The Cathedral Crusaders finished the 2017 season with a 2-7 record, including a narrow defeat at the hands of New London-Spicer in the first round of the section playoffs. The 2018 iteration of the CHS football team will feature a lot of youth and a willingness to learn.

“I think we will be a little young this year, but we learn fast and we have been building up,” junior Mason Wolf said. “It’s going to be a fun year.”

“We have some inexperienced guys, some young guys, but we also have some really good seniors that stuck together,” coach Mark Chamernick said. “They are really teaching our young guys what we need to do on defense and offense.”

“This year we have a lot of younger guys, a lot of inexperience, but our upperclassmen have taken leadership roles,” senior running back Talon Lenzen said. “We don’t have a lot of returners, but we expect the young guys to play well and we have a lot of trust in them.”

Wolf says that since the team has only six seniors on the roster, the younger players have a chance to bond and become leaders in their own right.

“We are way more together as a team (this year),” Wolf said. “We have way more chemistry, we act more as a team than a part of each other.”

While Chamernick admits that there are many holes to fill on both sides of the football, he is optimistic that his young players can step up and contribute.

“We lost a lot on defense- our whole linebacker core, our two defensive ends and a defensive tackle, so we are kind of starting fresh,” Chamernick said. “On offense will need three offensive lineman and two big receivers.

“We have a lot of holes to fill, but I am pretty confident with the kids coming back that they will step in and compete hard,” Chamernick said.

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