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High-flying offense fitting better at Warren

Get out the slippers and the fuzzy blanket, they’re finally getting comfy over at Warren.

Last year, the Blue Devils put in a new offense and they weren’t always feeling so good about it. Nor, as a result, did they feel so good about their 3-6 final record, which came on the heels of four straight playoff appearances.

“We never really mastered our new system last year,” Warren coach Dave Mohapp said. “But we understand it much better now. We’re feeling much more comfortable with it now.”

Mohapp changed from the run-oriented offense that he had run for the first 14 years of his tenure at Warren to a spread offense that allowed for more passing, and more versatility.

“We had been fortunate at Warren that every couple years we’d get a really talented running back whose talents we could kind of build around, so we’d really focus on the run,” Mohapp said. “But we started to feel that we really needed to be more diverse and have more options. We wanted to be able to open things up and involve more players.”

One player who was heavily involved in Warren’s offense last year was returning quarterback Adam Reuss, who put up big numbers despite having to learn on the go. He passed for 17 touchdowns and nearly 1,500 yards. More than a third of his yards went to receiver Connor Iwema, who also returns.

“The offense is really a nice system for a quarterback and Adam did a nice job with it, especially as we went along through the season,” Mohapp said. “There’s a lot of freedom in the passing game. He’s going to be even better this year now that he’s more comfortable.

“One thing we probably needed to do more was to find a better balance with the run game, which is ironic to say because usually at Warren we’re more run-oriented and looking to find more balance within the passing game. I think if we can run more effectively this year, we’ll be even better than we were last year in the passing game.”

Davonte Wilcox was Warren’s top rusher last season but finished with less than 500 yards. He has the potential for bigger numbers. He averaged more than 7 yards per carry last season.

“Davonte can run,” Mohapp said. “We really want to tap into that. He had a really good off-season. He added a lot of strength but still maintained his speed.”

Wilcox and Reuss and the rest of the skill position players will be able to operate behind an experienced offensive line that returns four starters, including Shane White, Terrel Jones, Connor Johnson and Joao Guassi. Mohapp is keeping his fingers crossed with that group. Last season, another issue for the offense was that the line was hampered by injuries. The Blue Devils lost two offensive linemen for the season in Week 2.

Defensively, Warren returns five starters and will be anchored by a talented group of linebackers that includes Eric Johnson, Dan Hicks and newcomer Bryson Eppinger.

“I like our defense, we’ve got some really good young players (from an 8-1 sophomore team) who are filling holes and our offense has really gotten better and more confident,” Mohapp said. “Obviously, we’re really looking to improve. Not making the playoffs last year has really been a motivation for us. We fell behind a little bit and we’re ready to make up some ground.”

WARREN

HEAD COACH: Dave Mohapp (16th season, 97-57)

LAST SEASON: 3-6, 2-4 in North Suburban Lake Division

HOMECOMING: Friday, Oct. 12 vs. Lake Forest, 7:30 p.m.

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