MSC East teams ready to challenge St. Edward
In 2014, St. Edward was the only team from the nascent six-school Metro Suburban Conference East Division to qualify for the state playoffs.
A year later, the defending division champion Green Wave will encounter teams that feel they've taken another step in the right direction.
Norridge-based Ridgewood, which finished second to St. Edward last year with a 4-1 East Division mark but was one of 22 teams with 5-4 records left on the 2014 playoff sidelines, returns 7 of 11 defensive starters from a year ago, including East defensive player of the year runner-up Seth Krueger (inside linebacker), along with a pair of returning all-conference defensive backs in Mike Ortiz and Eric Mangal, as well as an all-conference defensive tackle in Vinny Scaletta. Also back is linebacker Max Kalynuk and defensive end Anthony Giovanelli.
"If our defense can pick up where it left off last year we should be in every game," Ridgewood coach Chris Zack noted.
On the other side of the ball, the Rebels return playmakers at running back (Alex Rice, who also plays wide receiver) and receivers Ortiz and Jake Karkoska.
Key newcomers include Marco Vitale (RB-WR) and Vince Santore (WR).
"We are looking forward to the season," Zack said. "We had a very good and competitive off-season and summer. The coaches and I as well as the players feel we can be highly competitive this season and compete for the MSC East title."
Defending East champion St. Edward (10-1) returns some keys players, most notably league offensive player of the year, Dwayne Allen, Jr., and league defensive player of the year, Jake French.
Staying healthy will be a priority for the Green Wave. The junior class is a small one from a football perspective with only five players, leaving the varsity with a roster of 23. Several will be asked to go both ways, including Allen in the secondary and French along the offensive line.
"Coming off a good year last year, we expect to compete in all our games," veteran St. Edward coach Mike Rolando said. "We caught a couple of those schools like Ridgewood and Elmwood Park by surprise last year. Those are good opponents. Plus, Guerin has a couple of Division-1 caliber players, Chicago Christian has a new coach and Walther always has good athletes.
"The rosters in our league are such that the powers can change from year to year. I think you'll see a changing of the guard from year to year and teams can move up or down. We expect to compete. In a small conference a couple of impact players can really change the outcome of games."
River Grove-based Guerin College Prep, coached by former NFL player Glen Kozlowski, won a pair of conference games last year and is looking for even more improvement this fall.
The Gators return 8 starters on offense and 9 starters on defense. Top returners include senior all-conference defensive end Vinnie Caeti (6-3, 197) and senior all-conference linebacker Jarvis Davis (5-11, 219). Caeti registered 24 sacks last year, while Davis, the team MVP as a junior, led the team with 89 total tackles. Caeti was the team defensive MVP.
Senior wide receiver Keith Franklin (6-4, 214) earned all-conference accolades after hauling in 12 touchdown passes and averaging 21.7 yards per catch.
Key newcomers include junior quarterback Richie Zacharias (6-4, 184), sophomore running back Jaylen White (5-10, 189) and junior defensive back Felix King (5-10, 173).
"Our defense will be improved from last year," said Kozlowski. "All of our returners have improved. We believe we have an opportunity to compete for the conference title and should be a solid playoff contender if we stay healthy."
Kozlowski welcomed Hall of Fame coach Alan Marks (former coach at Ridgewood) to the staff as the new offensive coordinator.
Chicago Christian, under the direction of new coach Nick Cook, is coming off a 2014 season where it went 4-5 and 3-2 in East play.
The Knights return 5 starters on offense and 5 on defense. Key returners include seniors Luke Rattler (5-10, 210, RB-LB), Steve Gallagher (5-9, 160, RB-LB), Nathan Krygsheld (6-0, 160, WR-DB-LS) and Rich Gricus (5-11, 190, OL-DL), along with juniors Jessie Geaschel (5-10, 210, OL-DL), Josh Hill (6-1, 190, WR-LB), Jake Iwema (6-4, 185, OL-DL) and Cyril Nikolovski (5-11, 210, OL-DL).
Newcomers include seniors Tom Hassel (6-3, 190, TE-DL-K), Kevin Gallagher (5-9, 160, TE-LB) and Sam Gabral (5-7, 190, OL-DL), as well as junior Parris Williams (5-6, 140, RB-DB).
"We have strong leadership at key positions," said Cook. "We're utilizing a system that we hope our opponents will find to be complex and difficult to defend. On defense we have a presentation of multiple fronts we hope will put our best athletes in a position to make as many plays as possible."
Cook added the team has been focusing on three primary goals since he took over. "Becoming more Christ-like men, setting and meeting offseason goals and setting and meeting game-night goals," he stated. "Our outlook goes as far as those three areas and trusting that as we worship God by giving a winning effort in those areas that we will accomplish all we are supposed to accomplish as we focus on those things."
Elmwood Park is coming off a 2014 campaign where it went 2-7 and 1-4 in the league, while Walther Christian did not win a game (0-9, 0-5).
Guerin's Kozlowski sees St. Edward and Ridgewood as the top two teams in the division heading into Friday night's 2015 season kickoff. "All of us are trying to compete against them," said Kozlowski, who added all teams in the division are "well-coached."
St. Edward and Ridgewood square off in Norridge in Week 7 (Friday, Oct. 9). Guerin Prep visits Greg True Field in Elgin in Week 5 (Friday, Sept. 25).
MSC West: After last season's unbeaten romp it's safe to say Glenbard South is the favorite to win another Metro Suburban West football championship.
Beyond that it's anybody's guess.
The five other MSC West teams all finished with between four and six victories as Riverside-Brookfield and Aurora Central Catholic also qualified for the playoffs. With postseason hopes hanging in the balance every week, expect another conference season filled with parity.
"It's good for the conference to see so many teams so close to one another," said IC Catholic Prep coach Bill Krefft. "Glenbard South is definitely at the top, but you also have to look at Riverside-Brookfield. They were kind of under the radar last year. I think everyone else is right there."
Confidence in Glenbard South begins with an offense returning potent talent. Quarterback Kyle Carli threw for 1,227 yards and rushed for 274, and running back Sean Cooke rushed for 600 yards. Six-foot-six tight end Billy Bair holds scholarship offers from Illinois State and others.
It's a lineup more than capable of defending the MSC West title under first-year coach Ryan Crissey, who takes the helm from Jeremy Cordell after he left the Raiders for Lincoln-Way Central.
Riverside-Brookfield again figures to be among Glenbard South's stiffest competition with the return of quarterback Ryan Swift and linebacker David Pribyl-Pierdinock, both all-MSC picks last year. Aurora Central gets a huge boost to its program with first-year coach John Belskis, a hall-of-famer who guided Downers Grove South to the 2001 Class 8A title.
Three MSC West teams - Wheaton Academy, Fenton and IC Catholic Prep - just missed out on a playoff berth. The Warriors fell short on a tiebreaker despite being 5-4, and Fenton and ICCP finished at 4-5.
All three programs aim to make the playoffs this year, but each recognizes the challenge ahead.
"The conference is going to be the telling factor for us," said Wheaton Academy coach Brad Thornton. "I see it looking very similar to last year with everyone being competitive again."
The Warriors return all-MSC quarterback David Thrasher, who piled up an impressive 1,535 passing yards and 17 touchdowns. For all the talent in the MSC West, IC Catholic Prep may have the league's best player in junior running back Jordan Rowell, who last season rushed for 1,522 yards and holds a scholarship offer from Iowa.
Fenton graduated nearly its entire starting lineup, but they do return talented linebacker-running back Eric Lonergan, who rushed for 376 yards and led last year's team with 49 tackles.
They'll all be chasing Glenbard South while keeping a close eye on each other.
"The conference is getting really good, especially compared with what it was a few years ago," said Fenton coach Mark Kos. "It's going to be another tough season."
- Kevin Schmit
Jerry Fitzpatrick contributed to this report