Sages' senior core eager for the season
Jul. 7—MONTICELLO — Only twice has Monticello football won fewer than six games since Cully Welter took control of the program in 2009.
One of those campaigns came last year in the form of a 5-5 record and an exit in the first round of the Class 3A playoffs after the Sages lost a hard-fought 8-6 game at Mt. Carmel.
The returning core from the latest playoff-qualifying Monticello team is eager to reestablish itself as the Sages enter the 2023 campaign at No. 7 in The News-Gazette's preseason top 10 poll.
"I'm excited for the season coming up," Monticello senior Luke Teschke said Thursday morning. "We've been getting after it in the weight room ever since the end of the school year and 7-on-7 went very good the other night. Still a lot of room to improve, but I think we have a lot of upside."
The Sages' offense will have a new look — by necessity — as it enters the season with its third quarterback in the last three seasons.
Teschke, who amassed 187 receiving yards and 102 rushing yards last season playing multiple positions in the Sages' offense, is on track to earn the starting role after Joey Sprinkle and Drew Sheppard stood under center in 2021 and 2022, respectively.
"I think understanding the playbook from other positions last year, especially playing all of them," Teschke said. "And then now coming back, playing quarterback, I know most of the playbook. Just trying to get those QB reps in and reading the defense for the first time, but I'm ready. I'm excited."
It's been a productive summer so far as Teschke has adjusted to his new positions. He'll also switch positions on the defensive side of the ball.
"He can play anywhere," Welter said of the Illinois State baseball commit. "He can play quarterback, receiver, running back. He was a safety for us last year and we moved him to linebacker this year, so we'll see how that plays out."
Tylor Bundy and Spencer Mitze also graduated alongside Sheppard, leaving seniors Raiden Colbert and Trey Welter to factor into the passing game this fall.
"I think we lost a lot of key seniors last year," Colbert said. "A lot of talent, but we have a lot of younger guys that are able to step up and they've been putting in the work in the weight room and on the field. We've definitely seen a lot of improvement."
Monticello will also look a bit smaller up front than it has in years past after the graduation of standout lineman Jack Brown.
Ike Young will also see time at tailback and Carter Foran is expected to take steps forward after a strong summer.
"We've been putting in work on the field after weights, and he's been running good, crisp routes," Trey Welter said. "He was looking really good (Wednesday night) at the 7-on-7, scored a few touchdowns, but I think he has a lot of potential to be really good."
The 7-on-7 portion of the Sages' offseason is part of a summer that has gone swimmingly so far.
"The summer's gone pretty well," Cully Welter said. "We're just now getting into 7-on-7 and some of the team stuff, so we haven't really seen a whole lot of that aspect, but weight room has gone very well. Kids have been enjoyable. It's been a good summer so far."
Monticello has had the benefit of practicing on a brand-new turf field, which was installed during the offseason as part of a $4.5 million project that also includes new turf fields for the Sages' baseball, softball and soccer programs.
It's an added convenience, given the team's weight room backs right up to the field on its east side.
"For me, being able to utilize it from a practice perspective is better than the game aspect," Cully Welter said. "It's right here next to our weight room, so it's a lot more convenient. It's been a lot more efficient for us this summer.
"It'll be nice to be able to walk out and get on there and not have to worry about the weather or the mud or the conditions of the practice field."
The new turf field isn't surrounded by a running track, creating an environment more intimate than most area high school football venues.
"The fans are so close to you and this whole town (is drawn) to the football team," Teschke said. "You always have to put on a show. With the old-school kind of feel, still with the turf, there's just something to it. There's nothing better."
Monticello's season kicks off at St. Joseph-Ogden — another school with a new turf field — at 7 p.m. on Aug. 25 at Dick Duval Field in St. Joseph.
From there, the Sages will host Chillicothe IVC at 7 p.m. on Sept. 1 and Confluence Prep Academy out of St. Louis at 2 p.m. on Sept. 9 before launching into the heart of Illini Prairie Conference play. Their final two league games — at Prairie Central on Oct. 13 and at home versus Unity on Oct. 20 to close out the regular season — could factor into the IPC title race.
"Last year was a great indication of how deep the conference is," Cully Welter said, with six playoff teams emerging from the nine-team IPC. "It was pretty balanced for the most part last year. It'll definitely test us each and every week."
The Sages' seniors are aiming to make the most of their five home games, hoping it all adds up to the program's 14th playoff appearance in Welter's 15 seasons, highlighted by a 3A state championship and undefeated season in 2018. The only season Monticello didn't make the playoffs in Welter's tenure was in the condensed 2021 spring slate when the playoffs were canceled because of the COVD-19 pandemic. Monticello still went 6-0 that season.
"I'm looking forward to getting on the field and playing with my best friends," Colbert said. "There's nothing like that home environment with all the fans screaming. The energy is just different and you play even harder than you think you will."
