackle Jairus Campbell (6-5, 240) and returning all-district guard B.J. DeCarlo (6-0, 217).

Junior Sam Shore (5-10, 240) will play guard, senior Anthony Taylor (5-11, 190) will be the center, and sophomore Alex Huettel (6-3, 245) will play tackle. Freshman Luke Carothers (6-1, 236) will add depth.

Defensively, the Panthers will line up in a 4-3 defense led by BG-bound Jairus Campbell at end. Last season Campbell chased Logan quarterback Michael Angle all night in the Chieftains’ hard-fought 24-7 win.

Joining Jairus Campbell up front will be Shore or senior Igor Icovski (5-9, 225) at nose tackle, DeCarlo or junior Jalen Campbell (6-1, 265) at tackle, and senior Amir Khezrdanamehr (5-10, 215) at end.

The Panther linebacking corps is led by Ferguson but also features juniors Kyle Schaeffer (6-0, 190) and Jude Jatau (6-1, 191).

In the secondary, Bayer and Johann are equally adept against the pass and the run. Bayer made an interception last week against Central Crossing. Roberts will play one corner, with senior Ryan Hunt (6-1, 175) or Tim Smart (5-11, 165) playing the other.

Johann will punt for the Panthers with senior Corey Becker (5-9, 160) handling the kicking duties.

Logan football historian Spencer Waugh of loganfootball.com previews the Logan Chieftains’ football opponent every Thursday in The Logan Daily News.

Read More in the Logan Daily News.