GATES MILLS, Ohio — Four weeks into his junior year, David Ianni had to watch the rest of Lake Catholic’s unbeaten run through the regular season because of knee injury.
His absence forced the Cougars to adjust their offensive line on the way to 12 straight wins and the No. 1 seed in the OHSAA Division IV, Region 13 playoffs. Cruz Nimmo moved from guard to tackle, where Ianni lined up opposite Nathan Zappitelli. Bryan Morton moved into the starting lineup, and now they are all back for a team that is not as experienced around them.
“It’s the best thing for a high school football team is have a good line,” coach Marty Gibbons said Thursday during a 7-on-7 passing scrimmage at Hawken. “For us, that’s huge. Huge sense of security. You don’t want to have any issues up front.”
Zappitelli is a four-year starter, committed to Cincinnati. Ianni has started with him for much of their high school careers, except for that nine-week stretch in 2024.
Ianni needed four months of recovery after surgery on his torn ACL. He put his knee through its paces this spring while throwing for the discus and shot put on the track-and-field team.
“I haven’t played football in almost a year,” he said. “I’m excited to be back on the field with my brothers.”
The feeling is mutual.
“It was emotional losing him,” Zappitelli said. “Now we’ve been training for the past few months together. I love every second of it.”
Their challenge will be serving as the cornerstone for a team that graduated All-Ohio quarterback Frankie Trinetti and a slew of skilled position players, including Western Kentucky tight end recruit Cross Nimmo. His younger brother, Cruz, thinks the combination of the line and their returning defensive players — including linebacker Marty Loncar — are strengths to overcome those losses.
“I think our defense is like the powerhouse of our program because they kind of get everyone going,” Nimmo said. “They’re always aggressive, always have the heart.”
That aggression extends to the new lead back, Danny Zmorowski, a 6-foot-2 and 220-pound senior who contributed on last year’s defense. He is a state championship wrestler who missed this 7-on-7s because of the junior nationals in Fargo, North Dakota.
For more coverage of the Cougars ahead of the 2025 football season, watch the video above from cleveland.com’s football camp tour. Their schedule and players to watch are listed below:
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Lake Catholic Cougars
2024 record:
12-1, Division IV regional semifinalist
Coach:
Marty Gibbons (seventh season)
League:
North Coast Conference
Players to watch
Danny Zmorowski, RB/DE, 6-2, 220, jr.
Guy Dominick, WR/OLB, 6-2, 190, jr.
Quinn Stayer, TE, 6-2, 190, sr.
Tyan Tsai, TE/OLB, 6-1, 210, jr.
Nathan Zappitelli, OT/DT, 6-4, 282, sr.
Cruz Nimmo, OT, 6-3, 260, sr.
David Ianni, G/DT, 6-2, 290, sr.
Bryan Morton, G, 5-11, 215, sr.
Connor Brugh, IOL, 5-11, 250, jr.
Nick Tallion, DE, 6-2, 230, sr.
Marty Loncar, LB, 6-1, 205, sr.
Brady Moran, LB/TB, 6-1, 195 jr.
Tristan Negrelli, CB, 5-9, 155, sr.
Pete Malchesky, S/WR, 5-8, 155, sr.
Nick Biodolillo, S, 5-8, 155, sr.
Michael Valentino, DB/RB, 5-9, 160, sr.
Schedule
Aug. 22 vs. Youngstown Cardinal Mooney
Aug. 29 vs. Avon Lake
Sept. 6 vs. Buchtel
Sept. 12 at Gilmour Academy
Sept. 19 at Benedictine
Sept. 26 vs. Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy
Oct. 3 at Elyria Catholic
Oct. 10 at Padua
Oct. 17 vs. Holy Name
Oct. 24 vs. Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin
Your feedback matters
Who do you think will be Northeast Ohio’s biggest breakout football team?
