The intensity is there. The turnout has been good. And the execution still needs tweaking.
St. Pius X didn’t experience a full contact, fully padded practice until Monday, as the Lancers instead focused on tweaking the fundamentals of footwork and hand placement.
Head coach Jerry Woods has more than 40 players to fill out his varsity lineup.
“A lot of spots, we had three guys filling two spots,” Woods said of last year’s team that finished 4-6. “In our eyes, they’re all starters.
“Being a small school, we have several two-way players so we preach three guys to earn two spots. Since we’ve done that in the past, a lot of players get varsity time and we’re excited about this year.”
That excitement is warranted, given the skill the Lancers possess at running back, quarterback and wide receiver. Seniors Dustin Burch and Jalen Thornton and juniors Carson Fischer and Riley Naeger give St. Pius as talented a foursome as any team in the I-55 Conference.
Burch runs with fury on the baseball diamond and football field. He rushed for 493 yards, caught 18 passes for 217 yards and tied with Thornton, a wide receiver, for the team lead with seven touchdowns. Thornton caught 51 passes for 711 yards.
“They are athletic guys who are fast and have good hands, they run good routes and are aggressive,” Woods said. “They’re both like (1980s TV action hero) MacGyver, like a Swiss Army knife. They’ve picked up of the offense through the years so we can move them around. We can put them in the backfield, wing or wide out. We’re blessed with those two.”
Thornton is one of the county’s purest athletes and also excels on the basketball court at St. Pius. Woods said he could catch 60 to 70 passes and getting him into space with the ball is dangerous to a defense.
Fischer’s older brother, Elliot Fischer, was the Lancers starting QB in 2017. But Elliot admittedly was calling signals for the good of the team and not really committed to it. Carson is eager to be the Lancers’ signal caller after starting all of the junior varsity games at QB last year. Carson also played outside linebacker on the varsity.
“As soon as last season was over, he was picking my brain and watching film. He went to some QB camps and has really put in the time,” Woods said.
“The first obvious thing is he wants to be a quarterback, where Elliot wanted to be a receiver. We needed Elliot to be our QB. We’re letting him audible as he sees it in practice. We’re giving him some freedom.”
Naeger is 6-6 and has gained almost 40 pounds in the last year, boosting his weight to 195. He can provide a true mismatch against smaller defensive backs. Get him near the goal line and the jump ball looks to be a play St. Pius can use to score touchdowns with their rangy receiver. Naeger caught 19 passes for 180 yards and two scores last year.
“We preach the lifting and the eating, but that doesn’t mean they do it,” Woods said of his players. “Sometimes they drink the Kool-Aid and do that from Day 1. Sometimes they wait until they’re sophomores or juniors. Or they’re gone. We’re blessed (Naeger) figured it out as a junior.
“He likes getting the ball thrown to him. He’s not afraid to do anything. It’s nice to have an athletic, 6-6 receiver who wants the ball.”
Junior Dre Townsend caught 11 passes for 107 yards a year ago and Townsend has top-flight speed on the edge that can help turn Burch or Thornton loose. Senior Jarrett Kort (29 rushes, 142 yards in 2017) and sophomore Michael Bollinger join Burch in the backfield.
The offensive line consists of four seniors and two returning starters in seniors Luke Comparato (tackle) and Ryan Loveless (guard). Seniors Daniel Draves is the starting center and Adam Eimer starts at guard. Junior Patrick Argana is a returning starter at tackle. Junior Noah Lampros starts at tight end.
On the defensive side of the ball, Lampros, Eimer and Patrick Argana play on the edge, with Comparato, Loveless and Draves on the interior. Burch and Krodinger play outside linebacker, with Marcus Argana and Kort on the inside. All four linebackers are seniors. Thornton and junior Josh Ruble start at cornerback and Townsend is a quality safety.
A pair of freshmen kickers, Michael Argana and Logan Jacobsen, are working to keep the Lancers from attempting two-point conversions after scoring touchdowns. Fischer and Michael Argana are working out at punter.
Not knowing if St. Pius will be Class 2 or Class 3 this year – the Missouri State High School Activities Association determines that this week – Woods scheduled the Lancers’ jamboree in Ste. Genevieve on Friday against the Dragons, Class 1 powerhouse Valle Catholic and Park Hills Central, a Class 3 district champion last fall.
“We jumped into a more competitive jamboree just in case we go to Class 3,” Woods said. “By the end of the season, we’ve played tougher teams and bigger schools so we’re not shell-shocked.”
For the second straight year, St. Pius travels to Imperial to kick off the season against Windsor. The Lancers shut out the Owls 28-0 last year.