Hayes to follow path of Purvin

LEMONT -- From the first snap in Friday night's season opener against Chicago Hope, the best friend of Lemont running back Danny Hayes will be returning offensive lineman Jimmy Purvin.

And understandably so.

The 5-foot-11, 200-pound Purvin plans on playing center or guard, moving over from right tackle. As senior classmates, Hayes and Purvin are the lone two regulars back on offense from last year's team that finished 13-1.

"Rebuilding the line is a big task," Indians offensive coordinator Brett Nelson said. "Danny had to build up for that reason, too. It will take awhile to get it together."

Together, Purvin and Hayes can point to Hayes' 1,886 rushing yards and 27 touchdowns on 291 carries last year. They won't be the only ones pointing, though.

"I think it's going to be an opportunity for Danny to see what he has to do to adjust to being the focus of everybody's game plan," Lemont coach Eric Michaelsen said. "I'm sure everyone's attention will be to try and slow him down."

Along with Purvin in Year 3, Michaelsen mentioned a list of Justin Schultz, Zach Howell, Alex Gikas, Dan McKevitt, Denny McAuliffe, Jared Bruns, Matt Gallet and Sean Connelly as O-line possibilities.

"We have good chemistry and we're not going to be a one-dimensional team like last year," Purvin promised. "Danny did a great job in his first year. We lost some experience, but we're ready to go."