CENTRAL LEARNS FROM PAST, LETDOWN NOT AN OPTION FOR VIKINGS IN 2010

 

Despite starting out the season with eight straight victories, winning a KLAA conference crown and getting the chance to host a playoff game, Walled Lake Central head football coach Bob Meyer, bristles at the notion that his team had a very good year in 2009.

 

"We had a good year, not very good, but good," he said at a recent practice in response to a request to evaluate last year's squad that completed the campaign at 8-2. "I think we had a great start and then kind of stumbled at the end. Half of our dream was accomplished and the other half was left out there on the field."

 

Meyer, entering his sixth year at the helm of the Vikings program, is encouraged by what he has seen from his squad so far during the offseason and since practice got on its way a little over a week ago. He has lofty expectations.

 

"We're looking for greatness out of this group this season and I know they have it in them," he said. "Our motto for the season is 'finish the dream'. Last season we had the table set to get to the mountain top and couldn't finish it. This year we need to close things out with emphasis and finish the job we started last year."

 

When asked specifically what him and his coaching staff have in mind, he is resolute and quick to answer.

 

'We expect nothing less than a deep playoff run," he said. "These guys got a taste of it last season and now they're coming back for more. The expectations are high for ourselves from within the program and that's where they need to be."

 

The Vikings, who lost in the KLAA title game to Grand Blanc and then to Birmingham Brother Rice in the opening round of the playoffs in 2009 (ending the season on a two-game losing skid), return 16 starters from last year's team. The squad's 22 seniors, many going into their third season on the varsity, will make them heavy on experience and extra-hungry to make it to Ford Field because much of the team knows this is their last hurrah.

 

Offense will be Central's calling card once again this fall and even though he has lost all-conference quarterback Joe Diamond to graduation, Meyer is confidant his team's explosive scheme (nearly 35 points per outing last season), much of which relies on the QB making snap calls at the line depending on the opponents defensive positioning, won't miss a beat.

 

Junior Zach Leimbach, a rising-star of a baseball player on the diamond in the spring and the Vikings JV team's starting signal caller the past two years, will take the reins from Diamond and start under center when the season kicks-off next week. Fellow junior K.J. Schultz, one of last year's top offensive weapons, returns as the team's starting tailback and will be spelled by Chris Koizara and Derek Schulz, who will each also see an ample amount of carries even as the No. 2 options.

 

Besides having his buddy and speedy spinster, Schultz, beside him in the backfield, Leimbach's transition will be made additionally easier by the fact that he has a ultra-aggressive and mega-sized offensive line blocking for him. D1 recruits Bryan Bell (6-5 330) and Mike Strehl (6-2 330) highlight the Vikings' line attack and will offer as good of a protection unit for a rookie QB as humanly possible on the prep level.

 

With last season's No. 1 receiving option, Sam Pearlstein, gone, Kyle Clark and Connor Resnick, will share top pass-catching duties for the team. Senior Ramon Alexander, a D1 recruit at cornerback and the Vikings' best defensive player, will see action on offense as well, expected to be utilized in a variety of spots including RB and WR.

 

Derek Schulz is getting serious looks by a number of D1 schools for his special teams ability as a kicker/punter, so Central's kicking game should be an ace in the hole.

 

Along with Alexander, a dynamic presence on the field comparable to a Charles Woodson-type when Woodson was at UofM in the late-90s, the Vikings' 'D will be led by Austin Teifke (DE), Zach Hill (LB) and Steve Raad.

 

Little time will be wasted in finding out just how good this bunch can and will be, as Coach Meyer and his boys face-off with state power and '09 d1 state semi-finalist, Canton at home for the season opener on August 27.