Team concept? Marist buys into it

When two athletes compete for one position, there’s not always a happy ending for all involved.

But last year’s quarterback derby at Marist worked out well for both Luke Oosterbaan and Ryan Meyer.

After they played tag-team roles for part of the season, Oosterbaan emerged as the No. 1 QB for the RedHawks, while Meyer put his considerable talents to use in other roles.

Marist coach Pat Dunne couldn’t have asked for a better outcome.

“We’re fortunate,” said Dunne, whose team took part in the Richards 7-on-7 camp June 18 in Oak Lawn. “Both guys are team players. (Meyer) could have taken it the completely opposite way.”

Instead, Meyer embraced the opportunity to contribute in other ways for Marist, which earned its third straight state playoff berth in the fall en route to a 6-4 finish. The rising senior saw time at running back and kick returner before moving to free safety for the final four games.

Dunne expects a similar mix of action for Meyer this fall. “We’re still going to have stuff for him in there (on offense),” the coach said. “He’s a very physical runner. Ryan’s going to be a guy people see all over the field.”

Meyer also is likely to give opposing quarterbacks fits as a free safety. “It turned out to be his natural position,” Dunne said. “He’s having a tremendous summer.”

Evidence of that was Meyer’s performance at Northwestern’s recent 7-on-7 camp, where he had nine interceptions in four games.

While Meyer is displaying his skills at summer camps, Oosterbaan still is recovering from a broken hand that’s expected to keep him sidelined till July 1. That has allowed incoming junior Ian Woodworth to get some reps at quarterback, a situation that will continue throughout the summer.

“Every position is wide open,” Dunne said. “Everything is competitive, whether you’re a starter or not.”

That said, Oosterbaan still figures to be a key piece to the puzzle for the RedHawks, who return only two offensive starters.

“With all the quarterbacks, you look for the leadership and he did a great job last year,” Dunne said. “He’s got to continue to get better all through the summer.”

With running backs McKinley Moore and Mike Skalitzky graduating, it’s an open question who might join Oosterbaan in the backfield come August. The leading candidates are senior John McKevitt, junior Jordan Burger and sophomore Peter Andreotti. The latter two were the lead backs for Marist’s sophomore and freshman teams last season.

Another tough player to replace will be kicker/punter Ben Falloon, one of the state’s best at both roles last season.

“Ben was a very special player,” Dunne said “He really, really helped us out the last three years, a guy who could dictate (the outcome of) a game with his foot.”

There is more experience back on the defensive side. Impact players besides Meyer include cornerback Cody Bohanek, McKevitt at strong safety and linemen Josh Hickey, Shannon Smith and Josh Hall.

Still, there are some questions to be answered on that side of the ball as well. But there’s one thing Dunne expects no matter who lines up where this summer.

“One thing we’re looking for is competing and effort,” he said. “We want to set the tone with how we’re going to practice and how we’re going to play.”

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