“God, school work and family all come before football.”
Jerry Woods was getting St. Pius X ready for the upcoming football season last week when he made it clear the priorities for his players.
Teaching and coaching are Woods’ second career. He retired medically from the Army after 12 years in 1999. At the time, Woods was a chief warrant officer and helicopter pilot. He is a Gulf War veteran and has been deployed to Iraq and South Korea.
“I spent time away from my family when I was in the Army and my family is precious to me,” Woods said.
First and foremost, Woods and his assistant coaches want to produce good young men.
“We’re not as focused on wins and losses,” he said. “If our young men do what we ask and carry that over to their relationships with their parents, employers, girlfriends and eventually wives, then we’re doing something right whether we’re 0-10 or 10-0. That’s been my mindset since I’ve been here.”
The Lancers finished last season 2-4 in the I-55 Conference and 2-8 overall. They last had a winning season in 2014. If their summer work is any indication of their success, that streak could end this season. But Woods said the first few days of practice could have gone better.
“We regressed from the summer because we could only go with helmets the first two days, then hit the sleds the next two,” Woods said. “During summer camps we ramped things up with the helmet and shoulder pads. The dead period hurt us. It was a step backward as far as intensity goes. Right before that dead week, we were ready to play a game.
“We’ve had the best summer turnout we’ve had in a long time. We only had two seniors last year so a lot of sophomores and juniors got a lot of playing time. I would hope that 2-8 record left a bad taste in their mouths.”
Junior Jalen Thornton is the kind of player who can turn a program around, but he has to stay healthy, something he didn’t do a year ago. Despite being “dinged,” Thornton was a second-team I-55 Conference selection at wide receiver after snaring 26 passes for 262 yards.
Woods can line up Thornton out wide or at any position in the backfield. Senior Elliot Fischer is the starting quarterback, but Thornton will spell Fischer in the wildcat formation.
“He’s a difference-maker,” Woods said of Thornton. “He was legit against East Prairie.”
Thornton caught five passes for 66 yards in the season finale.
Fischer backed up Luke Lampros early on last year ended up but split time with Lampros and was very accurate completing 43-of-64 (67.1 percent) of his passes for 468 yards.
“Fischer is tall with a strong arm,” Woods said. “He’s handling the pressure better, making quicker reads.”
Fischer can target tight ends Grant Viehman and Ryan Almany or receivers Seth Ervin and Dustin Burch, both of whom were on the receiving end of a TD pass last year and will also play running back in an offense that lines up in several formations.
The offensive line is anchored by center Dalton Costa, guards Sam Whiteley and Ryan Loveless and tackles Luke Comparato and Jon Studyvin.
“We simplified their schemes because we’re not real big,” Woods said of the line.
Ervin runs the defense from his position at safety. Ervin made honorable mention on the all-league defensive team a year ago.
“He gets us in the right alignments,” Woods said. “He’s physical and one of the smartest players on our team.”
Senior Matt Lober and junior Marcus Argana were both starting inside linebackers last fall and they return to those spots this year. On the outside are Burch, Carson Fischer and Luke Johns.
Viehman and Almany are back at defensive end, while Zack Schmidt, Blake Lowry and Griff Schweigert shore up the defensive line.
Thornton will play one cornerback and Woods said the other defensive back positions are still being settled.
St. Pius lost at home 56-33 to Windsor in a shootout to open the 2016 campaign. The Lancers travel to Imperial on Aug. 18 for their season opener against the Owls. Since Grandview is playing a junior varsity schedule this season, the Lancers had to replace their conference rival with Lexington, which is from the Kansas City area and was 11-2 last year.