Deerfield has new turf to defend

Updated: August 24, 2011 6:44PM

With the finishing touches being put into place, there are smiles aplenty at Deerfield.

The Warriors’ football team will play on artificial turf when Zion-Benton visits to open the 2011 season on Friday night.

“There is a really nice buzz,” said Warriors coach Steve Winiecki. “It will not only be good for football, but it will be great for all of our sports teams and for the physical-education department.”

Winiecki is thrilled to be off the grass once and for all.

“The field drains so well,” Winiecki said. “You get great footing, and there’s no mud. Only the ball gets wet.”

The community certainly will be in celebration mode on Friday.

“The boosters and the community did a great job (of raising funds),” the coach said. “Our athletic director (Robert Ruiz) and our principal (Audris Griffith) also did a phenomenal job.”

Deerfield’s offense figured to benefit from the presence of quarterback Brad Holway.

The 6-foot-2, 200-pound senior was the starting last year as a junior and had a nice year.

But it’s believed he suffered a hand injury during practice and won’t be under center when the season begins.

Deerfield runs the Flexbone offense, which features one tailback and two slot backs.

“We’ll be primarily a running team, but we will be able to diversify with our passing game,” Winiecki said.

A key figure in the ground game is tailback Jeremy Kritt (6-0, 210). In eight games last year — the Warriors won a contest by forfeit — Kritt gained 725 yards and scored 10 touchdowns.

“Jeremy is a very physical runner,” the coach said. “He’ll run you over, and he also has quick feet.”

Kritt’s longest run in 2010 was 80 yards, which shows he has the speed to break a long one.

“He’s a nice mixture of power and speed,” Winiecki confirmed.

The slot-back positions will be filled by seniors Marc Pagano (5-8, 150), Tyler Vajdic (5-8, 170) and Ryan Adkins (5-11, 190).

Receivers in the offense are required to be good blockers who can also catch deep passes. One of the key wideouts is senior Joe Harris (6-2, 215).

“Joe is one of our hardest-working kids,” Winiecki said. “He knows the offense very well.”

Other receivers in the mix are seniors Matthew Hahn (5-9, 160) and Graham Johnson (6-1, 175).

The offensive line returns three starters in seniors Jordan Cloch (6-2, 215), Omar Alrashid (6-3, 235) and David Mospan (6-3, 235). Sophomore David Vanderkloot (5-11, 200) will handle the center position.

The defense will lean heavily on linebackers. Veterans in the middle of the 3-4 scheme are senior John Kerstein (5-11, 205) and sophomore Tom Bonadies (5-8 160).

“John was a defensive back last year, but he got stronger, so we moved him to linebacker,” Winiecki said. “Those two are well-established.”

The two outside jobs will be filled by juniors Artie Bess (6-3, 215) and Michael Maki (5-9, 175), along with Adkins.

In the trenches, two of the three starters are set. Mospan and Alrashid will each line up at defensive end.

“Those guys are very athletic and they run very well,” Winiecki said.

The defensive backfield will feature Vajdic (safety), junior Jacob Balder (5-11, 165, safety), senior Austin Jones (6-1, 185, cornerback) and junior Tim Shanley (5-10, 160, cornerback).

Punting and placekicking duties will be handled by Maki.

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