Saints start anew after historic 2014 season
THE CONCORDIAN, Concordia, Missouri, Wednesday, August 26, 2015 — PAGE 7
by Nathan Gerdts SPORTS WRITER
It’s safe to say that Larry Laubenstein has seen a lot of football in his time at Saint Paul Lutheran High School. But even in 41 years as the Saints’ head coach, the one thing he hadn’t witnessed was his team winning an I-70 Conference championship outright. That is, until 2014 when the Saints went 9-0 in the regular season behind an explosive offense and a deep senior class. However, the best season in school history was halted with a 35-12 loss at home to Cole Camp in the first round of the Class 2, District 7 playoffs. A lack of experience may hurt as the 2015 campaign gets under way, with just four seniors returning. Laubenstein believes the keys to having won nine games in two of the last three seasons are still in place to yield another successful season. “We’ve been getting some more speed,” Laubenstein said. “Also, our athletic training class is paying dividends. Players are getting faster and stronger.” Of the four seniors, Matt Nebel has the most experience as a starter. Nebel has been a starting offensive lineman
since he was a sophomore, and he earned a second-team all-conference selection last year. Senior Peyton Mays will be a force on the line alongside Nebel. Juniors Peyton King, Daniel Royuk and John Cowherd also are expected to get significant playing time. An offensive line in flux must gel early to help young skill-position players get positive results. The Saints will need a solid performance from some new faces to duplicate last year’s 37 points-per-game output. That starts at quarterback, where first-team all-conference performer Peter Lemmons is gone. Junior Caleb Hentges will move from receiver, where he received allconference honors, to be the signal caller after winning an off-season competition. “He will certainly have a learning curve,” said Laubenstein of Hentges. “But he’s fast and intelligent, and he has the best arm of the guys we’ve tried (at QB).” Hentges caught passes and carried the ball in the Saints’ wing-T offense. Now he’ll run the ball, pass it, and hand off to junior fullback Derek Woodall, starting for the second straight season. Sophomore Mark Allen also will get a chance to carry the ball at halfback. Senior Wyatt Jones and sophomore Jose Alicea II will
Lady Saints try to keep winning with a new cast by Nathan Gerdts SPORTS WRITER
In the fall of 2010, a third-place finish at the state tournament was probably nothing more than a dream for Aaron Marsh as he entered his first season leading the Saint Paul Saints' volleyball team. When it became a reality, the winning hasn't stopped. In five seasons as head coach at SPLHS, Marsh has made three trips to the Class 2 Final Four, winning a district title every year and finishing either first or second in the I-70 Conference. Heading into season six, Marsh doesn’t think it will be that complicated to replicate the formula that has produced so much success. “The biggest key has been getting kids to compete hard and continue to
work on the fundamentals of the game daily,” Marsh said. In other words, good coaching and great effort allows for the Lady Saints to plug-in-and-play regardless of how much talent was lost from the previous season. Last year’s 34-6-2 campaign had a lot to do with those who have graduated, including all-conference selections Tiffany Bennett and Rebecca Roepe, and Marsh believes it will take a combination of veterans and newcomers to keep the winning tradition going. Senior outside hitter Anna Colwell and junior setter Shannon Peters have the most experience as the lone
“Our goals for this season are to improve as a team on a daily basis. . .”
starters back from last year’s team. Marsh also sees promise in freshmen Lynda Bennett and Karson Troth, who will need to make an impact early on a young squad. “We are emphasizing to compete daily and work on the fundamentals,” Marsh said. “With our inexperience, every moment is a chance to learn and get better.” The schedule will be challenging, with reigning conference champion Santa Fe expected to bring a solid returning cast and match-ups once again with Class 4 opponents, Rock Bridge and Columbia-Hickman. Despite the Lady Saints' youth, Marsh sees the match-ups as great learning opportunities, win or lose. “Our goals for this season are to improve as a team on a daily basis,” Marsh said “In the long run, we hope to give ourselves a chance to compete in the conference as well as district (play) when those times come around.”
split out at receiver. Junior Ryan Kollbaum will see some snaps at tight end, a player Laubenstein says “has a great football mind.” The defense also lost a number of all-conference performers. Nebel is back at an end spot after earning a first-team all-conference selection last year, and he will get help from King at the nose tackle. Mays and Kollbaum will man the interior linebacker spots, while Woodall will lead the charge as an edge rusher in the Saints’ 3-4 scheme. Jones is expected to make a number of big plays as a safety. Allen and Alicea will get opportunities at cornerbacks. Despite a large number of changes from a conferencechampionship 2014 season, Laubenstein is not too concerned just yet about wins, losses or even the ever-improving competition within the conference. “The I-70 will be tough,” Laubenstein said. “You hear rumors of schools losing players, but you never know. Wellington and Lone Jack will be tough. But right now, we just want to get the right people in the right positions.”
Good luck to all the teams this year!
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