By Ryan Nagelhout Niagara Gazette The Niagara Gazette Mon Aug 29, 2011, 12:01 AM EDT
NIAGARA FALLS — Drawing a conclusion about Lewiston-Porter’s 2010 football campaign depends on which side of the half full/half empty debate you reside on.
While the Lancers lost their first three games by big margins, Lew-Port surprised many in Class B West and won its next four, landing a genuine playoff game and riding a wave of momentum into the long winter months.
Ten months later, Lancers head coach Dick Lindamer is hanging his hat on optimism this season.
“I’m very optimistic. I realize that we’re young and I realize we’re going to have some problems here and there, but that’s the bad news,” Lindamer said. “The good news is we’re young so I’m looking forward to this year. I think we can put together a nice little season.”
Lew-Port loses four-year starter Marc Morreale, who filled a variety of roles for the Lancers, but Lindamer said his team is ready to start fast this year.
“Every year is different but we’d be stupid not to learn from the mistakes of the past,” he said. “One of the things we have to do with this team is we have to play physical and practice physical. That was one of the things that helped turn last year’s team around.
"We hope we don’t have to wait until week three or four to see that.”
Lew-Port kicks off the 2011 season at home this Saturday under the lights against Newfane. While the atmosphere should make for an exciting opening weekend, the always-practical coach said an extra day of practice — and scouting — makes the Saturday night showdown a favorite of his.
“We like that Saturday night home opener for a lot of reasons,” he said.
“New York State does things in such a tight window, so we like that one extra day of practice.
“Not to mention for scouting purposes for us,” Lindamer continued. “We see teams on Friday and Saturday afternoon. So we look at it as a win-win-win.”
If his squad wants a ‘W’ on opening night, Lew-Port will need a big game from its offense, led by Josh Daul. A returning starter under center, Daul had “a really good offseason” according to his head coach and get more control over the offense this fall.
Billy Schiavitti will play a big part in the Lancers attack, playing running back and catching balls out in the slot position, while sophomore Dan Hogan will play fullback and gives Lew-Port some size to back up its running game.
Junior Dan Reagan will line up at running back after showing flashes of brilliance last season as a JV callup. He’ll be running behind Kevin McMurray and Cameron Klettke, who Lindamer says will anchor a young offensive line. Despite the inevitable growing pains of youth, Lindamer says he likes the way his roster fills out.
“Were not changing anything really, except for that I think the personnel we have this year really kind of fits the system that we like to run, maybe even better than years past,” Lindamer said. “We have some pretty good speed on the edges, a couple of backs that can run inside and we have a quarterback who can throw.”
Lindamer views his offense as fractional, with a third devoted to the power rushing game, another third to throwing the ball and a final third “getting our fast guys in space.” Last season it took the offense a while to start clicking, but once it did the wins came in bunches. This year the goal is to get that momentum going early.
Each graduating class creates a transition period for a head coach to counteract. This year’s moves are on defense, where speed will be key.
“We’re going to be a faster team that we were last year. On the negative side we’re going to be a bit smaller,” Lindamer said. “We’ll have to find our identity this season, find ways to use these smaller, speed guys to attack and pursue the football.”
If they can chase it down early, Lindamer says his glass is more than half full in Youngstown.
Copyright 2011 Niagara Gazette. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Source:
No comments:
Post a Comment