Scouting the Dundee-Crown Chargers
The Dundee-Crown football team aims for a bounce-back season after fielding one of the area's more inexperienced squads in 2017.
Multiple sophomores were pressed into duty out of need and started alongside members of a large junior class. Such overall varsity inexperience translated to a 1-8 record against mostly senior-laden competition.
Reasons for optimism emerged from that rebuilding year, particularly on offense. Quarterback Josh Raby, running back Ricky Ibarra and receiver Jack Michalski helped the Chargers score 201 points, the program's highest total since 2013-14, when they last made the state playoffs. Now seniors, the trio is among nine offensive returnees.
Defensively, the young Chargers took more lumps than usual last year. Though they've ranked near the bottom of the Fox Valley Conference in points allowed over the previous 10 seasons - D-C yielded 31.2 points per game between 2007-2016 - that total jumped to 40.1 ppg last year. Inexperience was the main culprit.
"We could score last year, but it doesn't matter if you can't stop anybody," Dundee-Crown coach Mike Steinhaus said. "We were in games for a half, but we would just get killed on defense because we didn't have kids who understood how hard it is. We have to stop people."
Most of the defensive line graduated, but D-C's fifth-year coach expects improvement on that side of the ball, led by senior leaders he calls hard workers: Ryan Lascano at safety and linebackers Nick Wolf and TJ Martin. They are among 25 seniors on the 54-man roster. The list of returning defenders also includes defensive backs Damarion Butler, Judah Conner, Karim Dunner and linebacker Tony Fakhoury, among others.
The offense is potentially explosive with nine starters returning. Raby (6-foot-5, 175 pounds) last year completed 60 percent of his passes for over 1,400 yards and 13 touchdowns. The all-Fox Valley Conference pick is drawing college interest, according to his coach.
Ibarra was fourth in the FVC in rushing last season behind Samson Evans and Zach Gulbransen of Class 6A state champion Prairie Ridge and Huntley all-state quarterback Eric Mooney. Ibarra rushed for nearly 1,200 yards, averaged almost 6 yards per tote and reached the end zone 11 times.
"And he is probably one of my most improved players if you can believe that," Steinhaus said. "We already know he can make plays and stuff, but he transformed in the weight room. And his mentality has always been very positive. We expect big things from him."
Michalski, a 6-4 tight end, averaged better than 11 yards on 46 receptions, 7 of which went for touchdowns. Also back is fellow multisport athlete Brad Stec. The 6-6 senior receiver averaged 14 yards on 16 receptions as a junior. Receivers Jordan Hairston, Robby Krueger and Alex Lopez also return, adding to Raby's comfort level.
Though Steinhaus is cautiously optimistic about Dundee-Crown's prospects with a senior-heavy lineup, he isn't taking improvement for granted. Thus, the team's summer theme centered on developing an iron will.
"We can't take a play off, we can't take a practice off," he said. "We have to take advantage of every opportunity we have to make ourselves better so we can do some special things this year. We have a bunch of seniors that worked their butts off and we have a positive outlook on the season but we know that if we at Dundee Crown don't take care of the little things every day, it will not go our way.
"We come into every game knowing the other team thinks they're going to beat us. We just want to prove to them that that's not going to be the case this year. How we are going to do that is just play by play."