St. Edward looking to make some history
For the last five seasons the St. Edward football program geared itself for an eventual return to the state playoffs.
In a dramatic conclusion to its long-term rebuilding project, the Green Wave achieved that goal last week when David Hoebbel returned a kickoff 79 yards with 15.7 seconds remaining to lift St. Edward to a pulse-pounding 34-28 victory.
The win was the Wave's long sought-after sixth of the season, clinching the third playoff berth in school history and first since 2003.
Now St. Edward points to a new goal: the first playoff victory in school history. Neither the 1983 or 2003 playoff teams were able to advance past the first round.
The 2009 team will try to etch it's name in the school's record book when No. 12 St. Edward (6-3) travels to No. 5 Mendota (7-2) for a Class 4A playoff game today at 1 p.m.
"It's a whole new season," fifth-year Green Wave coach Mike Rolando said. "Now we tell the players 'Do you want to be the best team ever at St. Ed's? Do you want to accomplish something no one has ever done?' That's a different motivational carrot. We've proven we're a good team and have taken the next step to the playoffs. Now they have an opportunity to raise the bar and do something no St. Ed's team has ever done."
Both teams are run-oriented, though the Green Wave offense has a bit more balance. The Trojans operate out off a wing-T offense that has gained 2,886 yards via the ground game. Senior Kurtis Knapp is the leading rusher with 963 yards and 23 touchdowns in 130 attempts. His backfield mates can all do damage: Alex Caruso (54 carries, 36 yards, 4 TD), Robert Watson (42-366-3) and Travis Martinson (33-274-3).
"We have to stop Knapp and Martinson," Rolando said. "Their fullbacks are pretty good too, but these two wingbacks they have are deadly and can score at any time. We have to key on a couple of their main plays, be able to stop those and take them out of their game plan a little bit. They're going to line up, do what they do and make you stop it. They have a lot of big, strong, hard-nosed looking kids."
The Green Wave defense counters with three seasoned linebackers: four year-starter Shane Finnane in the middle, four-year starter Nathan Gaige at one outside linebacker position and three-year starter Jordan Torres at the other.
The Wave offense has amassed 2,132 yards rushing and 1,275 passing. The ground game is paced by the 1-2 punch of seniors Torres (85 carries, 777 yards, 12 TD) and Hoebbel (113-753- 9). Quarterback Ben Lehman has completed 72-of-167 passes for 1,233 yards and 14 touchdowns. He has been intercepted 9 times.
"It'll come down to the little things: who takes care of the ball, who plays more disciplined, who has more penalties and who has kids that step up and make plays," Rolando said. "We talked about making plays all year, making people miss, making big catches, making big tackles. We finally saw that against Wheaton Academy. Now, we need to step up and make plays again."
If St. Edward advances, it would play a home game against the winner of today's 1 p.m. game: No. 13 Morris (5-4) at No. 4 Chicago Raby (8-1).