| Coaching staff handed out new assignments for JCA |
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By T. G. Smith
Herald Sports Editor
It was Makeover Monday last week for the Morris football team, and Joliet Catholic Academy sure looked a whole lot uglier because of it on Friday night.
Just days removed from a stymied performance against the Geneva Vikings' defense, the Redskins went back to the practice field, made a few adjustments and proceeded to execute a near-perfect gameplan against JCA.
"We figured out who goes where. That's what you do between Weeks 1 and 2," Morris coach Andy Peterson pointed out.
"We simplified what we had to do, both on offense and defense. We believe that we now have the team that we want out there that will give us the best chance to win games," Morris coach George Dergo said.
The most obvious change that the Redskins' coaching staff made was inserting junior Drew Hanson as the starting quarterback. That meant playmaker Brenton Valentine could be utilized as a wingback, both in the slot and in the backfield. It also freed up Valentine to play in the middle of the defense, too.
"We wanted to get the ball into Brenton's hands as much as possible and he responded by making some fantastic catches," Dergo said.
Valentine caught five passes for 89 yards and ran for a pair of short scores. Perhaps as important, the defense also moved Valentine to linebacker/rover from cornerback and he responded by making a team-high 19 tackles, too.
"We feel that, if Brenton is not playing quarterback, we can put him in the middle, and he, (Kyle) Komperda and (Nathan) Slattery make up a heck of a middle," Peterson noted.
"Our linebackers learned a lot from the Geneva game. They were flying to the ball and hitting today," Dergo said. "The guys were stuffing holes and letting guys like Komperda and Brenton do their thing in the middle."
It's probably fair to say that most people around town prefer the new look.
"We've been practicing for the past three months and we turned it around in one week," Dergo said. "Not bad for moving three guys into three new positions."
Including Valentine and Hanson, Morris received support from running back Matt Peterson who caught two passes for 30 yards before he left the game after re-aggravating his left hamstring again. Additionally, running back Tim Perry seemed to fit well in a modified role while both Abe Black and Sean Valentine also getting carries. Mike Gronek got involved by catching one pass for nine yards.
Upon further review: Morris offensive coordinator Dave Auwerda believes he knows where the turnaround process began - on Sunday night when the team broke down the film.
"It came because we had the commitment and focus of the kids," Auwerda said. "We looked at what happened last week in the loss and took it to heart. To be honest, we were a little embarrassed by what happened when we watched the film. I think that we did do some good things, but we also killed ourselves."
A sign of maturity: "The kids had a lot of confidence coming into tonight and knew that we were going to win," coach Tom Peterson said. "It was a lot like last year. We had a great gameplan and stuck with it. I think the kids grew up tonight and really showed how they can play."
Ready, set, go: "Football is an emotional game and its all about the kids," Dergo said. They have done everything that we've asked them to. That's why we hate to read and hear negative things. Last week is on me. (Friday), we were ready to go. Last week, we were not ready to go and that is all my fault."
Wrong way, JCA: Friday's victory by Morris marked the first time that the Hilltoppers have lost three consecutive games since the final game in 1996 - a 17-16 loss to Mt. Carmel in Bob Stone's final year as coach - and back-to-back losses to begin the Dan Sharp regime in 1997 - a 45-0 loss to Mt. Carmel and a 20-14 defeat by Lisle Benet Academy. In 1996, an undefeated Mt. Carmel team beat JCA twice, then added the 45-0 drubbing in 1997 and the Caravan came back to beat the Hilltoppers in 1998 (21-10). The four wins by Mt. Carmel in succession marked the last time JCA lost back-to-back games to the same opponent.
What were they looking at: "(JCA) had to have a tough time preparing for us. They probably laughed at us when they saw us last week and watched the film. I don't think they could figure out if we were going to run, or pass, or what," Dergo said. "At first when we came out in the spread, I think it caught them back on their heels a bit."
A Drew carry: "The way that we've got things now, we've got kids that can fly through their routes and Drew is back there counting 1-2-3 and wham, he throws the ball," Dergo said. "He gets rid of the ball in a hurry to the receivers and that's what makes this offense work."
Hanson completed 13-of-23 passes on Friday night for 137 yards and a touchdown pass to both Alex Kreig and Zach Thetard. Hanson was quick to credit the offensive line for its solid performance against a rather large JCA defensive front.
"The line was amazing. I think that I was, maybe, hit three times all night long," Hanson said. "They gave me plenty of time to throw in the pocket tonight."
Hanson also was the leading rusher for Morris on Friday averaging 6.8 yards in 10 carries.
Happy Birthday, indeed: "I told Kyle (Komperda) that we were going to win because it was his birthday," Andy Peterson said. "I told him before the game that he was going to be able to celebrate being the only linebacker in school history to have beaten JCA twice."
Where the game changed: After going to watch the Hilltoppers play on Aug. 26 at Soldier Field in Chicago, the Redskins went over their own Week 1 film on Sunday instead of Saturday, as they normally do. Monday, they got the ball rolling towards the right direction in practice. Three plays into the game (one being a penalty), the game changed. JCA running back Ryan Piechoconski went off left tackle where Komperda converged and forced a fumble. Teammate Jordan Cryder landed on it and seven plays later the Redskins led. Though the game went down to the wire with Brenton Valentine scoring the winner with 20 seconds left, as 10:54 remained on the clock in the first quarter, the game changed and gave Morris a much-needed early-game boost that the Redskins desperately needed.
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