With ample experience and depth, the Morton football team is lining up for a rebound season.
“The kids are working hard, had a good summer and are starting to buy into the philosophies the coaching staff is bringing to them,” first-year MHS head coach Jason Thiry said.
An obvious objective the Potters have for 2010 is to return to the postseason for the first time since ’07. They were 7-11 under two-year head coach Trevor Lehnen.
With the opener at Normal U-High Friday, Morton has its basic ideas and concepts ready.
The Potters have placed an emphasis on blocking, tackling and special teams as it gears up for a schedule filled with challenging opponents.
Like with any other program, an injury-free season is of major importance for Morton, which has a slew of returning players.
“Our goal is to stay healthy,” said Thiry. “If we do that, we should have a successful season.”
Senior DJ Zahn leads the list of running back candidates. He was the Potters’ leading rusher a year ago with 513 yards and added four touchdowns.
Tristan Popadziuk and Andrew Starkey also are seniors who logged more than four carries per game.
Another senior, Dakota Klein, topped Morton in ’09 with five TDs on the ground.
The backs as a group are willing to block for each other.
Thiry said the team feels good about the experience in the backfield and at receiver.
Out wide, senior Joe Pflederer paced the Potters last season with 23 receptions.
Classmates Justin Pokorney and Dalton White, a football newcomer, also are capable receivers.
Morton is young at quarterback, with sophomore David Rossi taking over the position.
Initially, Thiry said Rossi will need to continue to take care of the ball as he has in the preseason and manage the team.
When the time inevitably comes that he needs to do more, Thiry said Rossi has the ability to play beyond his class year.
Center Joey Naab and tackle Jon Losen, both seniors, anchor the offensive line as three-year varsity players.
Senior Jacob Petefish had a good offseason as a tackle.
Junior Austin Sherwood and senior Rand Stringer are getting looks at guard.
There still was a good battle last week at tight end with seniors Brennen Williams and Jed Lacy and junior Matt Hungate all viable options.
Thiry said he is counting on senior leadership from the linemen, who will make every effort to help Rossi feel comfortable.
Kicker Connor Kindred, a sophomore, is back after making 16-of-18 extra points and a 37-yard field goal in his debut campaign.
The Potter defensive line is comprised of some athletic players who can avoid blocks and handle their responsibilities well, Thiry said.
Klein, Lacy, senior Austin Walschaert and junior Kole Jones all are factors on the D-line.
Some of the O-line players also can step in when needed on the other side of the ball.
The linebackers “like to hit and get after it,” Thiry said. “Those guys will lead the defense.”
Juniors Kyle Hoefft and Blake Miller, and sophomore Ryan Wiegand join Williams, Hungate and Popadziuk at linebacker.
With 46, Hoefft brings back the most tackles from last year among the group.
Zahn is the leader of the defensive backfield at free safety.
As a junior, he was Morton’s lone first-team all-Mid-Illini Conference selection. Zahn had 63 tackles and a pair of interceptions.
White, Starkey, Pflederer, seniors Beau Bonham and Brent Rassi and juniors Dakota Hill and Fernandez Bjork all are contenders for secondary playing time.
Rassi is slotted in at punter, where he had the best average in limited action last fall.
A robust senior class of 25 will be leaned on heavily.
“They have to carry the team if we are going to have a successful season,” said Thiry.
The overall varsity roster consists of more than 60 players.
“We feel very good about where we’re at and the numbers we’ve got,” Thiry said.
The Potters play on the Hancock Stadium turf at Illinois State University on opening night before welcoming Galesburg to Carper Field a week later.
Both are new opponents in the non-conference schedule, but, while excited to play new foes, Morton remains focused on what it can control.
The Potters have gone 3-4 each of the last two years in the Mid-Illini, where games now are played in weeks three through nine.
Improving that mark will help Morton reach the playoffs again, although the squad will take a game-by-game approach.
Thiry listed defending league champion and Class 5A quarterfinalist Washington and 4A state champ Metamora as the favorites based on their past successes.
The Panthers and Redbirds are on the schedule in consecutive weeks in early October.
The Potters do not want to settle for merely being a postseason qualifier.
“Advancing in the playoffs has got to be a goal of the program,” said Thiry.
Among the personnel losses to graduation for Morton were second-team all-M-I choices Brock Cody (tackle in ’09 and defensive line in ’08) and Mitch Henson (DL), the No. 1 tackler.
A quick start this season could ignite the Potters’ football rebirth.
