New era for Round Lake
What the Panthers have been through in recent years has been tough.
But then, these are tough kids.
Just ask new head coach John Coursey.
"I think the kids got a little bit of toughness to them," he said of his 2008 football team, which opens tonight at home against Westosha Central. "If you look at the kids from Round Lake, you'd have to say they're tough kids. Some of them have had some tough situations to get through (off the field). They know how to be tough kids. That's not a bad thing in football."
Coursey, who coached the previous four years at Evergreen Park, takes over a team that went 1-8 last fall, despite an all-area season from running back Ray Bryant, who rushed for 1,462 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Bryant has graduated, leaving the Panthers a great challenge. Matt Ortiz takes over at quarterback. His brother Mike played QB for the Panthers a couple of years ago.
Ortiz's backfield will include sophomore tailback John Strickland. David Windham, who didn't play last year, will start at both tight end and outside linebacker.
Coursey's other two-way starters are Ernesto Aguirre (fullback/linebacker) and Matt Novak (guard/outside linebacker).
When the Panthers have the football, they'll keep it on the ground. They'll operate out of a wing formation.
"After 24 years of coaching, I still believe you got to run the ball and control the ball to win," said Coursey, who's coached on the collegiate level at Illinois Wesleyan, Concordia and Carthage. "We're not going to throw the football 60 times a game. It's not going to happen."
The Panthers have struggled defensively the last several years, including last season, when they yielded an average of 32 points per game, highest in the North Suburban Prairie Division.
Coursey is just anxious to get the season started and knows tonight's game is big for his squad, which isn't used to playing winning football.
"The first game is very critical for us," Coursey said. "We're going to line up and we got to be competitive - somehow, someway."