Jones, Cards want to stay in flight
Coming off an excellent 7-3 season and a berth in the Central Jersey Group III sectionals, the Lawrence High School football team appears primed for another winning season.
With the Cardinals set to kick off the New Jersey season with an unusual Thursday morning game this week, the team will take to the field with five returning starters on defense and six on offense.
Throw in some promising newcomers and Lawrence certainly has the potential to build on last year’s turnaround campaign.
“We try not to talk about last year too much,” said coach Nate Jones. “We want to focus on what’s coming up. We believe success breeds success.”
Lawrence’s biggest returning weapon is speedster Devon Hemmingway. The senior does it all for the Cardinals and will line up either in the backfield or at receiver.’
“We’ll put him all over the place,” said Jones. “We want him to get the ball as much as we can.”
Another key returnee in the backfield is quarterback Ryan Kaeblein. He’s a senior and has already shown he can get the job done.
“Ryan definitely understands our offense,” said Jones. “We’re very happy with his development. He’s definitely improved at making his reads.”
Fullback Jacoby Sherard, wide receiver Sean McLaughin and tight end Tommy Tanner are two more productive players for an offense with three returning interior linemen. They are center Trevor Delcamp as well as guards Devon Glover and Christian Hlewicki, who is also a starting linebacker.
Starters who have returned to the defense include Tanner at end, Sherard at tackle, Love Chavis at linebacker, and Hemmingway and Jabril McKeithen in the backfield. Among the other defensive players expected to contribute is sophomore defensive back Deon McQueen. The team also has a capable kicker in senior Adan Wilson.
“We have some strong guys up front and we like our skill players,” said Jones.”We’re going to try to keep it simple and execute.”