St. Mary’s Hoping To Continue Improvement

For plenty of teams, a 4-5 record would easily be viewed as a disappointment. When you’re a team coming off a 1-9 record just one year prior, however, getting to four wins is a major step in the right direction.

St. Mary’s is hoping that last year’s turn around is just the beginning for a team looking to prove that it can hang with and beat the top teams of the Monsignor Martin Athletic Association (MMAA).

Returning just 10 starters – five on each side of the ball – the Lancers are a team that is going to have a number of new faces in new situations for 2018. That said, head coach Chris Dickson sees a team ready to compete with the entirety of the MMAA.

“We’re further ahead this year than we have been in the previous two years combined,” Dickson said. “We have some great kids on the field. I’m pretty excited about it.”

Of course, with any high school football team, players come and go leaving holes to be filled. One hole that sees a large gap is the running game. Last year’s leading rusher DJae Perry is no longer with the team, and that requires Dickson and his staff to find a way to make up for the 800 rushing yards and 11 rushing touchdowns Perry gained last season.

Fortunately for the Lancers, Dickson feels they have that player to step right in in sophomore Jaqwan Manuel.

“This year, he sees that he is the guy, and he’s really taken on a role of being that leader right now,” Dickson said. “He’s a guy we’re looking – I won’t say replace – to step up and be the running back we know that he can be.

“It’s all in front of him right now. He’s an explosive and powerful running back. That combination can hurt some defenses.”

One of the smallest rosters – size wise – in the MMAA, St. Mary’s is a program that always must work harder than most in order to find success on the field and gain top level talent. It’s not common that two up-and-coming high-level players join the team at the same time, but that’s the situation the Lancers appear to be in.

The quarterback battle has been one to watch as St. Mary’s currently has two young players battling it out for the starting job ahead of their week one matchup against Bishop Kearney of Rochester.

Levi Taberski and Julius Perry have both shown a coach’s dream mentality for a QB: they want the ball in their hands for their team. With a daily competition in practice, Dickson feels that both players are bringing out the best in each other while fighting for the number one job.

“It helps things move along so much better,” Dickson said regarding the competition. “It’s a great situation to be in right now. It’s nice to know we have two guys that are attacking the QB position with vigor and hard work.

“It’s healthy for the team, and it’s nice to see everyone fighting for their role.”

On defense it’s all about containment for the Lancers. No team ever wants to give up points, but for St. Mary’s it’s more about containing opposing offenses more-so than trying to shut them down completely. This year, the Lancers are a team that will go as far as the offense takes them, and Dickson firmly believes that his squad is capable of doing what needs to be done to find gameday success.

“(We’re skilled enough) to keep possession and limit opposing offensive chances,” he said. “When we do that well, we’ll always have the best chance to win.”