St. Edward shooting for playoff three-peat
Fresh off the best season in school history, St. Edward is seeking an unprecedented third straight trip to the playoffs.
The Green Wave set a program record last year for victories (8), won a conference title for the first time and won the first playoff game in school history, a 44-8 victory over Chicago Uplift in Class 4A.
The reward for those accomplishments? A bump up from the Gold Division to the more rigorous Blue Division of the Suburban Christian Conference. That’s the division with former Suburban Catholic Conference rivals Marmion and St. Francis, not to mention two-time defending Class 5A state champion Montini.
Playoff points won’t be an issue if the Green Wave can reach the 5-win plateau.
If we can get 5 wins, we’ll be playing in Week 10,” seventh-year St. Edward coach Mike Rolando said. “That’s the goal from the get-go because I guarantee whoever we’ll face in Class 4A won’t be better than the teams in our conference. They might be as good but not better.”
A strong defense gives the green and gold a chance to compete with anyone. Seven starters return from a unit that recorded 3 shutouts and set program records for sacks (32), fewest points allowed in a season (129) and fewest points allowed per game (11.7).
Junior Luke Duffy (6-0, 185) returns at outside linebacker. He led the team in tackles last year with 97, the fourth-highest single-season total in program history. Senior Mark Sink (6-0, 195) returns at inside linebacker, where he made 81 tackles.
Both were named all-SCC Gold last year.
The linebacker corps is strengthened by two transfers: junior Joe Stump (5-11, 190) from St. Charles East and Dennis Turnquist (5-10, 180) from Burlington Central.
The line is fortified by powerful senior defensive lineman Evan Finnane (6-2, 255), also an all-SCC Gold pick, who has scholarship offers from Air Force and Army. Finnane’s older brother Shane currently plays at West Point. Last season Evan Finnane made 59 tackles, had 6 sacks and forced 6 fumbles.
Also returning to the defense are senior end Zack McQueen (6-0, 200) and senior cornerback Matt Brockner (6-1, 170). Senior Ryan Johnson (6-0, 175) moves from corner to safety, where he will play alongside returning senior safety Sean Richmond (5-10, 150).
“The numbers say we were a pretty good defense last year, and we’re a little older, a little more mature, hungrier and stronger this year,” Rolando said. “The pieces we had to replace were filled by some good athletes, strong players. That bodes well for us.”
Fielding a strong offensive line doesn’t hurt either. Finnane, Sink and McQueen are all returning starters from a front wall that helped the offense set program records for scoring (335 points) and yards gained (4,165). They’ll be joined by senior Tyler Morawski (6-3, 185). Sophomore center Collin Holte (5-11, 220) is the only non-senior on the offensive line.
They’ll protect quarterback Bob French (6-2, 190). He played wide receiver last season while Ben Lehman was setting program records for attempts, completions and passing yards. French played quarterback for two seasons as a freshman and sophomore.
Returning at running back are Duffy (429 yards, 7 TDs) and sophomore Davontae Elam (5-11, 185), who ran the ball 55 times for 230 yards and 4 touchdowns as a freshman. Carries will also be distributed to Johnson, fellow seniors Troy Gudino (5-10, 180) and Turnquist and sophomore Will Bothwell (5-9, 170).
“With the exception of last year, we’ve always rushed the ball in the neighborhood of 2,000 yards,” Rolando said. “We know we have to run the ball to have success. Otherwise, your offense can become suspect to the elements in the state of Illinois come November.
“I’m cautiously optimistic. Things are looking good and this group had 99 percent participation over the summer. That allowed us to fine tune and get further down the playbook in doubles.”