Marian Central strives for excellence, eyes return to postseason

Marian Central was a postseason regular not long ago, making a trip to the playoffs in every year from 2009 to 2017.

More recently, the Hurricanes have struggled to reach that level of success.

“It’s very important to us,” senior safety Jackson Jakubowicz said. “Since going to Marian, I’ve never gone to a playoff game. Even in the eighth grade, I wasn’t able to go as a fan or anything. We’re going to have to come out of the gates stronger, quicker and faster. We have to get on our game as soon as that first ball is snapped. We’ve got to trust each other more.”

Marian has gone three straight seasons without a postseason appearance, not counting the COVID-19-shortened 2021 spring season. The Hurricanes went 4-5 overall last season, a win short of being playoff eligible, and earned the CCL/ESCC Red Division title with a 2-0 record.

[ Read more: Marian Central tabs Liam Kirwan, 27, as its new football coach ]

“I think we have a lot of underrated guys on our team,” said first-year coach Liam Kirwan, a 2013 Marian graduate. “They’ve told me time and time again, ‘Coach, we need to get better.’ They’re not happy with the past four years. They are big on getting back to the gold standard of Marian Central Catholic football, which has four state championships and more Division I football players in the area. That’s what the kids are striving for. I’m excited to put it all together.”

Marian’s path to the postseason won’t be easy.

In addition to 2021 playoff qualifiers Wheaton Academy, St. Patrick and Mt. Carmel, the Hurricanes’ schedule also features last season’s Class 7A state runner-up [St. Rita] and 1A champion [Lena-Winslow].

The Hurricanes graduated one of the Northwest Herald area’s top lineman in Luke Dalton, a three-year starter who will play this fall at Cincinnati. Marian does bring back its big-time playmaker at wide receiver, junior Christian Bentancur (6-foot-5, 235 pounds), who led the area in receiving yards (1,020) and touchdowns (11), despite missing a game.

Bentancur will have a new quarterback this season, as junior Cale McThenia takes over for graduate Brendan Hernon, who threw for more than 1,700 yards and 20 touchdowns. Kirwan anticipates throwing the ball a bunch this season to utilize the playmaking abilities of Bentancur and other players.

“I really want to go out with the seniors, because I’ve know them my whole life,” McThenia said. “I just want to get them a playoff win, at least one time. I’m doing it for them.”

Bentancur banged his knee at last week’s 7-on-7 at Crystal Lake Central and didn’t play the majority of the scrimmage. When on the field, Bentancur, who now has more than 30 NCAA Division I offers, is tough to stop. But it’s what he saw at the scrimmage against Jacobs and Crystal Lake Central that gave him high hopes.

“It was very impressive, I didn’t know what to expect,” Bentancur said of his teammates stepping up. “We’ve got some new juniors that came up from the JV team and a lot of the seniors are now gone. They really impressed me today, and I’m just excited to continue that into the season.

Some of Marians’ top returners include Ryder Schingoethe and Reese Eckstein on the offensive and defensive lines, Jackson and Tyson Jakubowicz at safety, Joey Simon at cornerback and John Herff and Sean Truckenbrod at linebacker. Jack Schmid and Simon will split time in the backfield on offense, and Christian Stavroplos and Rylan Dolter will play on the outside with Bentancur at receiver.

“That’s what it’s all about, just having a bunch of dogs out there,” Bentancur said. “Hopefully, we make the playoffs, that’s the goal at the end of the day.”

Kirwan is excited about his team’s potential.

“I think what you’ll see from our players this year is they are special young men,” Kirwan said. “They are starving and hungry to do something.”