"It's really meaningful to being able to have fans back at the game but also to do a tribute to a guy who gave so much to our school, our community and our kids," Dreyer said. "It's a special time to be an Anderson Raptor because he represented what was the best about it. I think Danny is sitting up there in heaven looking down upon us thinking how much our community has adored him. We love his kids. He's impacted us throughout a lifetime."
As far as Raptor ball, Dreyer has coached the Eastern Cincinnati Conference passing leader in four of five seasons since 2016. Jackson Kuhn likely would have been the leader in 2019 had he not suffered a late-season injury. Taking over for Kuhn is junior Griffin Scalf, one of the bigger quarterbacks the school has had at 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds. His teammates often use the term "cannon" to describe his arm.
Scalf and the Raptors will be scattered about as the free-wheeling Dreyer hopes to get 80 plays off per game. Fast-playing NCAA teams can hit 83 and Dreyer would like to match that figure to offset some of the top defenses on the schedule.
"I think Griffin has improved through basketball season and being able to run," Dreyer said. "He's a pretty big boy now. His football IQ is pretty high. The athletes here have been tremendous: Multi-sport athletes that come out, catch the ball and run around."
Scalf has two of the top ECC receivers back in Joey Faulkner (65 receptions, 840 yards in 10 games) and Evan Upchurch (50 for 821). A versatile weapon that the University of Tennessee noticed is 6-foot-6-inch, 230-pound Brody Foley who committed to the Vols in May .
Foley caught 25 passes for 233 yards last season and also played defensive line where he notched a fumble recovery and interception. He's bullish on his senior year prospects in Anderson's wide-open offense, given the extra practices allowed this summer by the OHSAA.
"I think we'll be really good and conditioned," Foley said. "I think we can score from anywhere on the field. We can take them long in the vertical pass game but we also can run our Buck Sweeps on the outside. With what we have at the skill positions, there's no reason we shouldn't put up 500 yards per game plus."
If Foley goes to the defensive line, it gives Anderson a couple of twin towers with 6-foot-6-inch Cole Hinkle next to him. Behind them is 6-foot-2-inch, 225-pound, high-motor linebacker Casey O'Toole. O'Toole has offers from Lake Erie and Capital now but could see more if the defense improves.
Last year's squad scored plenty but twice gave up more than 50 points. O'Toole and others are politely reminded of that during tense moments of practice.
"It's just flying around and having fun," O'Toole said of this year's defense. "I've just been trying to do as much as I can to help this team."
O'Toole also has family in his ear with older brother, Jimmy, returning to Anderson to coach and cousin Will Karwisch playing linebacker right next to him.
Top games ahead on the Anderson schedule are a trip to Kings Sept. 10, a home tilt with defending ECC champion Winton Woods Oct. 1 and their annual rivalry with Turpin on the Spartans' field Oct. 22.
"Our end goal is ECC champions," Foley said. "That's the goal, getting the No. 1 seed going into the playoffs."
