New era, new outlook for Elk Grove football
Elk Grove was looking for a bounce. So the Grenadiers went out and hired John Sigmund as their new head coach for the 2015 season.
Sigmund, the former offensive coordinator for Glenbard West, will be looking for his new-look Grens to jump-start the program after Elk Grove went winless last season.
“It has been a lot of fun this summer,” Sigmund said. “This senior group is a special group. This is my first gig as a head coach, but I feel all the pieces are in place right now.”
Elk Grove will have new uniforms to go with the brand new field turf to their stadium that District 214 installed this past summer.
“I have been on grass the last nine years, so I was as excited as they were,” said Sigmund, who had nearly 50 players come out for freshman football this season, the highest number in recent years. “It is beautiful surroundings here. And everyone here has been nothing but welcoming. We are excited show them what we have been working toward.”
Sigmund has brought over the hybrid wing-T spread offense that was used over at Glenbard West.
“We threw in our own wrinkles to make it work,” Sigmund said. “It is a run-first type offense, and it takes the right players to do that.”
Sigmund believes he has that in his offensive line, which will be anchored by Dan Dalenberg (6-foot-3, 285 pounds). Dalenberg will be joined by a pair of juniors who saw some action last year in Luke Radtke (6-1, 225) and Louie DiPietro (5-10, 195). Sean Duffy (6-1, 215), Daniel Powell (6-2, 265) and Cody Curran (6-1, 215) also figure to be part of the action.
“I am an offensive line coach by trade,” Sigmund said. “And they get no breathing room at practice. But they all have been doing a great job for us.”
It will be running back by committee for the Grens' wing-T. Azeez Alabi, who saw some action last year and rushed for just over 200 yards, figures to see a lot of action again. Kyle Anderson, Peter Green, Tim Doyle and Chuck Flemming are also in the mix.
AJ Lorenz, who was the starter early last season for Elk Grove, will begin the season as the signal-caller again this year. Sigmund likes what he has seen in Lorenz thus far.
“AJ has been a pleasant surprise,” Sigmund said. “He has grown so much this summer and he will be asked to manage our offense. We want to be efficient. That's the most important thing to us.”
The tight end will be Mike Miceli, who will also play defense, and the split end will be Joe Gatziolis.
Defensively, the Grens will stay in their 3-3 attack defense, and they have plenty of experience running it. The two corners — Elijah Rivera and Carmen Galgano — along with strong safety Jack Strothers all return to keep the pass coverage in lockdown mode.
Miceli and Dan Jameison along with Dionte Tillman, Miguel Rivas and Kyle Hood will be up front. Connor Cloherty, who is a junior, will be at middle linebacker while the stack backers will be Matt Sweeney and Gino Piscipo, and the outside linebackers will be Andy Guzman and Brian Portillo. All four of them are seniors.
Sigmund and Elk Grove draw a tough test for their opener when they play at Libertyville, who was a state semifinalist last year.