Joliet Catholic tests replacement parts

Updated: June 21, 2011 3:14PM

Some things never change with Joliet Catholic football.

Like the expectations, the tough schedule, the tradition, the big crowds on Friday nights at Memorial Stadium and, most importantly, the winning ways.

About the only thing that does change is the players. Somehow, that silly old ritual of graduation makes coach Dan Sharp and his staff work a little harder every summer and fall to guarantee all the aforementioned items stay the same.

“We graduated almost all of our offensive linemen from last year,” Sharp said. “We only have one returning, so (assistant coach) Dave Douglas has his work cut out for him. But somehow, some way, he always comes through.”

Sharp could probably say that about all his position coaches. The Hilltoppers not only lost all but one starter from the offensive line but also all of their secondary and linebacker corps on defense. But, as usually is the case, there are a hungry young players waiting to step up and make their contribution to that Joliet Catholic winning tradition.

The Hilltoppers spent their second straight Saturday at Memorial Stadium last week. They returned for Round 2 of the University of St. Francis 7-on-7 Passing Jamboree.

“After one week, would I like to be further along? Of course I would,” said Sharp, who has directed the Hilltoppers to six state championships and 151 wins in 14 seasons. “But I am very pleased with what we have done to this point, especially with so many players that are learning new positions and making the transition from the sophomore level to varsity play.”

One area that features experience is the offensive backfield. The familiar names of Malin Jones, Ty Isaac and Tyler Reitz will be announced over the public-address system frequently this fall as the ball carriers for Joliet Catholic’s rush-oriented offense.

Jones is a senior and has rushed for more than 1,000 yards — over 2,400 total — in each of the last two seasons. Isaac, a junior, ran for nearly 600 yards and more than 7 yards per carry as the third-leading rusher on last year’s 10-2 team that reached the state quarterfinals. Reitz was the starting fullback, rushing for 281 yards and helping lead the blocking for Jones, Isaac and graduated Josh Ferguson.

A battle is ensuing for the starting quarterback job. Juniors Craig Slowick and Forrest Erikson are vying to replace the graduated Breshion Tucker. Slowick called the signals for the sophomore team last year while Erikson sat out due to transfer rules. Sophomore Nick Rodriguez also is in the mix for the job.

The sole returning starter in the offensive line is senior Jake Jankowski.

“In our offense, the offensive line play is very critical,” Sharp said. “Josh, Malin and Ty certainly would not have gotten all those yards last year without the guys up front. We are working a lot of guys there this summer and even have some defensive linemen moving over to see if they can make the transition.”

Middle linebacker Austin Bolton is the only returning starter on defense, and he played at defensive end last season. Outside linebacker Mike Passo got some starting time due to an injury and junior linebacker Matt Madrigal also comes back with some experience.

“There will be a lot of competition for playing time on defense,” Sharp added, “and that will be fun to watch as we continue our summer drills and head into fall camp.”

The 2011 season marks the second straight year that the Hilltoppers will be able to play the team that knocked them out of the previous year’s state playoffs. Sharp hopes that his club responds against Peoria Richwoods, which eliminated the Hilltoppers 17-14 last November, the same way the 2010 squad did against Montini. Joliet Catholic fell to Montini in the 2009 title game but got a bit of revenge in the 2010 opener with a 21-7 win.

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