Bar has been raised for LVC
From today's Lebanon Daily News:
Bar has been raised for LVC
By JEFF FALK Daily News SportswriterLebanon Daily News
Fade back. Wing it on the run. Or tuck it under and go.
Those aren’t the options opposing defenses must concern themselves with when Lebanon Valley College quarterback Dan Kelly has the football — well, actually they are. They’re the different directions in which Kelly can lead the Flying Dutchmen this season.
Exactly which way the Dutchmen turn in ’05, after last year’s impressive start to the sequel of the Jim Monos Era, should be, at the very least, interesting. And while Kelly, a brash, gutsy leader, is the key to the proposed progress, he will be surrounded by an improved supporting cast.
The mobile, 6-0 junior quarterback is one of 17 starters returning from a Flying Dutchmen team that went 4-6 in 2004. Monos reported that half of this year’s 80-man roster are freshmen, and three-quarters of it are either sophomores or freshmen.
“It was a start, and it was a good start,” said Monos, who also coached LVC between 1986 and 1996. “Now the bar’s been raised. The expectation level is higher.
“Our football team played to the best of its ability last year,” he said. “We got the most out of our kids. We were as good as we could be. Going in, we didn’t know what the expectations would be. But we were competitive in eight of our 10 games, and we won four of them.”
We should get a better idea of where the Dutchmen are headed tomorrow at 1 p.m. when they travel to Gettysburg for their season opener. The Bullets return 14 starters from a 1-9 club that lost to Lebanon Valley 7-3 last season.
“We haven’t talked much about goals beyond Gettysburg,” Monos said. “But I think the players, behind the scenes, are probably saying, ‘We want to have a winning season.’
“I’m with you, to go anything less than last year’s record is not progress,” Monos added. “The expectation is we’re going to win more football games. How many games? That remains to be seen. But I feel we’re a better football team now than we were at any time last year.”
Take it for what it’s worth, but Lebanon Valley looked impressive in a 21-0 win over Dickinson in its only preseason scrimmage.
“The thing I liked about it was our kids expected to win,” Monos said. “We went out, played, took control of the game and they maintained that. We liked what we saw.
“We have some experience,” Monos added. “Offensively, up front, we have everybody (Elco grad Grant Martzall, Dave Zimmerman, Brian Kleckner Jr. and Tony Setley) back except one. That’s good. We have our quarterback back. We have our top two receivers (Lebanon grad Adam Brossman and Luke Rendine) back. And our starting tailback (Ryan Brennan) is back.”
But clearly LVC’s success will hinge on the play of Kelly. Last season, Kelly connected on 147 of his 283 pass attempts for 1,900 yards, 18 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. Forty-three of those completions were hauled in by Brossman, who piled up 724 receiving yards and scored seven times.
“He can take us to the next level,” Monos said of Kelly. “He’s that kind of quarterback. He’s smart. He can throw from the pocket. He can roll out and throw. Or he can run with it himself. He’s a fierce competitor. A strong, strong desire to win.
“If there’s one thing we need offensively, it’s the big play,” Monos said. “Defenses want to take the philosophy, ‘Bend, but don’t break.’ Teams that have firepower and can make big plays become explosive. We’re not there, but we have the capability to get there. We definitely have more team speed than we did last year.”
Monos expects both his defense and special teams to be improved.
“Defensively, I’m pleased overall,” he said. “Our secondary has been outstanding. I feel like we’re good back there. I like the way our defense runs to the ball, and we’re hitting people.
“Two freshmen will start,” Monos added. “But there will be a number who will contribute. And where they’ll make the biggest impact is on special teams. They should make us better there.”
Bar has been raised for LVC
By JEFF FALK Daily News SportswriterLebanon Daily News
Fade back. Wing it on the run. Or tuck it under and go.
Those aren’t the options opposing defenses must concern themselves with when Lebanon Valley College quarterback Dan Kelly has the football — well, actually they are. They’re the different directions in which Kelly can lead the Flying Dutchmen this season.
Exactly which way the Dutchmen turn in ’05, after last year’s impressive start to the sequel of the Jim Monos Era, should be, at the very least, interesting. And while Kelly, a brash, gutsy leader, is the key to the proposed progress, he will be surrounded by an improved supporting cast.
The mobile, 6-0 junior quarterback is one of 17 starters returning from a Flying Dutchmen team that went 4-6 in 2004. Monos reported that half of this year’s 80-man roster are freshmen, and three-quarters of it are either sophomores or freshmen.
“It was a start, and it was a good start,” said Monos, who also coached LVC between 1986 and 1996. “Now the bar’s been raised. The expectation level is higher.
“Our football team played to the best of its ability last year,” he said. “We got the most out of our kids. We were as good as we could be. Going in, we didn’t know what the expectations would be. But we were competitive in eight of our 10 games, and we won four of them.”
We should get a better idea of where the Dutchmen are headed tomorrow at 1 p.m. when they travel to Gettysburg for their season opener. The Bullets return 14 starters from a 1-9 club that lost to Lebanon Valley 7-3 last season.
“We haven’t talked much about goals beyond Gettysburg,” Monos said. “But I think the players, behind the scenes, are probably saying, ‘We want to have a winning season.’
“I’m with you, to go anything less than last year’s record is not progress,” Monos added. “The expectation is we’re going to win more football games. How many games? That remains to be seen. But I feel we’re a better football team now than we were at any time last year.”
Take it for what it’s worth, but Lebanon Valley looked impressive in a 21-0 win over Dickinson in its only preseason scrimmage.
“The thing I liked about it was our kids expected to win,” Monos said. “We went out, played, took control of the game and they maintained that. We liked what we saw.
“We have some experience,” Monos added. “Offensively, up front, we have everybody (Elco grad Grant Martzall, Dave Zimmerman, Brian Kleckner Jr. and Tony Setley) back except one. That’s good. We have our quarterback back. We have our top two receivers (Lebanon grad Adam Brossman and Luke Rendine) back. And our starting tailback (Ryan Brennan) is back.”
But clearly LVC’s success will hinge on the play of Kelly. Last season, Kelly connected on 147 of his 283 pass attempts for 1,900 yards, 18 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. Forty-three of those completions were hauled in by Brossman, who piled up 724 receiving yards and scored seven times.
“He can take us to the next level,” Monos said of Kelly. “He’s that kind of quarterback. He’s smart. He can throw from the pocket. He can roll out and throw. Or he can run with it himself. He’s a fierce competitor. A strong, strong desire to win.
“If there’s one thing we need offensively, it’s the big play,” Monos said. “Defenses want to take the philosophy, ‘Bend, but don’t break.’ Teams that have firepower and can make big plays become explosive. We’re not there, but we have the capability to get there. We definitely have more team speed than we did last year.”
Monos expects both his defense and special teams to be improved.
“Defensively, I’m pleased overall,” he said. “Our secondary has been outstanding. I feel like we’re good back there. I like the way our defense runs to the ball, and we’re hitting people.
“Two freshmen will start,” Monos added. “But there will be a number who will contribute. And where they’ll make the biggest impact is on special teams. They should make us better there.”
posted by Pat McConnell | 12:05 PM
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