The St. Joe’s Marauders were defeated by St. Francis in their Monsignor Martin semifinal matchup this past Friday night. The loss ended a season full of promise for the Marauders in which they hoped to return to New Era field.
Although the loss was disappointing for this season’s Marauders, the program finds itself in a great situation with a large pool of talented underclassmen. In 2017, the Marauders will look to experienced players such as Nick Julian, Garrett House, Tyler Doty and Keon Howard.
In addition to these players, Sophomores Casey Kelly and Jaden Lofon were superb for the Marauders. Kelly was productive both in the passing and rushing game this season, gaining valuable experience in the St. Joe’s system. In the air, Kelly threw for 958 yards and 6 touchdowns. Kelly also rushed for 430 yards and 6 touchdowns. Lofton rushed for 523 yards and 7 touchdowns.
One lesser known weapon the Marauders possess is Freshman Micah Brown. Brown, who spent much of the season on Junior Varsity, was promoted prior to the St. Joe’s game vs McDowell. Although he received limited reps in his time with the varsity team, Brown proved that he possesses the pure athletic ability to play any position on the field.
St. Joe’s Junior Wide Receiver and Safety Trey Boling made it clear that the seniors set a foundation for success next season. “This year’s seniors are our role models,” Boling said. “They all let us know what it takes to get where we want.”
Fellow Junior Center and Defensive Tackle Cam Dabill added to Boling’s point, saying “This year’s leaders showed me that you need to work hard and encourage others to work hard. They demonstrated hard work pays off because they worked hard in the off season and excelled on the field.”
The Marauders believe that success is earned on the field but also in the weight room. Trey Boling spoke about the importance of offseason workouts saying “Being in the weight room is a must. It’s going to build our chemistry and make us physically better players.”
Following the loss to St. Francis, all in the Joe’s locker room felt a feeling of frustration, that they could not achieve their goal of winning a league championship. The Marauders, however, feel that they can turn that frustration into motivation. “Not winning a championship drives me to work harder,” Cam Dabill said. “It makes me want to better myself and to better the team. We all need to grind this off season and the results will show. With all of that said, I am excited to see what is in store for the upcoming year.”
Commenti