The less Caleb Brake gets on the field for the Grove City College football team, the better.

It means the Wolverines are rolling.

But when Brake, a Mars graduate and junior punter, does get a chance to show off his strong right leg, he usually makes an impact for Grove City.

“That's the strange thing about being a punter; the less I play, the better we're doing,” Brake said, chuckling. “I like to see the field sometime and show what I can do and show all the work I've put into it.”

Brake averaged 38.8 yards on 37 punts last season as the Wolverines had a breakout campaign, going 8-3 and winning the first postseason game in the 126-year history of the program.

He pinned the opponent inside their own 20 eight times.

Brake was named first team all-Presidents' Athletic Conference and was an all-ECAC South punter. He is one of the top returning specialists in the region.

Brake has been remarkably consistent throughout his career.

As a freshman, he averaged 37.4 yards per punt. He also had eight punts inside the 20 that season.

For Brake, his mentality when he takes the field is a simple one.

“You just pretty much have to clear everything out of your brain,” Brake said. “It's kind of the opposite of everyone else on the field. Everyone else has to think about what they're doing, read their keys, but I just have to focus on one thing: kick the ball as far as I can.”

Brake prides himself in his ability to flip field position.

“That's the biggest thing I try to do,” Brake said. “It makes it a lot easier on the defense if the offense has a long field in front of them.”

When Brake does pin the offense deep in its own territory, that's when Karns City grad and senior lineback Luke Salerno gets his chance to make his impact.

Salerno has had an interesting career with the Wolvernines.

He started out as a safety, moved to outside linebacker last season and will now shift to an inside linebacker spot this season.

That's a testament to his versatility.

Salerno said he's had to change the way he plays the game because of the shift.

“The biggest thing was when I played on the outside, I used my speed,” Salerno said. “Now I have to use my strength and play slower.”

It's been a work in progress for Salerno so far in camp.

“On the outside I blitzed a lot and sprinted at full speed,” Salerno said. “Inside, if I do that, I'll take myself right out of the play.”

Salerno learned this spring that the coaching staff wanted to shift him inside.

He jumped at the chance.

“I told them whatever they needed me to do to help the team,” Salerno said.

Knowing he was going to have to utilize his strength more, Salerno hit the weight room harder and put on 15 pounds of muscle onto his 6-foot frame.

Salerno said the Wolverines are determined to not be a one-season wonder.

It wasn't long ago when Grove City was in the midst of a 30-game losing streak.

“Last year was definitely special for us,” Salerno said. “We got over that hill, over that hump. We know we can't get too full of ourselves. We know there are a lot of good teams in the PAC. Our attitude is still the same. We want to work harder than anyone else.”