Seniors setting the tone for Conant

John Altobelli, Trace Ancona and Brian Wadsworth are among the small group of Conant's senior football survivors.

While many of their classmates drifted away, Altobelli, Ancona and Wadsworth are determined to make sure their underclass teammates get with getting the program back on track after three straight losing seasons.

"It starts with the seniors and if the seniors slack off and don't care, the younger guys will see that," said Altobelli, who moves from free to strong safety.

"The leadership has to be there," said Wadsworth, who is starting at wide receiver. "We have to set the tone and dictate what's going to happen."

That will include calming a lot of jitters for a lot of players lining up in a varsity game for the first time Aug. 27 at Lake Park.

"I remember my first game I had a lot of nerves going into it," Altobelli said. "The seniors helped me tremendously to get through that."

They want to make sure they do what they can after finishing 2-7 last year.

"We hate losing," said Ancona, who is moving from nose tackle to left defensive end, "and that brought us to respect when we have good people around us."

They also believe having a lot of people playing will be good for Conant as coach Bill Modelski decided to go to a two-platoon system.

"Our focus is so much stronger," said Wadsworth, who also played defensive back last year.

"The two-platoon has helped us so much," said Altobelli. "We're two to three weeks ahead of where we'd usually be."

They'll also be setting a good example for the underclassmen to do what's needed to stay on the field.

Wadsworth has a perfect 4.0 grade-point average and a 29 ACT and wants to study biochemistry or pre-med. Altobelli had a 3.67 GPA and 24 ACT and wants to study engineering or meteorology and Ancona has a 3.3 GPA and 24 ACT and wants to study engineering.

Their goal on the field is to help Conant make the playoff grade for the first time since 2006.

"We believe we are a playoff team and can make the playoffs," Ancona said. "We want to be the team that starts the tradition of getting Conant to what it used to be and making the playoffs every year."