Akron North Vikings 2022 high school football preview

North High School football player Zi'Velle Thomas catches a pass during the first annual Sonil Haslam Community Youth Football Camp at North High School on Wednesday.
North High School football player Zi'Velle Thomas catches a pass during the first annual Sonil Haslam Community Youth Football Camp at North High School on Wednesday.

North Vikings

CoachDoug Miller, first season at North

Coach's record: 0-0

2021 records: 0-10 overall, 0-5 in the City Series

'A mentor to everyone': North dedicates weight room to honor former football coach Sonil Haslam

Top returning players: Elijah Gervins, Jr., OLB-RB; Zi'Velle Thomas, Soph., OLB-WR; Izyck Clark, Soph., OL-DL; Marsean Barkley, Sr., DB-WR; Marvin Causey, Soph., WR-DB; Darrin Jenkins, Sr., WR-DB; Pradesh Mangar, Jr., OL-LB; Tyreon Jones, Soph., DL; Jamere Garrett, Soph., QB-LB; Demiere Kelly, Sr., WR-DB; Jayden Echols, Soph., OL-ILB.

Obituary: Akron Public Schools mourns death of North football coach Sonil Haslam

A new coach: Akron Public Schools tabs Doug Miller to coach North football team

Outlook: Miller, 35, is entering his first season as a coach after being as assistant coach the past three seasons at Kenmore-Garfield with coach Kemp Boyd. Miller worked as an offensive line coach and Co-Offensive Coordinator at K-G.

Miller grew up in Texas and moved to Ohio with his family while he was in middle school. Miller graduated from Stow-Munroe Falls in 2005 after competing in track and field and football. He was in the Navy for four years and was a Master-at-Arms and earned a college degree from Miami of Ohio in 2012.

North is trying to field a larger team this season after finishing last season with between 15 to 20 players. The team is between 25 to 30 players as of late July.

Elijah Gervins, a North High football player, works with campers during the first annual Sonil Haslam Community Youth Football Camp at North High School on Wednesday.
Elijah Gervins, a North High football player, works with campers during the first annual Sonil Haslam Community Youth Football Camp at North High School on Wednesday.

"We are still very young, but a lot of our young guys have experience at the varsity level due to the size of our team," Miller said. "The biggest change is at our QB position with Jamere Garrett, a sophomore, returning, though he was at a different position last year, and newcomer Shymire Jones, a freshman. They have many of the skills needed to compete at the position and are making it a great competition. They work well together and support each through the highs and lows of the position. Their sportsmanship with each other has begun to trickle down to our other position in a very positive way.

"Our players have worked very hard in the month of July to pick up new systems on both offense and defense. We still have some fine tuning to do before we can compete at the level we all expect of ourselves in Weeks 1 through 10. I am confident we will get there as a team over the next three weeks and start our season off strong."

— Compiled by Michael Beaven

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This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: 2022 Akron North High School football preview