Previewing: Lisle

It's hard, with a roster of 27, to assemble all the components of a quality football team.

That is Lisle's dilemma.

Whereas last year the Lions had a pair of two-way, 290-pound linemen in Chris Jensen and All-Area pick Tony Kisla, this year the skill positions are heartier, but the size on the line isn't there.

"We've got some athletes," said coach Dan Sanko. "We've got kids we can throw to, we've got kids that can run. It's just, can our line give them holes and take up some space so our linebackers can make tackles?"

Lisle's success will partly depend also on how it plays without two-year starting quarterback Jon Surber, who this summer announced he'd concentrate on baseball. Junior Chris Wray now heads the split-back veer, a good-sized 6-foot-6, 188-pound athlete still developing behind center.

The Lions' three returning offensive starters are senior receiver Ryan Liss, senior running back Jake Kretmen, who gained 473 yards with 5 touchdowns, and junior Anthony Ventrella. He returns a team-high 751 yards and 10 touchdowns, including a 191-yard, 3-touchdown effort in a must-win game against Sandwich.

Mitch McCarthy - an "ultra utility guy," Sanko said - hard-nosed sophomore back Nick Leonard and kicker Michael Reeves will also pace the offense.

Sanko shifted to a 3-5 defense from a 4-3 set based on lack of size up front as well as a bounty of linebackers. Jon Kolosky, last year's leading tackler with 77, heads returning starters Kretmen, Peter Ferguson and Nick Nigro, who will move to the line.

Despite annual obstacles, Sanko usually produces a playoff berth - eight times in his 13 seasons, seven of the last eight. Numbers and size aside, another strength could come to light.

"The chemistry of this team is pretty good," he said. "It's a pretty nice team, a fun team to coach."