Sterling reloads with experience after injury-plagued 2021

There has always been that next-man-up mentality in the Sterling football program – and it really served the Golden Warriors well during an injury-plagued 2021 season.

But as much as it hurt last fall, it could benefit them over the next three months. A lot of injuries meant a lot of guys getting a chance to gain experience that they otherwise might not have had, and that’s led to a deeper, more veteran team this fall.

“I think by default, that made us deeper this year. It’s not something that we wanted to happen last year, but it might help us this year,” said Jon Schlemmer, entering his 11th season as Sterling’s head coach. “It’s all about depth this whole summer, this whole offseason, really, building that because of what happened last year. It’s just understanding what we need going into the conference slate, and really the schedule we have: we’ve got to feel really good two or three deep at a lot of positions, and we’re pretty close to that, so we feel pretty good with where we’re at.”

As with the start of every season, the returning players and the younger guys coming up to the varsity squad must find a way to mesh and become a cohesive unit.

Traditionally, that’s something the Warriors have excelled at, and senior Justin Null said that’s something that hasn’t taken much effort at all to achieve this offseason.

“I would say it has been easy. When we were sophomores, the freshmen kind of had lower numbers, so now that we’re seniors and juniors, we’ve kind of all been together already, so this group has known each other for a really long time, and it doesn’t take a whole lot for us to get along together. We hang out a lot outside of football and school, too,” Null said.

“I think it’s just the leadership from our seniors, whether it’s Kael Ryan or JP [Schilling] at quarterback, or basically any of our seniors, really, we’ve all been really helpful for the juniors that may not know exactly what they’re doing, or to people that are new. Being able to help each other is really benefitting us.”

Schlemmer points to the offseason workout program as the site of a lot of that team chemistry being built – and again, the injuries last season might have lent a helping hand to that process.

“I think that all start upstairs in the weight room. That’s where kids gain confidence, that’s where kids really learn about each other, lifting with a guy they don’t know very well, and that’s where it all starts,” Schlemmer said. “Coach [Isaac] Kinnicutt ran our summer program, and I thought it was probably one of the best summers we’ve ever had – and it wasn’t really due to any of us coaches, it was our senior leaders.

“A product of the injuries that we had last year, and some kids unfortunately unable to play winter or spring sports because of that, it created that bond upstairs, and really, I think it created some leaders out of those guys who were there every single day and didn’t miss at all in the offseason lifting. It wasn’t a question of who was going to be there; everybody was going to be there. That’s really showed.”

Offensively, the Warriors’ attack will look the same as it has for the past several seasons. Ryan and Schilling will platoon at quarterback, and Antonio Tablante returns to the backfield after rushing for more than 1,000 yards last year. AJ Kested and Cale Ledergerber will help him carry the load, and both ran for more than 275 yards after stepping up to fill spots due to the rash of injuries.

The receiving corps is made up of some newer faces, but guys like Null, Tommy Tate and Isaiah Mendoza are using their past experience to help bring the group along.

“Things are looking good. We’re getting everything put together again,” Tate said. “Our main guys are out here working hard. It’s about having everything organized and knowing what we’re supposed to do, really.

“We have Kael Ryan back, and he’s obviously going to be a huge help, but a lot of our new guys are good, too. We have juniors who are coming up from sophomore year that are being a really big help this year. With them coming up and other guys coming back, it’s working together really well.”

Null says he’s really enjoyed being one of the senior leaders, after looking up to the other guys that have done it during his high school football career leading up to this point.

“It’s great, definitely as good as I thought it was going to be,” he said. “I started last year, so I’m kind of used to the pressure that comes along with starting at a wide receiver position, and it’s great to be able to help out the younger guys as they’re going through it. And I don’t think I could’ve asked for a better group of guys to be with, who will be friends for the rest of my life.”

As always, balance will be the gameplan for the Warriors. With experienced running backs and a couple of quarterbacks who can sling the ball around, Sterling should be able to keep opposing defenses off-balance.

“We have balance, with good guys in the backfield, good guys at quarterback and receiver,” Tate said. “And we’ve got depth at every position, so I feel like we’ll still be able to be a balanced team with having everyone back and healthy and ready to go.”

On the other side of the ball, Schlemmer likes what he sees from his returning players and newcomers alike. Always an aggressive, attacking defense at every level, the coach says it should be more of the same this season – and team speed will be the key to it all.

“We’re getting better. We’ve got kids that are quick; I’d say this is all-around, from the front three or four that we’ve got to the back half, I think we run as good as we’ve ever run. We’ve got some kids that can really giddy-up, and kids that kind of have a knack for the ball,” Schlemmer said. “Being able to run in a straight line is one thing, but being able to understand an angle or pursue from the back-side as a defensive tackle, that’s where speed really separates itself on the defensive side of the ball, is when you’re front guys can run.

“A lot of teams have back-half guys and even linebackers that can run, but when your front three can really get after people and really get to the ball, that’s where speed really shows. We feel we have a few guys up there that can do that and give great effort.”

For a program that hasn’t had a losing record since 2001, and has made the playoffs each of the last seven years – and 18 of the last 19 – that they’ve been held, the goals are always lofty for Sterling. This year is no different, as they look to recapture the Western Big 6 title after failing to win it last year for the first time since joining the league in 2019.

Still, the Warriors have amassed an 18-2 record since joining the conference, and are looking for that success to continue in 2022.

“Our expectations are as high as they’ve ever been, especially defensively, which is key to winning in this conference,” Schlemmer said. “It’s just trying to kind of fit a puzzle together to get our best 11 out on the field at a time, but we play so many darn kids that it’s just trying to get the best kids out there and put them in positions where they can go out and have success.”