Chalk it up as one of those years.
That’s about all Oswego East football coach Tyson LeBlanc could do following a 3-6 season in 2014 that started with so much optimism. The Wolves, fresh off the program’s first playoff appearance in 2013, looked the part in an 18-0 win over Woodstock in the opener.
Then, the roof fell in. Nearly everything that could go wrong did go wrong as the team lost five straight.
“Our goal is to be a perennial playoff team and when you fall short, it’s a little disappointing,” LeBlanc said. “Some of the things were outside our control. Some that happened were controllable but weren’t controlled. Coaches have to drill things home to players to make them more accountable. All in all, it was a good lesson for us.”
Injuries took a heavy toll. The team’s leading tackler was lost for the second half of the season because of a concussion, and LeBlanc ended up having to play six different players at quarterback due to injury.
Then came the homecoming weekend fiasco when a number of players, including team leaders, were suspended for a violation of the code of conduct.
“As a team, you lose hope because you have no captains, no seniors,” safety/wide receiver Kaelub Newman recalls.
Newman is a senior captain who LeBlanc hopes to rely on this season as the Wolves try to get back on track.
“Kaelub, at safety, is gonna be a big player for us,” the coach said. “He’s a guy we’re gonna count on to do a lot of things. We’re gonna use him at corner a little bit, too.”
Newman honed his skills last winter playing with a Boom 7-on-7 team filled with area standouts that placed fourth in a national competition and first in the Midwest.
“I like defense the best,” Newman said. “There’s no limit to aggression. No limits at all. That, and on defense, you can show heart. I don’t know that you can on offense.”
He joins three-year varsity starter Nik Wadsworth in leading LeBlanc’s defense, which will be the Wolves’ strong suit.
“We also return our two starting defensive ends, Sebastian Laskowski and Jack Borvan, who will be captains. And junior Tahj Oliver will move from defensive end/outside linebacker to the other safety spot,” LeBlanc said. “(Oliver) is a football player.”
Sophomore Brian Graves, who had a couple starts as a freshman, will get the nod at another inside linebacker, and look for junior Colin O’Reilly to step up at outside linebacker.
“Coaching offense and being on the other side of the ball from those guys and see the way they communicate and work, our offense is going to get a lot better throughout the year because we’re practicing against a pretty good defense,” LeBlanc said.
The offense will be young and currently features a battle for starting quarterback between senior James Kidd, who made two starts last season, and junior Jaylon Banks, a transfer from Lyons.
“James is more of a pocket passer and Jaylon more of a dual-threat guy,” LeBlanc said. “Both have looked good.”
Senior center Miles Small is the only returnee on the offensive line but he’s joined by Drew Colwell and Chris Cahue, who both started on the defensive line last year but have switched sides.
They’ll have a good runner to block for in junior Tryan Bailey.
“He’s very electrifying,” LeBlanc said. “He’s a guy that’s very hard to tackle in the hole and in open space and has enough speed that he can run away from some people.”
The receiving corps lost I’Shawn Stewart, who started as a freshman but transferred to Bolingbrook. But LeBlanc likes Mitchell Glende, Devin Riley and 6-foot-5 junior Stephon Harris, who is out for high school football for the first time.
“You can only coach the kids who are here,” LeBlanc said.
Twitter: @RickArmstrong28
OSWEGO EAST
Last season: 3-6 (2-5 Southwest Prairie Conference).
Coach: Tyson LeBlanc, fourth season.
Players to watch: Kaelub Newman, senior, S/WR; Sebastian Laskowski, senior, DE; Nik Wadsworth, senior, ILB; Jack Borvan, senior DE/TE; B.J. Graves, sophomore, LB/TE; Tyran Bailey, junior RB; James Kidd, senior, QB; Jaylon Banks, junior, QB.
Schedule: (x-denotes Southwest Prairie Conference games, all begin at 7 unless noted): Aug. 28, at West Chicago, 7:30; Sept. 4, Marian, 7:30; Sept. 11, x-at Plainfield North; Sept. 18, x-Plainfield East; Sept. 25, x-Plainfield South; Oct. 2, x-at Oswego; Oct. 9, x-at Plainfield Central; Oct. 16, x-Minooka; Oct. 23, x-at Romeoville.
