By Bryan Bloodworth
Making the playoffs is the goal of every high school football team at the beginning of the season.
“Absolutely, that’s the goal here, especially with the success we had at the end of the season last year,” said Central Catholic coach Mike Moews, whose seen the Saints make the playoffs the last 11 years and 26 of the last 33 seasons.
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“We really played well from the middle of the season on last year (winning five of six). It’s fun playing in the playoffs, especially going a little deeper like we did last year. And by doing that, our younger guys got some additional practice and game experience, which was a good thing too.”
The Saints return eight starters on offense and six on defense from last year’s 7-5 team that finished third in the Corn Belt Conference.
“We actually get all of our skilled guys back and I can’t remember the last time that’s happened,” said Moews.
Leading the offense will be the senior tandem of running backs Ryan Zitkus and Brett Segobiano along with senior Jake Baughman at quarterback.
“We have two 1,000-yard rushers coming back, so you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out where we’re going to focus a little bit,” added Moews. “Ryan and Brett got us to the dance last year. But we do have other options, so we can use other parts of the field and put pressure on the defenses.”
Segobiano ran for 1,108 yards and 16 touchdowns, while Zitkus added 976 yards and eight touchdowns. The Saints also return three of their top four receivers in juniors Bobby Brady, JP Sikora and Andrew Einck.
While the offense generated yardage, it also was plagued by turnovers.
“Our biggest detriment last year was that we were really loose with the ball,” said Moews. “In our losses, we averaged four or five turnovers a game. We’ve really focused and worked on ball security over the summer.”
Mowes admits the offensive line will be young with only seniors Will Hoscheidt and Griffen Fox returning as starters. Other line candidates include senior Alex Rappe, junior Zach Appio and sophomores Joe Malinowski and Garrison Kear. Kyle Connor, a tight end last year, could move to the line.
The defense will be led by Zitkus, who is moving from outside to inside linebacker, and Segobiano, who is moving to outside linebacker after playing in the defensive backfield last year.
The 6-foot-3, 225-pound Connor will anchor the defensive line along with senior John Hayes. The secondary returns experience with Sikora leading the way.
“Depth is our overall issue,” said Moews. “For us to be our best, we have to have everybody contribute so we can get some guys off the field to rest.
“Our team chemistry is good. The team gets along well and they support each other. If we can stay healthy, I think we can have some success.”
Bryan Bloodworth can be reached at lefty@wjbc.com
