The Illinois Valley Central football team is ready for the new season and a chance at playoff redemption.
The Grey Ghosts are coming off a season in which they were undefeated in the regular season, but lost the first game of the playoffs to Bishop McNamara.
“We didn’t end the year the way we would have liked last year, with losing the playoff game and having six turnovers in it,” coach Tim Heinz said. “The kids are anxious to get out there and redeem themselves.”
This year, the team will again be led by senior quarterback Brock Adcock, a second year starter.
Seniors Dan Semtner and Jared Lauber will be in the backfield to share the load as the starting running backs.
“Our quarterback and our running backs are back from last year so that is going to really help our offense,” Heinz said.
Senior Trever Black will be Adcock’s favorite downfield target as he is the most experienced wide receiver.
Seniors Dan Rudolph and Cody Boswell will anchor the team’s defense.
“Our seniors have the most experience of anyone on the team because they’ve been in the fight before,” Heinz said. “They know what to expect on the field and they also know what is going to be needed of them.”
Defensively, the Ghosts will rely on experience to keep opposing teams from racking up points.
“We returned most of our linebackers from last year,” Heinz said. “We have a really athletic group, so they should really help on defense.”
While the team’s experience will help in some positions, the lack of experience in other positions may hurt.
“Inexperience is one of our weaknesses,” Heinz said. “We need to build on our experience and also to improve on our skill level and our fundamentals.”
This will also be the last year that the football team will play in the North Central Illinois Conference before joining the Mid-State 6 in 2011.
The Ghosts won the conference last season and came in second the year before.
Although there are only five members of the NCIC this season, the winner will still automatically receive a bid for the playoffs.
The Ghosts’ first chance to build experience is also their chance to renew their rivalry with the Dunlap Eagles.
“They’re going to be one of the better teams we face this year and are going to be competing to win their league,” Heinz said. “They have a good set of skill players and a good core of wide receivers.”
