Coming off of a 1-9 record, Seckman has a very favorable schedule to open this fall’s campaign.
The Jaguars’ first three opponents – Washington, Windsor and University City – were a combined 2-28 last year. Seckman opens its season Friday at home against Washington, which was winless in 10 games last year.
The health of starting quarterback Seth Lounsbury will likely decide how successful the Jaguars are this season. A senior, Lounsbury has started behind center since he was a freshman. Lounsbury’s injuries have mounted up over the years with an ankle injury, a knee injury, and a concussion. And he’s coming off of labrum surgery last December on his right (throwing) shoulder.
Lounsbury threw more interceptions (five) than touchdowns (four) and passed for 513 yards last year. He rushed for 284 yards on 79 carries.
“He’s pretty solid, if he can stay healthy,” Seckman head coach Doug Baker said. “Seth’s worked extremely hard to put himself in a position to stay on the field. He’s really done a fantastic job of throwing the football in practice, and we’re excited to see what he can do. But we have to make sure he stays upright.”
Lounsbury said he understands his importance to the team’s success, but added he’s not “a one-man army.”
“So if I do go down, I’ll have to rely on my teammates to pick up the slack,” Lounsbury said. “There’s always room for improvement, but I feel healthy and ready to go out and play. I just have to protect myself out on the field. We have a chance to be pretty good this year; give it our best week to week. I think our mentality is way better this year and everybody has their hopes up.”
In addition to Lounsbury, Baker is counting on offensive success from seniors Drew Campbell and Blake Fritz.
Campbell is a three-year starter at fullback.
“He’s really improved his speed and blocking in the off-season, and we expect him to be a solid running back,” Baker said. “His leadership skills jump off the page.”
Fritz, who will be a slot receiver and defensive end, put on some weight, and he started four games at quarterback last year in Lounsbury’s absence.
Senior wide receiver Jacob Reynolds had seven catches and five touchdowns last year.
“We have to get him more involved in the offense,” Baker said.
Three of the offensive linemen who will be assigned the job of protecting Lounsbury are seniors Jeremy Vickers (center) and Joe Kuhlmann, as well as huge junior Jake Seidel. At 6-6 and 280 pounds, Seidel is already entertaining college opportunities.
“Jake has put in a whole bunch of work, and is getting big-time college looks,” Baker said. “Vickers is our strongest kid, and a first team (all-Suburban West Conference National) pick. We need him to stay healthy because he was a little dinged up last year.”
Defensively, Baker says the Jaguars will go from having three linemen and three linebackers to a 4-2 setup because the team is thin at linebacker. In that mix along the line will be Fritz, Vickers, Kuhlmann, Colton Critchlow and Colton Dye, a transfer from Eureka. Logan Smith, Braden Briggs and Kaleb Niebuhr have put themselves in the linebacking picture, Baker said.
The Jaguars have plenty of athletes to form their secondary, including Lukas Salsman, Anthony Chellew, Bryce McKinnon, Jacob Thomas, Sam Sattley and Jacob Reynolds.
Baker said he hopes the less difficult schedule will bode well for his team’s early play, but also knows that wins are not a given.
“From a head coaching perspective, you play the one game that’s that week,” Baker said. “If we come out strong, the mentality part will take over. I’m pretty excited about the things we can do, but we still need to have a lot of things fall in place, and overcome the mentality that things are going to go wrong. It’s a group of great kids, great leaders and good football players.”
Seckman moved from Class 6 to Class 5 District 1 with Fox, Jackson, Oakville and Poplar Bluff.