Preview capsule: Morris football

"The new conference should be fun," Morris coach George Dergo said. "There are rivalries that go way back. We haven't played Streator or Ottawa or LaSalle-Peru for a long time, and everyone knows what kind of a game us and Geneseo is. We played Sterling in the playoffs last year, so we know them a little bit."

What the members of the NCIC Reagan are going to get is a Morris team that went 7-5 last year and returns a good portion of the talent. Included is 6-foot-5, 267-pound Kevin Henry, ranked in some circles as the best defensive end in the state. With the long and storied tradition at Morris, one gets the feeling that the Redskins won't have to adjust to the new conference. The new conference will have to adjust to them.

Backfield: Martin Maldonado will get the nod at quarterback, while the carries will be distrubuted between halfbacks Jake Perry, Matt Gronek and Rex Layne and fullbacks Jared Kopczick and Tyler Coleman.

"Martin has grown up a lot," Dergo said about his quarterback. "He's gotten a lot bigger and a lot stronger. Now, we have to see how he handles running the show. I think he will do real well.

"Jake Perry would have gotten a lot of carries last year, but he got hurt, so he's hungry to show what he can do. All of our guys can run with it pretty good."

Linemen: Henry played tight end last season, but will move inside to right guard this year. The two tackles are back from last year, but they will switch sides. Ty Torkelson will move from left to right and vice versa for A.J. Ulrich. Justin Latham has the inside track to starting at left guard, while Derrick Cheshareck will be the center. Rotating in and giving the starters a break will be Alex Clubb, Rishard Dixon-Norris and Marc DesLauriers.

Receivers: Danny Niewinski will provide speed to stretch the field, as will Tyler Thetard. At tight end, Kjeld Torkelson and Jordan Bruyn will be the targets for Maldonado.

"All of our receivers do a good job," Dergo said. "Danny Niewinski is real fast and Kjeld Torkelson is a good athlete with good hands. He is real good at going to get the ball if it's anywhere near him."

Linemen: The line starts with Henry, who will also alternate between end and tackle. Kjeld Torkelson and Thetard will also play on the end, with Ulrich, Ty Torkelson and Dixon-Norris seeing time at tackle. Chris Ingram returns as the starting noseguard.

"Henry can be a real force up front," Dergo said. "We need those big guys to hold down the middle of the line, and we're confident they will do that."

Linebackers: Youth will be served at the linebacker position, as a pair of juniors -- Branden Odom and Andrew Bordner -- look to be the starters. From time to time, Perry will step up from his weak safety position and play as a third linebacker as well.

"Those guys aren't very big, but they do a good job getting to the ball," Dergo said. "Odom is a real good leader, and Bordner has all the skills in the world."

Secondary: Besides Perry, Gronek, Layne and Bruyn return as starters in the secondary for the Redskins. A year on the field should help.

"You won't be seeing us getting burned for big plays like we did last year," Dergo predicted. "Those guys all have a year of experience under their belts and they've really looked good so far."

Perry and Kjeld Torkelson will share the placekicking duties, while Bruyn returns as the punter. "Both our kickers can kick it into the end zone," Dergo said. "One kicks it a little higher than the other, but if it goes into the end zone, that really doesn't matter.". Long-time Morrisites will enjoy seeing the foes from the 1960's back on the schedule. Newbies to Redskin Nation will have a new set of rivalries to cultivate. After the opener at Oswego, Morris plays host to powerful St. Rita of Chicago.

"That's probably the only time in our schools' history that we'll have a chance to play each other," Dergo said about the Week 2 matchup. "Why not do it? It should be fun. We know they will be tough, and we'll see how it goes. Then we go to one of the most historic stadiums around in LaSalle-Peru with the crowd right on top of you.

"We just want to get out of the gates well in the opener and then take it from there."