There are many changes occurring in the Hanover Athletic Department, particularly in the football program. With the addition of the head coach Joe Austin, he has brought with him three assistants to round out the coaching staff.

    The Panthers’ offense will be headed by Roger Velasquez, a long time colleague and friend of Austin. A head injury brought on by concussions during his high school career prevented Velasquez from playing in college. Instead, he turned to coaching high school while earning his degree from Concordia University. Velasquez has also served as offensive coordinator at Augsburg College and for the Lansberg Express in the German League in 1999. Before arriving at Hanover, Velasquez spent a year as the defensive line coach at Concordia University, where he met Austin.

    As the associate offensive head coach, Velasquez has plans for the panthers to control the game more offensively while maintain the spread, hurry-up offense that has proven successful for Hanover in past seasons.

    “It’s going to be tough for a young crew," Velasquez said. “But we’ll also be more dominant at the line of scrimmage.”