Cary-Grove still team to beat in FVC Valley
The 2008 Cary-Grove football roster may lack experience overall but not ability.
Heavy graduation losses from last year's fourth-straight undefeated Fox Valley Conference championship team leave the Trojans with a total of eight players who started last year, including three on defense.
But the pipeline of young talent is still flowing into the varsity, and head coach Bruce Kay, defensive coordinator Don Sutherland and staff have a team that should once again compete for the Valley Division crown and a fifth straight playoff berth.
The players have worked in the same option offense and 3-3-5 defense at the lower levels of the program. They know the system. The question is how well and how quickly the younger Trojans will adjust to the heightened speed of varsity football as starters.
"They know where to go," Kay said. "If there was a written exam, they could answer the questions. Now, can they answer those questions at this speed and under pressure? How well you play under pressure is the key to athletics.
"Will they get better? Good teams learn from the previous play and they make their adjustments athletically and take better angles and their pad level improves and they execute. We're going to be a team that improves every week."
Two bankable scoring threats are speedy junior Alex Hembrey (5-foot-9, 158 pounds), who makes the switch from the secondary to the offensive backfield, and returning senior Eric Chandler (5-9, 183). Chandler is a bruising interior ball carrier, who last season led the Trojans in all-purpose yards with 980 (all rushing) and scored 9 touchdowns.
Hembrey brings playmaker speed, quickness and vision to the offense. In 2007, he returned 1 punt and 1 kickoff for touchdowns and will field kicks and punts again this year.
Joining Chandler and Hembrey in the backfield will be senior Jonas Mack (6-0, 166), who rushed for 91 yards in limited action as a junior.
The offense also returns center Kevin McCowan (5-8, 176), guard Brandon Coleman (6-4, 212) and tight end John Bryan (6-4, 191), all seniors.
Replacing all-conference quarterback A.J. Hoger will be junior Tyler Krebs, a quick, strong option quarterback who Kay said has been making good decisions with the ball in practice.
"I think we have some skill-position guys that are playmakers," Kay said. "We have an offensive line we believe can get off the ball and create those seams. We'll just have to see. This time of year everything's relative to your own offense or defense. Right now we feel (the offense) is ahead of our defense. Even though we're inexperienced on defense, we have a great deal of competition."
The Cary-Grove defense, tops in the Fox Valley Conference over the past four seasons, will be anchored by defensive ends Coleman and Tyler O'Brien (6-2, 205), three-year starter Matt Nelsen (6-0, 170) at safety and senior Rob Mago (5-9, 167), who moves to strong safety. Coleman and O'Brien are play disrupters who will take the heat off a corps of seven talented but inexperienced linebackers vying for playing time at three spots.
Even beyond Hembrey's impact, the Cary-Grove special teams are a strength. Also returning are All-Fox Valley Conference kicker Marcus Kerrigan (8 field goals, 39 of 42 extra points) and punter Nelsen, who averaged 30 yards per punt and pinned opponents inside the 20 on eight occasions.
Cary-Grove enters the season on a 28-game winning streak within the Fox Valley Conference. The Trojans haven't lost an FVC game since losing to Woodstock in Week 8 of the 2003 season. Keeping that streak alive is secondary
"We really look at it one game at a time and one practice at a time," Kay said. "Do you get better? Whether you win or lose a game, the goal is still the same next week: to get better. I think (the streak) is the furthest thing from their minds. We keep them busy enough."