New league, but similar talent for Catholic Memorial
Prior to the 2020 prep football season, the Journal Sentinel will unveil its preseason top 10. Today we take a look at the area's sixth-ranked team.
New league, new look.
If you were to sum up Catholic Memorial's football team this season, those four words would be a good way to start the conversation.
After more than two decades playing in the rugged Classic 8, the Crusaders have been realigned for football into the Parkland. As for the new look, the senior class that won state titles the past two seasons is finally gone. Don't rest easy, though.
If one thing is certain at Memorial, it is that there usually more talent coming up the ranks and this year it comes in the form of a junior class that grabbed six spots in the Crusaders' starting lineup a year ago and will play a larger role in the team's success this year.
“That last year's senior class was really, really, really good and this class is shaping up to possibly be maybe not quite that good, but I think they're going to be pretty good,” Memorial offensive coordinator Nick Vitale said.
Memorial will have strong senior leaders like center Jim Schwaab and two-way starter Alex Oechsner, a receiver-defensive back who has committed to North Dakota State. Overall, however the senior class has about 10 players.
To make a splash in its new conference, the Crusaders' juniors are going to have to continue to build on what was a strong 2019 season for the group.
No one symbolized that success more than running back Obacoso Allen, who ran for 968 yards, averaged 6.7 yards and scored 12 times as a first-year starter. That average per carry went up slightly (6.8) in the playoffs when he ran for 206 yards on 24 carries in the quarterfinals and rushed 18 times for 126 in the semifinals.
“O.B. is going to huge for us,” Vitale said. “Last year everyone knew he had the skill, but he was still learning the offense and learning to play varsity football. … Now he's not thinking about things, which has really impressed me. He had a really good offseason.”
Joining Allen in the backfield will be junior Rory Fox, who played receiver last season while his older brother Luke was calling the signals. Like his older brother, who is playing baseball at Duke, Rory, is a Division I baseball prospect.
"Rory's got an edge and competitiveness to him that not many guys have," Vitale said. "He's just a tough kid. I'm excited to for it to be Rory Fox and not
Luke's little brother. I think he's going to show people that I'm a different person, but we're going to be all right."
Joining those two are a handful of Class of 2022 members so valuable they'll start both ways: Charlie Jarvis (safety, receiver) Langston Latham (outside linebacker, tight end) and Morgan McKnight (offensive line, defensive end).
Add those three to a defense that returns junior Marvell Lee as a starting cornerback and with some quality sophomores who are poised to start and this year's version of the Crusaders have a chance for another special season.
“I'm just excited to see this group get their own identity. We won two in a row, but that senior class was huge part of it,” Vitale said. “I think our guys kind of feel that they're getting looked past a little bit because they're gone. I'm excited to see them prove themselves.”