Discouraged? Not in the least. Not Dave Cecchini.
You might wonder why Valparaiso University’s football coach isn’t hanging his head after the Crusaders regressed to a 1-9 record.
Devastating injuries were largely responsible for VU’s decline after going 4-7 a year ago, but he’s not one to wallow in self-pity. He’s plucking positives from a harsh learning experience for an outmanned team which finished with 28 freshmen and sophomores on its two-deeps.
Long-term, Cecchini believes the enforced experience will pay off, particularly in the offensive trenches which were decimated by the early loss of center Nate Koeneman, a team captain, and both starting guards.
“Nate was a leader, our best offensive lineman,” said Cecchini, who also had to replace tight end Brett Fox. “We gained experience, but what a cost it was. We took a beating up front and our running game collapsed.”
No matter how talented, you can’t realistically expect 18-year-old freshmen to hold their own against 22-year-old defensive linemen, but more than half of the season-ending traveling squad consisted of rookies.
With the ground game outscored by 22 touchdowns (27-5), the Crusaders couldn’t compensate at quarterback after five candidates dwindled to two quarterbacks because of injuries.
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Before you could blink, freshman Conner Smith and Dalton Stokes suffered torn labrums. Ryan Clarke managed to play eight games before being shelved by a dislocated kneecap. In the middle of that, a concussion benched Scott Staal for three games.
Concussion took a toll because of helmet-to-helmet contact and three opponents were ejected in back-to-back games because of cheap shots.
Yearlings who will benefit from a baptism of fire include wide receiver Jean Rene, who caught 34 passes; fullback Griffin Norberg; safety Joey Diaz-Martinez; tight end Mason Sutter and offensive tackle Tom Schofield.
Andrean grad Jake Paliga was held back because Cecchini preferred to use this as a developmental year for the promising quarterback.
“It was very important to redshirt him because we wanted to make sure we had Jake for four more years,” Cecchini said. “He’s much more mobile than Clarke, similar to Stokes in elusiveness and with a little stronger arm. Jake also got a lot of reps in practice, which could get him into the mix next spring.”
Stokes probably won’t be cleared for spring practice because of surgery. His uncertain status would give Clarke and Paliga an early advantage.
An offseason spent in the weight room should got a long way towards bulking up the offensive line. Cecchini is focusing on rebuilding an overworked defense which must replace linebacker Alex Green, who led the Pioneer Football League in tackles, and John Guilford, who led all league linemen in stops.
Nobody likes to be called a copycat. But Cecchini would like to emulate the staying power of PFL champion Dayton, which relied on a senior defense to win the title. In four of the last eight seasons the Flyers have sailed through conference play with no worse than one loss. They haven’t finished below .500 since 2003.
“Dayton reloads every year,” Cecchini said. “Our challenge is to get to that level. We don’t want to be a flash in the pan. We don’t want to settle for once every five years.”
It’s a monumental assignment. The Crusaders have enjoyed only three winning seasons in 23 years They haven’t pocketed the PFL title in a dozen years. To reverse the trend, VU must make opponents work harder to score.
“We were the worst team in the country in turnover margin,” Cecchini said. “In all of our last four PFL games we gave up touchdowns on interceptions, fumbles (returns) and blocked kicks. We were giving up touchdowns on short drives or no drives at all.”
Oddly enough Cecchin believes the Crusaders improved defensively. On the surface that sounds unfounded since they gave up 432 points, but much of the blame falls on special teams. Chalk it up to a rookie learning curve.
John Mutka is a freelance columnist for the Post-Tribune.