Four-year journey

For St. Edward seniors Shane Finnane and Nathan Gaige, a long varsity football odyssey reaches uncharted territory this weekend.

No two players represent the Green Wave's progression from woebegone program to playoff qualifier more than Finnane and Gaige, who have been through every step of the transition the past four years as varsity starters.

As freshmen, the duo was part of a 2006 team that hardly stood a chance from week to week while finishing 0-9. They helped St. Edward break through and end its 26-game losing streak as sophomores and played a part in leading the Wave toward respectability with a 4-5 finish as juniors.

Now comes the climax of the journey as Finnane and Gaige lead St. Edward into its first postseason game since 2003 on Saturday at Mendota in the first round of the Class 4A state playoffs.

"Going 0-9 my freshman year, then 1-8 and then 4-5, I feel like I've been through the whole progression," Finnane said. "Ending my senior year like this is definitely a great thing to do."

The contributions of Finnane and Gaige have been enormous this season as St. Edward matched its highest win total since 1992 with a 6-3 regular season.

The 6-foot, 240-pound Finnane leads the defense with 91 tackles to go along with two sacks. In addition to his middle linebacker duties, he's also helped the Wave offense rack up 236.9 rushing yards per game with his play at left tackle.

Meanwhile, Gaige is second to Finnane with 87 tackles. The 5-11, 205-pounder is also tied for the team lead with three interceptions and two fumble recoveries in his fourth season at outside linebacker.

"(Gaige) is just a great athlete, his motor is always going and he practices hard," St. Edward coach Mike Rolando said. "(Finnane) is the strongest kid in the program. For a high school boy, he's got a work ethic like no other."

Rolando is the reason Finnane and Gaige decided to attend St. Edward in the first place. He coached the duo to a championship in 2004 when Finnane and Gaige were seventh-graders with the Crusaders youth football team.

The following year Rolando took over at St. Edward. When it came time for Finnane and Gaige to enroll in high school, the opportunity to play for their former coach outweighed the prospect of enduring a rebuilding project with the Green Wave.

"This group of seniors right now, a couple of us played with these coaches since seventh grade," Finnane said. "They've been like another set of parents for us. They brought us up and made us who we are today.

"(Rolando) is the reason we came to St. Ed. We knew he could turn the program around as fast as he did."

Finnane is in his fourth season as a two-way starter, and Gaige started both ways the previous three years before focusing more on his linebacker duties this fall.

While that service is impressive, it's not exactly ideal to have players three and four years younger than most opponents never leave the field.

Yet that's the reality St. Edward faced when Rolando took over a program that was left in shambles following former coach Rich Sanders' abrupt departure a month before the 2005 season.

"I knew when coach Ro needed guys like me and Shane to play on varsity as freshmen that we weren't going to be that good," Gaige said. "But I knew we were just growing as a program."

That growth is evident now as the Green Wave counts only one sophomore as a regular varsity starter. St. Edward could barely field a sophomore team when Finnane and Gaige arrived, but this year the Wave fielded a full sophomore squad that rolled to a 9-0 record.

"Back in Shane and Nathan's day they were two-way starters as freshmen, but those days are kind of over," Rolando said. "We've got a sustained program where juniors and seniors play varsity with maybe an exceptional sophomore here and there. But for the most part we want to have juniors and seniors on the field."

And therein lies what may be the most lasting legacy Finnane and Gaige will leave behind at St. Edward.

While both players have aspirations to play in college -- Finnane is drawing considerable interest from Army while Gaige has been in contact with NAIA Quincy University -- their sacrifices and hard work have helped create an even brighter future for Green Wave football.

"We don't want to look at this good year as a flash in the pan," Rolando said. "We want to sustain this for the long run."