Don’t count Crystal Lake South out
The Crystal Lake South football team might be a bit green now, but forecasts call for another bumper crop of victories come October.
The Gators graduated several key players from a team that split the FVC Valley Division crown with eventual Class 6A champion Prairie Ridge and bowed out in the second round of the playoffs against eventual Class 7A champion Rockford Boylan.
However, any opponent who counts the Gators out of contention for their third straight FVC Valley title does so at his own risk.
The healthy CL South football program continues to produce quality players able to plug holes. These Gators enter the 2012 season ranked ninth in Class 7A.
“We’re inexperienced but coming along,” third-year coach Chuck Ahsmann said optimistically.
“We won the title at the freshmen and sophomore levels last year so we still have a lot of talent. And we have a lot of guys who didn’t necessarily start last year but got some playing time.”
As usual, the Gators boast a sizable offensive line complete with a Division-I recruit. Senior left tackle Boston Mathews (6-3, 260) committed to Toledo over the summer.
He’ll anchor a phalanx of blockers that includes junior guard Pat Walsh (6-2, 240) and junior right tackle Mike Franke (6-2, 255). Both started last year as sophomores.
Two fresh sophomore call-ups complete the line: guard Kyle Hedge (6-1, 255) and center Alex Gardeck (5-10, 230).
Taking the reins at quarterback is junior Greg Galloway, a player Ahsmann said reminds him in many ways of 2010 graduate Drew Ormseth. Galloway has as strong arm and good mobility, though few can match the elusiveness of Ormseth.
Junior Chris Ivers will start at fullback. Junior Brian Pence, who missed part of summer camp to compete in wrestling nationals, will also get carries at the position. Ahsmann calls them “two different types of runners who balance each other pretty well.”
Hard-charging senior tailback Zevin Clark (5-9, 195) is the only experienced member of a young backfield. He rushed 74 times for 406 yards and 5 touchdowns last season. Shifty junior Eric Landis played tailback for the sophomore team last year and will get his share of carries.
Returning senior wide receiver Eric Schiller (6-4, 180) played quite a bit toward the end of last season. Senior Jason Kessler didn’t play last season but is expected to see significant playing time at wideout.
The Gators, who in 2011 gained 2,166 of their 3,422 yards via the ground game, will take the business-as-usual approach.
“I think we’re really going to rely on the those big guys on the offensive line and not change what we do too much,” Ahsmann said.
“We’ll run the football, but you have to throw the football and be balanced in order to run effectively in this league.”
Defensively, a pair of third-year starters switch positions. Nick Amren (6-2, 260) moves to nose guard after two years at inside linebacker. Fellow senior Brendan Chrystal (6-2, 215) makes the jump from safety to inside linebacker. The secondary remains in good hands with the return of junior safety Brandon LaPak (5-11, 175), who had 4 interceptions last year.
Seniors John Fitzpatrick (5-10, 180) and Dennis Gardeck (5-10, 180) did not play much last season because the Gators had a glut of strong senior linebackers.
Each player gets his chance at outside linebacker this year.
The Gators are far from a polished product, but they have the talent to eventually shine once they find their comfort level.
“Once we get these guys used to playing with each other we could be very good football team,” Ahsmann said.