Football: Speed the key for Chemics season

by Jason Wolverton

If Midland High is going to find the success it covets this season, coach Terry Wilczek says his team is going to have to play fast.

And speaking of fast, Wilczek will find out pretty quickly just how successful the Chemics are going to be thanks to a front-loaded schedule that’s sure to test their mite.

Midland kicks off its 2007 campaign tonight at home against Mount Pleasant before heading to Bay City Central the following week and hosting Heritage the week after that. Of the Chemics’ four losses last season, three came at the hands of their first three opponents.

“It gives you motivation to get to work as quickly as possible,” Wilczek says of the tough competition early on. “You know that you can’t ease into the schedule or take your time so there’s a heightened sense of urgency to everything you’re doing.”

Wilczek will get to work with a team sporting plenty of weapons on offense. Junior quarterback Andrew Maxwell returns for his third season behind center and could easily improve on last year’s numbers (850 yards and five touchdowns) thanks to a talented receiving corps led by the likes of senior Blake Benner and junior Michael Albrecht.

But despite the downfield threats the Chemics posses, Wilczek says the goal on offense will still be to feature a balanced attack.

“We’ll always do what we think we have to do to win the ballgame,” he says. “Part of our offense is built around the fact that we can do a multitude of things. We want to be able to do everything and we want to be able to strike as many different ways as we can.”

Midland will find part of that balance in senior running back Joel Parsons, whose season was cut short a year ago by a leg injury. Now Parsons is healthy once again and has his eyes set on a good season. But regardless of who’s on the field for the Chemics, Wilczek says they will have to play quick.

“We have small quick people so we’ll need to be able to use them to our advantage,” he says. “Where we lack size we need to play fast. We have to be able to get the ball into the hands of people who are playmakers and can make plays for us.”

The need for speed is much the same on the other side of the ball where many of those same offensive weapons make up a secondary that should be the strength of the Chemics’ defense.

“We won’t be able to just bully people around offensively or defensively,” Wilczek says. “It means that we have to line up in the right spot and we have to know what we’re doing so we can play fast. We can’t be confused or be uncertain because people will just make us pay for that.”

Wilczek says the team will need development at linebacker and defensive line to take the next step but that it should be helped out by senior Andrew Grillo, who is the anchor of the defensive front. Wilczek also points to newcomers Justin Tolfree and Keegan Aguilera as players ready to step up to the next level.

“You’re always looking for the senior that will emerge and surprise you a little bit,” he says. “And you’re also looking for the junior who is going to come up and make a contribution as quickly as possible and learn to adjust to the speed of the game.”

And the speed of the game should be pretty brisk Friday when the Oilers come to town. But Wilczek says he is confident his team is ready to go and that they’ve made the necessary improvements to be prepared.

“What we try to do is each day is get a little better, and I think we’ve done that,” he says. “Whether we’re where we need to be or not is what we’re going to find out… the first two [opponents] are who a lot of people are predicting as, not only best in our conference, but some say best throughout the state. So that’s a big challenge for us. But if we can meet that challenge then they’ll have to consider us up there as one of the best in the state, too.”