Most football programs would be more than happy to finish a season in the state semifinals.

Morris is not like most football programs.

So, even after reaching the Class 5A semifinals last season before falling to Joliet Catholic, the sights are set high again.

Morris captains Logan Sparrow, Caeden Curran and Chace Bachert feel like they have some unfinished business as the first official day of IHSA practice took place Monday. They are three of the four captains for Morris, along with Bryce Varner, as voted by their teammates.

“We’re pretty confident coming into the season,” said the 5-11, 207-pound Bachert, a key contributor on both the offensive and defensive lines. “It’s exciting. A lot of people are saying we lost a lot, but we actually have a lot of guys coming back that played a lot last year and got a lot of great experience.”

Curran, a 6-foot, 195-pound running back and linebacker, agreed with Bachert.

“It was awesome to get to play so many playoff games,” he said. “That meant we got more practices, and playoff practices are way more fun. Everyone is really focused on what we have to do and they’re just fun practices.

“I feel like I am going to have a very good offensive line to run behind this year. I can’t wait.”

As a tight end who will also play linebacker on defense, the 6-3, 215-pound Sparrow understands his role in the Morris scheme.

“The running game is going to be a big part of what we do,” he said. “We have some good linemen coming back and we have a lot of really good running backs. I know that my main job is to block, but it will be fun to catch some passes, too.”

Morris coach Alan Thorson couldn’t be happier with the captains that his team voted into the position.

“These guys all have a lot of experience,” Thorson said. “Bryce Varner, Logan Sparrow and Chace Bachert all played on the varsity when they were sophomores and Caeden Curran was a starter last year. We have always let the guys on the team vote for the captains and they do a good job. All of these guys definitely deserve that honor.”

While the team spent much of the summer together in 7-on-7 competitions, scheduled workouts and even a joint practice with Minooka, there was a different feel on the field Monday.

“It’s definitely different,” Thorson said. “You can tell the real season is here. I told this guys all summer that I couldn’t wait until August. Well, August is here and it feels good to be on the field for real.”

While the players returning from last year’s team have experienced quite a bit of success, they are now ready to make their own mark.

“Some people say we lost a lot from last year,” Bachert said. “We did lose some good players, but we have a lot coming back. Hearing stuff like that kind of puts a chip on our shoulders and we want to prove people wrong.”

Sparrow agreed.

“Every year, people talk about who the team lost,” he said. “But they forget about the guys coming back and the ones coming up. We take football seriously in Morris and there’s always another group ready to step in.”

The main goal for the captains was the obvious one - a state title. However, there were some others that they had their eye on.

“We want to get the conference title back,” Bachert said. “We couldn’t even split it last year, so we want to get that this year.”

“It would be great to go 9-0 and get more home playoff games,” Curran said. “We had to travel a lot last year [games in Troy, Chicago and Joliet] and only had one home playoff game. We want to play at home as often as we can.”