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KANE EYES DISTRICT 9 TITLE |
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ROSTER |
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By Chris Rossetti KANE – Hopes are running high at Kane High School as the 2001 football season gets underway. The Wolves, who shocked a lot of people in District 9 by making the District 9 Class A playoffs last season with a team that went 7-3 with 14 sophomores before losing to Clarion 34-6 in the first round, return 12 lettermen and four starters on offense and five on defense from that team. "I think we have a chance to make a run at the District 9 title," Kane head coach Craig Wencil said. "But we lost some quality football players from last year’s team, and we have one senior on this year’s team, Chris DiFazio. We have to have someone step up and be a leader. That’s going to be a big question mark for this year’s team. We have talent and some tough kids, and they have game experience. I hope some young kids will become leader, because I know they can play football." The returning starters on offense are quarterback Tyler Smith, tight end Mike Jamerson, center Jared Cecchetti and tackle Dan Sterba. Smith, a junior, had a sensational sophomore season after taking over for the injured Troy Wile. He completed 62 of 108 passes (57.4%) for 1,128 yards and 14 touchdowns while throwing 10 interceptions. "Tyler Smith loves football," Wencil said. "He knows the game, and he wants to win. He worked hard in the off season and threw just about every day this summer. We expect him to be a leader, but he can’t do it himself. Other kids will have to step up." Jamerson is the top returning receiver for the Wolves having caught 20 passes for 330 yards last season. Gone from the offense, though, are two guards, a tackle, three wide receivers and both running backs. The biggest loss might be the departure of Royce Novosel-Johnson, the Wolves leading rusher and receiver a year ago. Novosel-Johnson ran the ball 111 times for 521 yards and caught 24 passes for 468 yards. He also led Kane in scoring with 44 points. "We can’t replace Royce," Wencil said. "He is a quality student/athlete. We believe we will have a quality running back in Justin Erickson. He is fast and is a tough kid. He needs to play well early to build up his confidence." In addition to Erickson, Kane also will look towards Justin Jefferds at wide receiver, DiFazio at full back and Rob Christian at guard to fill in some of the holes left by graduation. Jefferds ran the ball 20 times for 49 yards in 2000 and caught two passes for an additional 20 yards. DiFazio had three rushes for 21 yards a year ago. The returning starters on defense for Kane including Smith at linebacker, Jamerson at defensive tackle, Sterba at defensive tackle and Keith Morrison at defensive end. The Wolves will have to replace their entire secondary. Erickson should see a lot of playing time at linebacker, as will Jefferds and DiFazio. Christian should fill out the line at defensive end. Kane opens the season Aug. 31 when it hosts Sheffield. The Wolves AML North opponents seem to fit the mold of taking a shot at the AML South title with the three teams being the three District 10 teams in the AML North, Sheffield, Youngsville and Eisenhower. Kane also plays host to Brockway, while going on the road |
