Mahar football coach Percy Eady noticed a different vibe at practice this summer.
Eady, entering his third year leading the Sens, is coming off a 3-8 season but with a young team hungry to improve, he feels his squad is beginning to turn a corner and could do some special things this fall.
“The energy feels really good right now,” Eady said. “As much as I love the last two years, this year has something super unique and special about it. We’re young and we have some real talents out there.”
Part of that optimism is getting Ronnie Stone back on the team. Stone missed the second half of his sophomore year and his entire junior season due to injury but is back healthy and ready to lead the Senator backfield.
“It all starts with [Stone] for us,” Eady said.
Aryan Kheti is one of those young players Eady is excited about, as the freshman is expected to start at safety from Day 1.
Freshman Lee Cruz Jr. is someone Eady said is a natural at the ‘X’ receiver spot while Cam Harold is another freshman who Eady wants to get on the field on the line of scrimmage. Sophomore Lucas Briand is a newcomer who has shown he can kick the ball, and Mahar hopes he’ll be able to help put points on the board this year.
As for the veterans, junior Carter Hardy is a versatile piece in the back seven who is a tackling machine while junior Riley Murphy returns at guard and will anchor the line. Jayden Sanchez was thrown into action on the offensive line last year as a freshman and is back bigger and stronger as a sophomore.
“We have guys who can play,” Eady said.
At quarterback, sophomore Freeland Ringer steps in to replace Morgan Softic, who had started games under center for the Sens since his freshman year.
Though he doesn’t have the same experience, he offers a different style of quarterback under center for Eady to work with.
“Morgan was getting reps as a freshman,” Eady said. “At some point in all four years Morgan was playing quarterback for us. This is the first time he’s not here in four years so it’s a new feeling. Freeland is a natural passer. He’s a more prototypical pocket passer. He’s got some good eyes and we’re working with him on the handoff game to be more of a jack-of-all-trades. He’s got some upside.”
Seniors like Stone, who have been around the program for four years, say there’s a new level of focus and energy at practice this year.
“We’re coming together well,” Stone said. “We have a few flaws and a few pros. We can get better at it. I feel confident going into our first game. Our problem in the past has been effort. If we have the effort, we can go far. We have to keep the positivity and it’s going to take effort.”
Hardy said he’s seen the team improve in their preparation.
“We’re looking good,” Hardy said. “We just have to practice hard, keep our energy up and move like we have a game at the end of the week. We’ve improved on that this year.”
From where they were going into Week 1 in the past, Murphy said he has noticed a different energy this year.
“We look good,” Murphy said. “Better than past years at this point in the season. I think we’re going to have a good season. We just have to have energy in practice, communicate and come together as one.”
Mahar opens its season on Friday, taking on Monument Mountain at the Woodward Complex in Orange.
As is the case with most teams early in the season, Eady said his defense is ahead of where his offense is going into Week 1, and he’s hoping that unit can carry the way until the offense catches up.
“What I’m hoping to see is these guys gel together,” Eady said. “At the end of the day, I’m looking for our defense to lead the way for us and offensively, do what we have to do to put points on the board. As the season goes on, you hope it becomes easier for us on offense but early on, I’d like to see the defense stand out and for us to stay efficient on first and second down offensively.”