Friday, Aug. 28, 2009

Let the games begin: West, East open season on road; Althoff gets a home game

Belleville West coach Ric Johns doesn't mind admitting it: He is weary of preseason practices and is ready to see what's in store for his Maroons.

Johns will get his answer at 7 p.m. today when the Maroons visit Highland. It's a rematch of the opener from last season, when West defeated the Bulldogs 28-6 in Belleville en route to an 8-2 record.

"First games are always precarious because no matter what think, you haven't worked everything out yet," Johns said. "Until you get down and dirty against somebody else, you just don't know. Like everybody else, we're going to try to hold on to the football and see if we can execute at a level we're able to execute.

"We're excited to get going. We've reached that point where it seems like we've been practicing forever. We've been working at some level all summer long. We're just ready to line up and play against somebody and see what we have."

Senior quarterback Jodeci Mack and senior fullback Sean Lewis scored two touchdowns apiece last season against Highland, and both return to torment defenses in 2009. Senior running back Jarvis Patterson also is back.

Mack, Lewis and Patterson combined for 24 touchdowns and 2,068 yards rushing last season. But that's in the past. The Maroons want to build a consistent winning program, not reflect on the accomplishments of one season.

"If you're going to look beyond a season and look toward a program, last year really has to be another step along the way," Johns said. "We can't go backward this year. We're well aware of that. We need to really establish our program this year and let the kids see this is just how we're going to do things. This is just how it works at Belleville West."

Highland, after losing its first two games last season, finished 7-4 and reached the second round of the Class 5A playoffs. Running backs Dale Korte and Michael Buehne and fullback Justin Huelsmann return for a team that rushed for 2,685 yards last season.

Senior Kevin Keeven will replace the graduated Travis Becherer at quarterback.

"They're physical and they'll have some athleticism," Johns said. "The Highland kids play hard. They get after it. We expect a very tough game. I'm sure they're going to have advantages over us in certain places. We hope we have them in the speed department. Hopefully, we can take advantage of that."

Belleville East at Mount Vernon, 7 p.m.: East's enrollment (2,728 students) is more than twice the size of Mount Vernon's enrollment of 1,356 students, but that's meant little in the series between the two schools.

The Lancers are 4-2 against the Rams, edging out a 7-6 victory last year at home.

"It's always been a pretty good game and a tough test for us," said East coach Tim Funk. "I know people always say Belleville East is bigger and we have more kids and this, that and the other. When the ball is snapped, they have 11 and we have 11 and you have to play."

Funk --- whose club was 7-4 last year and nearly beat (Chicago) Brother Rice (a 9-7 loss) in the second round of the Class 8A playoffs -- is anxious to see the 2009 Lancers in game action.

"We need to play to see what we need to work on," Funk said. "You really don't know until you play that first game. I tell every team this, and what I'm looking for Friday is to see how they handle adversity when they get knocked in the nose."

Funk said tailback Keith Chism, who transferred from city rival Althoff, has been slowed by a hamstring injury and may be limited in what he can do tonight. Chism ran for 1,075 yards and 14 touchdowns for the Crusaders last season.

"I think he'll play," Funk said. "We'll see to what capacity."

Mount Vernon returns eight starters on offense and seven on defense from last year's 5-5 club that qualified for the playoffs for the fifth straight season.

The Rams return quarterback Jim Mulvaney, running backs Jesse Stuckey and Torrey Pollard and one of the top kickers in the south in Mike Swinnen.

"Mount Vernon is always very athletic, very well coached and always know what they're supposed to be doing," Funk said. "In order for us to beat them, we have to execute and that's always a concern in Week 1."

Northwest Academy vs. Althoff at Lindenwood University-Belleville, 7 p.m.: Though the Althoff Crusaders routed Northwest Academy 41-0 in their season opener last year, coach Ken Turner is concerned about getting stung by the Hornets this year.

"They have 11 starters back on offense and defense,'' Turner said. "That's always something for you to worry about.''

The Hornets, a member of the Public High League in St. Louis, went 3-6 last season in their first year offering varsity football. They had no seniors on their squad.

The Crusaders will be playing their first five games in Belleville. Three of those games are home games, and the other is a road game against Belleville West.

"We have a nice schedule as far as home games,'' Turner said. "It always helps out when you play at your field. And, having a lot of experience are things going in our favor this year.''

Keith Chism rushed for 171 yards and four touchdowns against Northwest Academy last year, but he has transferred to Belleville East.

Chism may be gone, but the Crusaders return quarterback Brady Nowak, who threw for 1,022 yards and nine touchdowns.

Joining Nowak in the backfield are running backs Pat McGlynn and Paul Cerafatti.

Turner said the most important thing is that the Crusaders are healthy. They were ravaged by injuries last year en route to a 3-6 record in Turner's first season as coach.

"Right now we are injury-free,'' Turner said. "Hopefully, we can stay away from what happened last year.''