BREESE -- If a sequel to Mater Dei's record-setting 12-win season of a year ago is on the horizon for the Knights, a different script will be used.
The Knights averaged 44 points, 267 passing yards and 180 rushing yards a game during their march to a 12-1 record and the Class 4A semifinals last year. However, All-State quarterback Justin Vonder Haar and wide receiver Aaron Fuehne have graduated, and head coach Ray Kauling has moved on to Centralia.
In their stead is a young but talented roster with a rookie head coach in Jim Stiebel, the former Althoff High All-State offensive lineman who has been patiently waiting for this opportunity the past eight years as an assistant coach with the Crusaders.
Stiebel said fans expecting a repeat of the point-a-minute offense from 2008 will be in for a letdown.
"That's going to be very difficult to duplicate, which I don't expect us to," Stiebel said. "We're a different team. Our offensive expectations are not going to be the same as what they accomplished last year, which is amazing the numbers they put up and records they broke.
"We're not expecting to do that, nor are we going to be a team like that."
Stiebel does expect the same high standard of success. Mater Dei has made the playoffs five straight years, finishing second in 2007, and hasn't had a losing season since 2004.
"The kids are confident," Stiebel said. "They're used to winning and I think anything less than that would be selling these kids short. I'm confident with what they can do."
The Knights, who open at 7 p.m. today at at Effingham, will have junior Tyler Detmer running the offense. He replaces Vonder Haar, who completed 199 of 332 pass attempts for 3,423 yards and 43 touchdowns, the most in the metro-east.
The 6-foot-1 Detmer makes the switch from wide receiver, where he caught 52 passes for 926 yards and nine TDs last year. Stiebel said Detmer is at his best when he's on the move.
"Our quarterback's strength is not being a pocket quarterback," Stiebel said. "We're going to move him around and utilize what he's good at. He's a very intelligent kid and I know he'll do well."
Detmer will be handing off a lot to senior running back Lucas Hemann (6-1, 184), who rushed for 1,186 yards and 13 TDs on 166 attempts.
Hemann is a speedster who averaged 7.1 yards a carry while catching 27 passes for 408 yards and five TDs out of the backfield.
"He's the key," Stiebel said. "As far as Lucas can carry us is as far as we're going to go, because we're going to lean on him in many games. We're going to establish the run, and that's going to be our No. 1 goal.
"If he doesn't have the ball in his hands 15 times by halftime, there'll be something addressed. That's not going to be an issue."
Joining Hemann in the backfield will be juniors Joey Deiters (6-2, 190) and Collin Toennies (6-1, 175), and sophomores Kane Weinberg and Cody Ratermann.
Fuehne and his 65 catches for 1,322 yards and 19 TDs have moved on to Quincy University, leaving 6-3 senior John Huelsmann (24-378, five TDs) as Mater Dei's most experienced wide receiver.
Toennies, senior Alec Kuhl (6-4, 213) and juniors Travis Timmermann (6-1, 182) and Adam Fuehne (6-6, 210) bring a tall presence to the receiving corps. Kuhl was a force at tight end last year, catching 22 passes for 337 yards and six TDs despite sitting out several games with a knee injury.
"We're going to try and move him around," Stiebel said. "He's a major factor in what we're doing. He blocks very well and we have high expectations for him."
Mater Dei's offensive line is young with only one senior starter returning in 6-3, 235-pound Brett Dierkes, who will move from center to right tackle. Juniors Zach Revermann (6-1, 232), Doug Hollenkamp (6-2, 272), Cody Tebbe (6-2, 242) and sophomores Justin Dulle (6-1, 225), Clint Ratermann (6-1, 220) and Evan Trame (6-2, 230) comprise the line.
"We're not super big, but we're not small, either," Stiebel said. "They're all fairly tall with long arms and quick feet."
Graduation hit Mater Dei's defense hard, as 11 of its top 12 tacklers are gone. Dierkes (36 tackles) has the most experience. Stiebel expects several two-way players, with Revermann on the line, Hemann and Kuhl at linebacker and Fuehne, Toennies and Huelsmann in the secondary.
Just like during his days as a player and coach at Althoff, Stiebel knows there's a bull's-eye on Mater Dei's backs.
"We're not going to sneak up on anybody," he said. "Everybody that plays us -- just like Althoff --it's their Super Bowl."
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