Milwaukee-area top-10 high school football countdown: No. 1 Catholic Memorial
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel will be counting down our top-10 Milwaukee-area football teams entering 2023 with analysis and reporting from practice visits. These stories will be released in a one-per-day countdown leading up to Week 1 of the WIAA high school football season.
No. 1 Catholic Memorial
2022 Finish: 13-1 (7-0, Parkland Conference champion), lost in WIAA Division 4 state championship game to Columbus, 23-21
Key Losses: QB Isaiah Nathaniel, RB PJ Reynolds, WR Bennett McCormick, WR Jimmy Sheahan, DE/TE Keith Williams, LB/TE AJ Vranak, LB Tyree Harper, WR/DB Josh Bailey
Key Returners: QB MJ Mitchell, RB Corey Smith, OL Donovan Harbour, OL Owen Strebig, OL John Schwaab, OL Jae’Shaun Thomas, DL Carl Pevey, WR/DB Josh Oechsner, DB Marvanous Butler-Brown, LB/TE Matt Miklosy
Visit takeaways
The Crusaders are focused, if not angry, as they again try to win a 10th state championship. Last season’s two-point defeat to Columbus in the D4 state title game marked the first time since 2017 (excluding the 2020 season because of the COVID-19 pandemic) the Crusaders didn’t cap their season by bringing home a gold ball. The vibe is simply business, especially with a rugged slate to start the season and some elite returning players.
Catholic Memorial may not possess the depth it has had in previous seasons, but the talent level is off the charts. MJ Mitchell takes the reigns as the starting quarterback and can be one of the area’s most dangerous athletes at the position with his running ability, but his commitment to increasing his pocket awareness and standing tall could make a real difference. Penn State commits Corey Smith and Donovan Harbour are back for one more ride and there’s not much scarier than one of the fastest athletes in the nation running behind a 6-foot-5, 320-pound beast. Then add in 6-foot-7 offensive lineman Owen Strebig, one of the nation's top juniors, who has upwards of 40 Division I scholarship offers, according to coach Bill Young.
Harbour, Smith and Strebig take most of the headlines, but some defensive aces could help fill the void after the graduation of Keith Williams and Tyree Harper. Senior Josh Oechsner (85 tackles, two interceptions in ’22) steps into an even bigger role by playing wideout in addition to being one of the leaders in the secondary. Carl Pevey also returns to the defense after a stellar junior campaign in which he led the Crusaders with seven sacks to go along with 92 total tackles, 21 tackles for loss, two fumble recoveries and two interceptions. Young also expects defensive back Marvanous Butler-Brown to be a rising star.
Biggest question mark
Can the offense find a rhythm outside of Corey Smith’s touches?
MJ Mitchell not only steps into a starter role this season, but the Crusaders’ top two wide receivers in Bennett McCormick and Jimmy Sheahan graduated, along with two-way stud Keith Williams at tight end and Josh Bailey. The coaching staff knows that as good as Corey Smith is, along with some real maulers up front to protect Mitchell, there have to be more elements to the offense to get where they want to go. Mitchell has the talent to turn nothing plays into something with his legs, but who steps up on the perimeter is a real question. Smith will touch the ball a ton this season, but players such as Oeschner will make the real difference in how high the ceiling is for CMH. It could be quite a challenge in the early going with Franklin, Marquette and Pewaukee in three of the first four weeks with the Sabers and Pirates both having pushed the Crusaders to the limit in last year’s matchups.
They said it
“I played some wide receiver on the freshman team, but I never really looked into playing there with the varsity team. It’s definitely been an adjustment working with the offense and trying to switch my mind. I usually just hit guys as hard as I can and that’s about it. Now, it’s more of a finesse game to me and it’s definitely a challenge for sure, but I’m excited for it, though.” – two-way returner Josh Oeschner on his role this season
“I would say I want 2,000 yards this year, but I honestly … it hurt us so bad last year that I don’t even care about yards anymore. I just wanna win state again.” – running back Corey Smith on his individual goals for this season
“To me, it’s always about one game, one play, one quarter. Like I always tell these kids, ‘How many plays does it take to score a touchdown? One. What does a drive consist of? Multiple plays.’ So, if we’re not mentally dialed in one particular play, that’s six points, and in this game, against good teams, it’s hard to score points. We’re constantly talking about, thinking about this play, this game right now because if you look ahead, that’s when you get in trouble. As a coaching staff, we always say, ‘We never look ahead. We stay ahead.’” – coach Bill Young on his team heading into 2023
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee-area high school football countdown: No. 1 Catholic Memorial
