With the majority of the 2011 starting players graduated, Head Coach Mark Goldenberg looks to use the newcomer athletes to prepare each week for a new opponent.
“Last year is over. We had a great off season and had great preparation,” Goldenberg said.
The squad last year finished 10-2 eventually losing in the State Quarterfinals to Hazelwood East. The team starts with a 5-0 record beating Ladue, Clayton, Seckman, Parkway West and Webster Groves.
Making the playoffs is just one of the team’s many goals for the season. The boys concentrate on improving and growing as a team on a weekly basis.
“My expectations for the season as a team are to get better every game and in turn win some playoff games,” senior linebacker Miles Dvorak said. Dvorak leads the team in tackles with 29, adding one fumble recovery.
Senior guard Jordan Goldenberg works with the offensive line to establish holes for junior running back Augie Brooks and senior fullback Jake Bushman, as well as to protect junior quarterback Zack Lazenby from the defensive pass rush.
“As a team our goal is to win the Suburban South Conference, win Districts. I would like to beat our rivals, North and West,” Jordan Goldenberg said.
The team is always looking to the game that is ahead. The team doesn’t want to look back at past years or even past weeks when preparing for competition each week.
“Our motto is 1-0; we take everything one week at a time,” Jordan Goldenberg said.
The team worked out three times a week throughout the summer and held practice the rest of the week.
“We worked out doing strength and conditioning all summer,” Brooks said.
According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Brooks leads the team in rushing yards with 675 and five touchdowns.
The team continues to work out, and it pays off, as the team is still undefeated after playing a Webster Groves team that was previously 3-1. Webster Groves’ only previous loss was to Francis Howell.
“We hadn’t really played any playoff-bound teams yet, and to beat Webster Groves felt good,” Dvorak said.
Lazenby proves that he is more than a one dimensional player taking the quarterback role as well as serving as the team punter and kicker.
In multiples games, Lazenby surpassed the 100-yard mark passing and even kicked a 42-yard field goal against Parkway West. All together, Lazenby has contributed 51 points in five games.
Football gets a lot of attention, which might seem overwhelming, but the team takes that pressure and turns it into motivation.
“I would hope the school has great expectations for us,” Coach Goldenberg said, “but I don’t worry about what they think. I’m worried about the guys who worked hard all summer and fall at practice and in the games.”
