Dan Oliver brought his playbook to St. Pius X from the football teams he coached at Affton for 21 years.
Oliver was hired in May to replace Jerry Woods as the Lancers’ head coach after he served as the athletic director at Affton for 13 years.
He said Affton and St. Pius are similar in their support for athletics, although Affton is a public school and St. Pius is private.
“Playing football in small communities makes it special in a young man’s life,” Oliver said. “I’m looking forward to making new relationships and learning about the traditions and I’d like to replicate some of the successes they’ve had here.”
It was a very successful campaign for the Lancers in Woods’ final season. They finished last season 8-3 and almost rallied for a comeback victory over perennial I-55 Conference champion Valle Catholic, which prevailed 34-26 on the way to its sixth straight conference title. The Lancers’ season ended with a loss to Charleston in the Class 2 District 1 semifinals.
Oliver said the Lancers will look similar on offense to the Affton teams he coached, but the defense, under Tilden Watson, will remain the same.
“We’ve got a great bunch of kids who work really hard. Everyone’s been helpful,” Oliver said. “The negative is maybe if we had 10 more kids. We’ve got plenty of weapons and kids who can play. It’s like pitching – you never have enough.”
There’s been a Fischer under center for St. Pius since 2014. First Elliot Fischer played quarterback until 2017. Now his younger brother, Carson, returns for his second year under center. Carson shared time with Dre Townsend last year, but Oliver said Townsend has transferred elsewhere, leaving Carson fully in control of the offense. Last year, Carson completed 101 of 174 (58 percent) passes for 1,449 yards and 16 touchdowns.
Carson’s teammates elected him to be the team captain.
“I think just about everyone on the team voted for him,” Oliver said. “That says a lot about him and how he treats his teammates. He’s picked up the verbiage and scheme of what we’re trying to get done. I’ll mention something that needs to get done, and he comes back the next day and does it. He’s very coachable.
“I’ve had quarterbacks at Affton throw for 2,000 or 3,000 yards. We’re going to run the ball and control the clock.”
Junior Michael Bollinger returns to the backfield after rushing for 387 yards and scoring five touchdowns last season. He’ll be joined by junior Noah Lampros and sophomore Nate Ruble. Lampros played wide receiver last year and caught 23 passes. Ruble saw plenty of playing time as a freshman.
“We’re pretty big in the backfield,” Oliver said. “(Lampros) embraced what we’re doing and I think he’s going to have a good year for us on both sides of the ball.”
Senior Riley Naeger (6-6) fractured a wrist in the middle of a superb basketball season last winter, but he’s healed and ready to use his height to become one of the top receivers in the conference, if not the entire county. Naeger hauled in 32 passes for 582 yards and eight touchdowns last season, with four catches for 88 yards against Valle.
All the Lancers’ receivers – John Lehn, Josh Ruble and Mike Vonder Haar – are seniors. Oliver will send plays in with the receiving unit.
“They’re all humble and ready to do what’s right for the team,” Oliver said.
“I haven’t seen (Naeger) play basketball, but he’s probably as good on the football field. He’s a different kind of cat. He’s got a football attitude. He’s a competitor who’s not afraid to mix it up and he will be a difficult matchup.”
Seniors Tristen Jacobson and Patrick Argana return to the offensive line. They’re joined by Tristen Wyscalla and Tommy Schwigert.
There’s still some tinkering to do with the starting lineup, the coach said.
“I feel like we’re in a good place,” Oliver said of the offense. “I hope I feel this way (Friday at the jamboree). How we react to varsity competition will determine how we proceed to the next week.”
Under Watson, who is the athletic director too, the Lancers will play a 3-3 stack defense. St. Pius was hyper-aggressive last year, recovering 16 fumbles and intercepting eight passes. The Lancers shut out Bayless and Herculaneum.
Naeger will play safety this season. The thought of someone with his range and size breaking up passes has Oliver fascinated with the possibilities.
“He wants to come up and hit people,” Oliver said. “You have to throw it high to get it over his head. I wouldn’t want to see him coming downhill on me.”
Tristen Jacobson is a returning starter on the defensive line. Lampros will be at one end, while sophomore Logan Jacobson is at the other. Bollinger, Vonder Haar, Michael Argana, Fischer and Nate Ruble are the linebackers. Nate Ruble was second on the team with 88 tackles a year ago. Josh Ruble and Axel Creed start at cornerback.
Logan Jacobson is the kicker. Oliver said he’s still deciding on the punter.
St. Pius begins the season with games at Father Dalton Stadium against Windsor on Aug. 30 and Bayless on Sept. 6. It’s the fourth year in a row that the Lancers have kicked off a season against the Owls.
“Until I see some film, all of our opponents are great,” Oliver said. “The teams in our conference have great traditions. Right now, we’re all undefeated.”