Call it Metea Valley 2.0.
As the Mustangs, coming off their first-ever trip to the Class 8A postseason, prepare to head into the DuPage Valley Conference, coach Ben Kleinhans is keeping things simple.
“We’re trying to keep our goals as right in front of us as we can,” Kleinhans said. “We talk about just being the best version of ourselves. We want each player to be the best version of themselves. We want our team to be the best version of our team that they can be.”
Gone are Metea Valley’s 2014 version of the Triplets: quarterback Kyle Mooney, workhorse running back Bryson Oliver and wide receiver Nick Dodson.
Conner Lovely inherits the keys to the offense from Mooney, who threw for 1,420 yards and 19 touchdowns last year.
Kleinhans has no worries at the quarterback position.
“We’re very comfortable with Conner,” Kleinhans said. “He’s had an outstanding summer. He has taken control from the first day of camp in June and established himself as not only our quarterback but one of our leaders of the team. Very confident kid, very skilled kid. Brings a little bit different element to us, athletically, at the quarterback position.”
A deep group of wide receivers, including Ben Loutsis, Jordan Cagigal, Jack Feeley, Brad Fekety and Alec Dodson, will be at Lovely’s disposal as the team lost their top four receivers from last year.
A bigger concern is how the Mustangs replace the 1,701 yards and 18 TDs, both single-season program records, they got from Oliver in 2014.
With the departure of Oliver, the 2014 Co-Upstate Eight Valley Offensive Player of the Year, Lovely will have a collection of backs to turn around and hand off to.
Maurice Burkley, Alonzo Taylor-Jones, Cayman Wilcox and Mitch Webb are among those who will be fighting for carries.
Burkley is the team’s leading returning rusher with 222 yards and two touchdowns on just 32 carries.
A running back-by-committee approach after Oliver toted the rock 272 times in 2014 will be welcomed.
“Between those three or four guys, we’re going to just kind of let it develop a little bit,” Kleinhans said. “They all kind of have their niche and we’re just going to kind of put them in the position that gives them the best chance to succeed. We’re not going to try to ask them to do something that maybe is out of their comfort zone. But there’s some good with that, too, because we can always have fresh legs in there.”
Whereas Metea Valley comes into the year confident in what Lovely and crew will be able to do offensively, Matt Fehrmann’s defensive unit has some questions to be answered.
But with four returning starters back on defense and six players back who saw time last year, Kleinhans has high expectations for that group.
Safety Amiri Finner, who had 63 tackles last year, and cornerback Reggie Hill will lead the secondary while John Mathison, Grady Raines and Joel Nanni will pace the linebacking core.
“Defensively, it’s been a really good summer,” Kleinhans said. “We’re going to be (better). We’ve made improvements defensively every single year since we got here. We’re looking for this year to be our best defensive unit we’ve had.”
The program’s first postseason appearance, which culminated in a Class 8A first-round loss to Waubonsie Valley, has momentum going in the right direction.
While things will certainly get tougher with the move to the DVC, the Mustangs are taking that task head on.
“We’re fired up,” Kleinhans said. “We’re a proud member of the DVC, in the best football conference in the state and we’re happy to be there. Every game’s a playoff game. Every week’s a playoff game and you get to the end of the season and you have enough wins to get into the postseason, you feel like you’re pretty well prepared to have success.
“So it’s just like all the other DVC teams approach it. You take pride in the conference and the opportunity you have in the spotlight. Hopefully when the end of the season comes, you’re in position to be able to play in Week 10.”
