INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Head coach Bill Motta doesn’t wholly embrace a common Vince Lombardi dictum heading into St. Ed’s 2011 preseason football classic tonight against Trinity Prep in Winter Park.
The legendary Packers coach once preached “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.” For Motta and his team a victory would of course be nice. But that will take on more urgency next week when the ‘pre’ is dropped from preseason.
It’s worth remembering what happened last year against Trinity Prep in a preseason contest. “They came to our place and gave us a good game,” Motta recalled. “We were able to find out a few things about ourselves.” The Pirates lost that one before running the table to an official 11-0 record and the championship of the Sunshine State Athletic Conference.
This time around staying healthy trumps the importance of winning. The injury report will be extensive going in. The roster has been depleted in a manner that could impact the performance of the team through the early part of the schedule.
Accordingly, this matchup will take on a different significance – and provide an opportunity. Coming off a summer of conditioning drills, skull sessions and scrimmages, Motta must further evaluate his players under actual game conditions to see who might step-up and fill the void. It could be mix-and-match, cut-and-paste.
The games that count begin next Friday on the road against Warner Christian Academy.
The injury bug hit hardest in the trenches. “We went from an offensive line that we thought was going to be our strength, to an offensive line that is going to be a question mark,” Motta told us. An auto accident wrecked the debut of projected star Billy Ninesling. Senior linemen Jack Santini and Colby Lufkin are nursing back injuries, Lufkin’s season ending.
A concussion and broken arm sidelined two more starters. Concussions are handled very carefully these days as more knowledge comes to light about the debilitating nature of head trauma. The bottom line is only 26 may be able to suit up for the preseason classic.
Attrition can quickly erode a 30-man roster packed with two-way players. Motta noted that the loss of a talented player means three positions are up for grabs – if you include special teams along with offense and defense. “We play iron man football. Our boys don’t come off the field.”
St. Ed’s will move up in class and compete in Class 2A (Urban), Region2, District 3. “We felt like moving up to district play was going to be a good thing for us,” Motta explained. “We are going to have our hands full. We’re going to have to do everything right and stay very healthy from here on to be competitive.”
The Pirates play six of their nine regular season games within the district. A tenth game is possible if a substitute can be found for a mid-September cancellation.
Despite denials from fellow coaches, Motta knows several district opponents will come into 2011 with solid credentials. “Everybody downplays their team at the district meeting, as they should. I would anticipate that Warner Christian is the favorite to win our district. Calvary Christian is very athletic. Florida Air Academy will be quite formidable and St. John’s Lutheran is very strong with both running backs returning.”
Warner Christian was the Class 1B state runner-up last year. Florida Air beat St. Ed’s in the spring game. St. John’s Lutheran was trounced by St. Ed’s in the SSAC championship game. Motta also mentioned Trinity Christian Academy. All they did was win the Class 1A state championship.
The Pirates will be well prepared and have a pedigree of their own to protect after last season. Despite the loss of personnel, the cupboard is hardly bare.
“The guys were in really good shape coming into camp,” Motta said. “Conditioning hasn’t been an issue.”
For the fifth straight year a familiar name will start at QB. Strong-armed junior Anderson Proctor takes the reins from his brother Collier, who has moved on to call signals at Middlebury College.
“Anderson is going to be a player for us,” says Motta. “He is physically gifted and has embraced a leadership role.”
Proctor will direct a two-back, multiple formation attack designed by Offensive Coordinator Lou Ferrari. The run will set up the pass. “That’s what we believe in,” Motta said. “If we find something else that works, we’ll stay with it. We also have a spread package, a two-minute package, a little bit of everything.”
Running back Cortez Brown should be able to find open space behind tackles Lonnie Scott and Chris Flaig. It happened often enough last year when Brown led the team with 844 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns.
The game plan on defense will be to mix it up with a moving, attacking style of three and four man fronts, a variety of blitz packages, and a combination of zone and man pass coverage.
Motta and “special teams guru” Ferrari won’t lose a close game due to breakdowns on punts and kickoffs. Motta said “we pride ourselves on being prepared on special teams.” Proctor is currently the frontrunner to replace the near-flawless Dillon Benson as placekicker/punter.
In his second year as head coach, Motta has a tough act to follow. His own.
“This is a different year, a different league, a different team. We are going to prepare and do the very best we can in every practice and every game. The chips will fall where they may. In football we say you want to be playing on Thanksgiving. For us that would mean winning our district games, making the playoffs, and playing for the championship.”
