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northbrooktower.com football preview guide 2018<br />
the northbrook tower | August 23, 2018 | 55<br />
Giants move step by step into 2018 season<br />
Brittany Kapa<br />
Contributing Sports Editor<br />
David Lindquist expects<br />
his Giants to get better every<br />
day.<br />
That’s the mantra Highland<br />
Park High School’s<br />
first-year head coach repeats<br />
to his team on and<br />
off the field.<br />
“If you come to work<br />
every day and really focus<br />
and prepare to listen<br />
and give it your all — focus,<br />
attitude and effort —<br />
you’re going to get better<br />
even if it’s by a little bit,”<br />
he said. “We’re not measuring<br />
day-to-day. We’re<br />
measuring game-to-game,<br />
week-to-week and monthto-month;<br />
all the way<br />
through to the end of the<br />
year.”<br />
The Giants saw both<br />
success and loss in the<br />
2017 season. They finished<br />
5-5 and overcame a<br />
three-game losing streak<br />
early in the season to tie<br />
for the conference championship.<br />
After making it<br />
to playoffs, the Giants lost<br />
their first game against St.<br />
Charles North in the IHSA<br />
Class 7A playoffs.<br />
Lindquist spent the summer<br />
preparing his team the<br />
best way he knew how for<br />
the upcoming nine-week<br />
regular season. Hard work<br />
mixed with positivity was<br />
the name of the game for<br />
HPHS, and those traits<br />
will be keys for the Giants<br />
to navigate and attack the<br />
ups and downs of the 2018<br />
season.<br />
Lindquist, who was an<br />
assistant coach for years<br />
prior to his promotion,<br />
intentionally incorporated<br />
chaos into practices this<br />
summer but for a good<br />
cause.<br />
“We try and put them<br />
through moments of chaos<br />
where they feel like physically,<br />
and mentally, everything<br />
might be shutting<br />
down or going wrong and<br />
they have to learn how to<br />
fix it,” he said. “Adversity<br />
will strike at any time ...<br />
you could have a total failure<br />
or a total success and<br />
we have to learn how to<br />
handle that and move on to<br />
the next play.”<br />
The goal is to create a<br />
team that can overcome<br />
the bad plays and celebrate<br />
and move on to the next<br />
task after the good ones.<br />
“We want them to come<br />
together and pick each other<br />
up,” he said.<br />
Noa Morganstern (No. 7) will return this season as a key member of the Giants defense<br />
this football season. 22nd Century Media File Photo<br />
Key returns and losses<br />
Key Returnees<br />
QB Michael Rooney – the senior<br />
will make the offense his own this<br />
season<br />
RB, LB Giovanni Volpentesta – the<br />
sophomore returns for a second season<br />
with varsity<br />
WR, LB Max Mauer – sophomore<br />
OL, DL Chris Lee – sophomore<br />
CB, RB Zion Griffin – a sophomore<br />
with quick feet, Griffin should use his<br />
speed to the Giants advantage<br />
Offense<br />
The offense will showcase<br />
a team within a team<br />
and a new go-to starting<br />
quarterback.<br />
Former quarterback<br />
John Sakos, a Tulane University<br />
walk-on freshman,<br />
was the Giants main arm<br />
last season. HPHS senior<br />
Michael Rooney did see<br />
some playing time in 2017,<br />
but that will dramatically<br />
increase this season.<br />
“In any situation, with a<br />
new player at quarterback<br />
who has to lead, there is<br />
going to be a growing process,”<br />
Lindquist said.<br />
However, the Giants<br />
coaching staff is making<br />
sure that Rooney and the<br />
offense are preparing for<br />
every situation. The main<br />
focus with Rooney will<br />
be his reads, and those<br />
will be based heavily on<br />
that week’s opponent.<br />
Lindquist has confidence<br />
in his starting quarterback<br />
and knows Rooney’s confidence<br />
will increase as the<br />
season progresses.<br />
A key component of<br />
Lindquist’s offensive will<br />
be the line, acting as a cohesive<br />
unit.<br />
“[The offensive] line is<br />
more of a brotherhood, it’s<br />
a team within the team,”<br />
he said. “For that group<br />
they need to work together<br />
in all facets. There is no<br />
single person that’s more<br />
important than anybody<br />
else.”<br />
Defense<br />
Defensively, Lindquist<br />
is happy with where his<br />
team is at.<br />
His core has seasoned<br />
veterans that can effectively<br />
focus on the little things,<br />
which makes Lindquist<br />
happy. That core includes<br />
a few utility players and<br />
an NCAA Division-I commit.<br />
The combination of<br />
players should yield good<br />
results in containing opposing<br />
team’s offense.<br />
Defensive ends Jacob<br />
Bradford and Noa Morganstern<br />
are two athletic<br />
players that Lindquist<br />
Key Losses<br />
QB John Sakos – 11 TD, 1,503 yards,<br />
9.4-yard average<br />
CB Noah Spitz – 45 total tackles; “He<br />
was a shut down corner, I could put<br />
him on anyone and he would get the<br />
job done.”<br />
RB, S Ryan Brincks – 609 rushing<br />
yards, 5 touchdowns running back<br />
and safety; “That’s a tough kid not to<br />
have, but we do have athletes that<br />
can fill that spot on both sides of the<br />
ball”<br />
sees making a big impact<br />
against tough teams.<br />
“[Bradford is] a guy that<br />
is a utility guy, we can put<br />
him on the inside or the<br />
outside regardless of his<br />
size,” Lindquist said.<br />
Coached right, Lindquist<br />
sees Morganstern fitting in<br />
seamlessly on the defense.<br />
“He’s a very athletic defensive<br />
end,” he said. “If I<br />
do my job, and coach him<br />
well, I expect good things<br />
from him.”<br />
Defensive tackles Kevin<br />
Kaufman and Matt Cortes<br />
are two important keys to<br />
the Giants defense as well.<br />
“[Cortes is] another big<br />
body we can put in the<br />
middle and try to take up<br />
more than one blocker,”<br />
Lindquist said.<br />
Senior linebacker, and<br />
South Dakota State University<br />
commit, Tom<br />
Motzko will be another<br />
key player for HPHS.<br />
“He’s a very good player<br />
at that position and I anticipate<br />
some very good<br />
things from him,” the head<br />
coach said.<br />
Lindquist will favor a<br />
six-man rotation, mainly<br />
so his players can get<br />
enough rest during the<br />
game. The goal is to have<br />
his core fly to the ball.<br />
“If the ball is down<br />
we’re getting it and we’re<br />
taking every opportunity<br />
from [our opponent] to<br />
get any positive yardage.<br />
A lot of that has to do with<br />
flying to the football,” he<br />
said.<br />
Special Teams<br />
Lindquist wants his<br />
team to be well-rounded,<br />
that includes experience<br />
and time on special teams.<br />
“It’s just as important<br />
as [offense and defense]<br />
and a lot of times in close<br />
games it comes down to<br />
what happened on special<br />
teams,” he said.<br />
The Giants do have<br />
two kickers who will be<br />
vying for playing time<br />
this season. The team returns<br />
Mauer, as well as<br />
Maya Taiez, the lone female<br />
kicker in the CSL<br />
North.<br />
“They’re both are very<br />
good at kicking the football,<br />
we’re not sure who<br />
will do what yet,” he said