Preseason Review

It is clear the success of 1999 Kaneland football is going to start with the lines. One may be hard pressed to find a better offensive and defensive line in all of 3A and maybe 4A for that matter.

The Offensive Line

The offensive line starts with seniors Bryan Staker and Ron Easto at the tackles. These guys are a pair of boulders on wheels that will open holes big enough for coach Thorgesen to run through. Inside of them will be Will Schmidt another standout and the only blip on an otherwise huge line Rudy Milo who at 5-8 and 180 might be hard to find among his teammates. However, by mid season his aggressiveness may have you running out to rent a copy of the movie "Rudy".

Matt Nelson, a pleasant surprise will anchor the center position replacing injured Adam Schultz, last year's starting center who will miss the first half of the season with a pulled back muscle. Mike Sondelski should also see some meaningful minutes at guard the guard position.

The night before the first game the three guys on the ball get together to review stats. L-R quarterback Dave Issel with centers Matt Nelson, and Adam Schultz.

Size of the line is awesome. The Knights will read 6-1, 6-0, 6-3, and 6-1 weighing 265, 205, 185 and 250 minus Milo.

The Defensive Line

On the Defensive it gets even better as last year's standout defensive end Shawn Fuller returns to anchor the line at 6-4 and 220. On the other side 250 pound third year starter Bryan Staker will put fear in the eyes of the opposing quarterbacks.

Up the middle Ron Easto, Wil Schmidt and Mike Sondelski will make sure nothing gets up the middle. This line is good. Darn good!

"We feel strongly that our success starts with the defense," says coach Joe Thorgesen. "Sometimes the fans and the press love the stats of the offense, but the heart and soul of our team is our defense."

The Rest of the Defense

The rest of defense after all-conference-should-be middle linebacker Colin Nolan may take a little while to jell. Replacing Kyle Schrader, Curt Long, P.J. Fleck and Shaun Wenz isn't going to be easy.

At outside linebacker Juniors Justin Wolbers and Robert McGinnis will be up to the challenge along with help from seniors Tony Signorella and Will Schmidt .

The Defensive backfield will have returning starters Ryan Schrader and Ben Rogers. They will be joined by Mike Merfeld, Matt McGinnis, Wayne Shaw and Billy McKeown when he's healthy. McGinnis and McKeown saw sufficient playing time last year.

The Skill Positions

Next lies the big question mark of this year's team - the so called skill positions. Last years seniors dominated these positions leaving little playing time for underclassman. The lone exception being speedster Billy McKeown who will be playing both flanker and wide out.

At quarterback Dave Issel although he saw only a few snaps last season, appears ready to take over the reigns from graduating senior Eric Delaney. And fellow junior Doug Robinson is ready if Issel falters.

His running backs, which may be the staple of this year's offense, consist of Mike Merfeld, Ben Rogers, and Ryan Schrader. All of them capable of breaking away for long distance TD's. Colin Nolan will share the load with Merfeld at fullback and may prove to be a load to bring down. All backs are capable of catching the ball coming out of the backfield giving coach Thorgesen many options behind the quarterback.

But this year's receiver core may need to find ways to soften their hands before hitting the field. It's a green group, who outside of McKeown has caught less than 10 passes between them at the varsity level.

McKeown clearly is a threat and will be drawing a lot of double coverage. Junior wide out Robbie Bieritz who is no #10, even though he is wearing that number, may possess the softest hands. He should see plenty of playing time along with Matt McGinnis, Wayne Shaw and Shawn Fuller.

The Intangibles

Outside of the lines, the highlight of this team may be it's kicking. With Mckeown punting it's as good as it gets. Then add place kicker Josh Dimitri who will turn some heads with his strong and accurate foot. These guys could account for a victory or two with their toes.

Another plus for the team, is it knows how to win and the proven Kaneland coaching staff remains in tack.

But what about the pressure to continue the school's 28 game winning streak, the longest in the state. With a green quarterback playing both of his first two games on the road against solid competition we may get quick indicator how good this team is.

The Summary

Injuries may play a big part in Kaneland's plans, as the Knight start the season a little banged up. But if everyone gets healthy and stays that way, this team may very well surprise a lot of people.

In the end coach Thorgesen has a history of relying on his running game when things get tough, and with this great offensive line and a solid running group behind a quality quarterback we may see some grind it out football a far cry from the more open offense we have become accustom to the last couple of years.

But there is no question about it - this will be another exciting football season for Kaneland fans, who should find their team in the playoffs again!

This year's captains are Colin Nolan, Bill McKeown, Will Schmidt, Brian Staker, and Matt McGinnis.

EDGYTIM INTERNATIONAL'S 1999 PREDICTIONS

Suburban Prairie White
Favorites: Kaneland, Evergreen Park, Herscher, Sycamore

Another solid 3A-4A conference, 4 playoff teams might be a stretch, but you all know that Kaneland, despite losing PJ Fleck and Eric Delaney will be good, Evergreen Park potentially could be as good as the old SICA days, Herscher is always around things, and I liked the looks of Sycamore at NIU.

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