A: At the quarterback position, we saw a glimpse of what redshirt Junior Quarterback Pete Scaffidi could do in the last four games of the season last year. Against Knox, Pete ran for 100 yards, and threw for four touchdowns in that game. Against Lawrence, Pete ran for 47 yards and completed over 55% of his passes, and we won both of those games. We lost his other two starts, (Monmouth and St. Norbert), and Pete struggled a bit in those games. We will need Pete to be more consistent and trust his arm and legs equally. Pete will get pushed by Sophomore Mike Lewis who made strides this off-season, and has been working extremely hard this summer. Mike is a proven winner. His high school team went 27-1 during his high school career, winning the 2009 state championship, and finishing as the runner up in 2010. Junior Justin Novak struggled in his two starts in 2010, but will have a chance to redeem himself during training camp. Justin has been working tirelessly on some of his mechanics to put himself in a better position to compete this year.
At the running back position, Brock was a workhorse back for us. In addition to Brock, we lose our top backup Ty VanValkenburg to graduation as well. We do not have that type of back returning to us next year. However, we will have a number of talented running backs. Among the players expected to compete for the bulk of the carries are juniors Al Mitchell and Thomas Wilson, and sophomore Alec Howe. Al averaged 5 yards per carry in 2010, and performed very well given the opportunity. He had 11 carries for 78 yards against Monmouth. Alec saw some good reps last season against different opponents. He averaged 6 yards per carry on the season, and contributed a lot on special teams. Thomas struggled through an injury filled season, that included two surgeries. I look forward to him having a great camp and trying to force his way on to the field. Pound for pound, Thomas is one of the strongest and most explosive players that we have. Also looking to battle for carries in the backfield will be sophomore Ed Daniels. Freshman Wendell Carter and Raul Torres both bring impressive resume's to Lake Forest College. Carter, who was an all-state selection in Arizona, while Torres was one of the fastest high school athletes in the state of Massachusetts, finishing 3rd in the 100yd dash at the Western Massachusetts meet, and 11th at the end of the year state meet.
"I look forward for the competition at both of these positions, and I am confident the depth will make our team better," said Coach Catanzaro.
