‘It was fun’: St. Bede faces former coach Jim Eustice and Mendota, Sandwich in joint practice

When Mendota was running plays Thursday, St. Bede senior Gino Ferrari recognized what the Trojans were doing.

“A couple of the plays seemed pretty familiar,” Ferrari said with a smile.

It looked familiar to Ferrari because former St. Bede coach Jim Eustice is now leading Mendota.

“It was fun,” Ferrari said about going against his former coach.

The Bruins traveled to Mendota, as did Sandwich, for a joint practice as summer workouts wrapped up for teams across the state ahead of the IHSA dead week Aug. 4-8. Official practices for the 2025 season begin Aug. 11.

“Jim’s a great guy,” said St. Bede coach Jack Brady, who coached under Eustice for nine years. “Jim’s done a lot for me over the last nine years, and I’ll always appreciate that. It’s great to see what he’s got going here. Mendota is in great hands.”

Eustice said he enjoyed seeing Brady and other former assistants leading the Bruins, as well as his former players.

“I love those guys. They know it,” Eustice said about the Bruins. “The fact those guys are doing what they’re doing makes me pretty proud of everything we were doing when they were on my staff. Those kids are great kids.

“I wish them nothing but the best.”

The three teams practiced for two hours, rotating on offense and defense in 10-minute increments.

“I thought it went real well for all three programs,” Eustice said. “It was fast-moving. That was two hours of nonstop football.

“We got it all on film, so it’s going to be great teaching for us, Coach Brady and (Sandwich) Coach Jason VanPelt. It’s a good way to end the summer.

“We did a lot of good things on both sides of the ball. I’m sure the other coaches would say the same thing. Then we saw some things that are great to have on film and we can work on those things, correct them and teach the kids.”

Mendota senior Aden Tillman said the Trojans were focusing on assignments during the practice.

“We’re building a lot of momentum as a program, and I’m liking it,” Tillman said. “We’re really trying to focus on having all our mental assignments in check. We have the effort. We have the team bonding. We just need those mental assignments locked in all the time.”

Eustice said the Trojans are “getting there.”

“(Offensively), we had a couple missed assignments,” Eustice said. “Just things that are easily correctable. Sometimes you have to make the mistake once or twice before you truly understand the why.

“Defensively, when you’re not confused, you play harder, and that’s what we’re striving for. Our kids seem to be getting better at just reading, reacting and going as opposed to overthinking and being paralyzed by analysis.”

For the Bruins, Brady was pleased to see practice work translate against an opponent.

“The last week, we have really tried to tidy up some of our mistakes and work on the simple things at the start of plays, doing your job first and then watching the whole picture come together,” Brady said. “Today, the kids really looked like they started to get it.”

The Bruins came in focusing on blocking assignments and firing off the ball after not getting much going in the run game in a joint practice with La Salle-Peru.

“I thought we did great,” Ferrari said. “The intensity was high. We were very disciplined. That’s all you can ask for.

“We didn’t jump once, which is great to see. We had a tough time running the ball against L-P, but we ran the ball pretty well today. Our line was getting off the ball a lot quicker.”

Brady is happy with the progress the Bruins made in the summer.

“Ever since June in the weight room, the kids have been very dedicated,” Brady said. “They have stuck with the program. I think where we’re at now, at the end of July, is a good spot to be.”

Thursday was Sandwich’s first-ever joint practice.

“It was a nice change of pace,” VanPelt said. “We enjoyed doing this.”

VanPelt said the Indians were focusing on fundamentals such as firing off the ball, staying low and going to the right places.

“We got everybody out there and got to see them against a different team,” VanPelt said. “They were working together nicely.

“We just started doing football stuff these last couple weeks. We spent all of June speed training and lifting. Guys are starting to figure things out. Our seniors really led the charge and did a real nice job. Our juniors who are new to varsity football are kind of figuring out what this is like a little bit, so it was good for us to get out here.”

VanPelt, who is in his first season as Sandwich’s head coach after serving as an assistant, was pleased with the Indians’ summer.

“We’ve been working on our process,” VanPelt said. “We’ve been doing well with the things we’ve been focused on. The kids are doing what we’re asking them to do. We’re going to be in it together and see where we end up at the end of the year.”

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Mendota head football coach Jim Eustice, (right) talks to St. Bede and Sandwich football players before a joint practice on Thursday, July 31, 2025 at Mendota High School. (Scott Anderson)