Sabers carry on tradition with another strong gridiron campaign

Franklin - This is what a rebuilding football season should look like if you play in the powerhouse Franklin program.

And there is much that first-year coach Louis Brown is grateful for after the Sabers' 8-3 campaign that recently ended with a WIAA Level 2 playoff loss to Brookfield Central.

"Coming in, there were a lot of changes we had to work around," said Brown. "We lost a lot of really good kids (to graduation), but we also had good kids coming in, but they were just unproven."

This senior class, they were kind of small in number and had been given no credit beforehand, but there were a lot of things still in place for some long-term success. …and we were able to use a lot of them."

The Sabers established good credentials right away with early nonconference victories over eventual conference champions in the Woodland (Greendale) and Greater Metro (Marquette). The only roadblocks they ran into in league play were eventual Southeast champ Kenosha Bradford and Muskego.

What helped the team right away was some quick continuity at the quarterback's slot. Early on junior Zach Eder and sophomore Sean McGuire were supposed to battle it out, but the 6-foot-3 McGuire eventually took control and more than held his own, hitting 108 of 176 attempts (61 percent) for 1,642 yards, 12 TDs with eight interceptions.

"We've had a great history here with quarterbacks (Ben Hempel, Rob Evans and Lance Baretz), and though Sean is not yet there with those guys, I feel he will be," said Brown. "He's not as fast and he has some work to do as far as his reads are concerned, but he's got a great frame and better feet than he's been given credit for. In fact, he played with a dislocated kneecap for the last three weeks."

McGuire also got help from a veteran line including senior offensive tackle Levon Myers, who recently committed to NCAA Division I Northern Illinois. Meyer also had to help a great deal on defense this year, a task he handled well, said Brown.

"He had to be a two-way player for us this year and he showed tremendous leadership in doing so," said Brown. "We had to have him and he stepped up. His was a great accomplishment this fall."

McGuire's receiving corps was diverse including big play specialist junior Shaun Quirk (36 catches for 732 yards and six TDs), sophomore Chad Walton (30-406-4), senior Ben Miller (25-263-1) and junior Joe Falzon (23-314-1).

"We're always going to have receivers here," said Brown.

A big help to the offense this year was the development of Miller as the primary back. He had a sensational year, rushing for 1,052 yards on 201 carries (5.2 ypc.) with 14 TDs.

"He was a real nice surprise this year," said Brown. "He ran as tough as anyone between the tackles. He waited his turn and took advantage of his last year. I'm really happy for him."

But what was the real pleasant surprise for the former defensive coordinator Brown was the development of his defense as it led the Southeast in points against at 13.9 ppg.

The three senior returnees, lineman Mike Tomasino, linebacker Alonzo Dentici and defensive back Dylan Nogalski, all had top-flight seasons, said Brown.

"They really led by example," he said.

The development of senior linebacker Nate McCarthy, after he had not come out since his freshmen season, was also a huge addition, said Brown.

"He was one of the best in the league," said Brown.

Brown said he learned a great deal this year. His long experience as head wrestling coach helped out, but he admitted football was a "whole other animal."

"I'm not used to being in front of the press all the time with all those microphones," he said with a laugh. "Everything is just on a bigger scale." He said his assistants, especially former head coach turned offensive coordinator Jeff Klemp, were a huge help in the transition.

He's ready to get going for next year. The junior varsity was 5-4 but the freshmen struggled. Still, Brown said the freshmen group resembled this year's senior class quite a bit and have a great deal to improve.

"Back in the 1970s and 80s we didn't have a lot of tradition here," he said, "but starting around 1999 things started to move up for us and now we're one of the best programs in the state. A lot of kids worked hard to keep that going this year. They should be proud of themselves."

Seniors included Matt Ward, Miller, Steve Sepien, Nogalski, Zach Zaganczyk, Eric Tubbs, McCarthy, Mitch Woloschek, Tomasino, Alonzo Dentici, Danny Schlemm, Brad Schwarzkopf, Kyle Orlinski, Brad Biddle, Myers, Craig Christian, Brian Michalski and Marco Estrada.