The Gehlen Catholic football team is coming off their second consecutive playoff appearance last year while compiling an 8-2 record. The Jays are heading into this season with slightly less guys, but they are eager to get going. Head coach Jeremy Schindler says the Jays have been working hard in practice, but they need to find a way to translate that to game scenarios.
Gehlen Catholic graduated a senior class that featured their starting quarterback, their starting running back for the start of the year, and the best receiver to go through the Gehlen Catholic football program. Coach Schindler says there is plenty of talent returning on the team. Now, he needs to see someone step up to take over a leadership role for the program.
The bulk of that returning talent comes on the offensive and defensive line where there a lot of seniors that are looking to continue the trend of winning for the Jays. Coach Schindler says they are some of the hardest working kids around.
The only main skill guy that contributed last year that returns is running back Kale Pearson. He is a pretty good one to return after rushing for 1,106 yards and 12 touchdowns in his sophomore year. Coach Schindler says he has gotten stronger after using this time in the offseason to get to work in the weight room.
The quarterback position is going to be a tough one to replace for the Jays. Connor Kraft was a very versatile quarterback that could do anything asked of him. Now, Cole McCarty and Alex Peters are battling it out for the starting spot. Coach Schindler says they both bring talents that could change things up offensively.
The defensive side of the ball is already intriguing to Coach Schindler. Only two times last year saw the Jays allow more than 28 points to an opponent. Coach Schindler says both the secondary and the front units look sharp to start the year.
The main key heading into week one is building up that energy for gametime. Coach Schindler says even if that takes faking it, it is important, so that his guys can be in the right space during a game.
Gehlen Catholic opens the season at home against Hinton on Friday night at 7:00 PM.
Click here to listen to our full interview with Gehlen Catholic head coach Jeremy Schindler:
2023 GEHLEN CATHOLIC FOOTBALL SCHEDULE:
August 25 – HINTON
September 1 – at MMCRU *
September 8 – ALTA-AURELIA *
September 15 – at Woodbury Central
September 22 – AKRON-WESTFIELD *
September 29 – at Sibley-Ocheyedan *
October 6 – SOUTH O’BRIEN * (Homecoming)
October 13 – at Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn *
* – denotes Class A District 1 game
