La Salle-Peru 2023 season recap: ‘We could have been better’

After going 5-4 with playoff appearances that resulted in first-round losses in 2019, 2021 and 2022 along with a 5-0 season in the spring 2021 season, La Salle-Peru was looking to take the next step in 2023.

The Cavaliers were aiming for their first home playoff game and first postseason victory in 20 years.

L-P started 3-1 and appeared on track for its fourth consecutive playoff berth, but an unexpected 17-14 loss in Week 6 to, at the time, winless Woodstock derailed the season. Woodstock finished 3-6 with wins over Johnsburg and Ottawa.

The Cavs lost four of their last five games to finish 4-5.

Still, L-P had a chance at a postseason berth due to having 47 playoff points (opponents’ wins) and the IHSA needing six 4-5 teams to round out the 256-team field.

According to Friday Night Drive playoff expert Steve Soucie, L-P was one of the last three teams out of the playoffs.

“It’s disappointing,” L-P coach Jose Medina said about the season after the Cavs’ 49-21 loss to Kaneland in the finale. “Disappointing in the fact that I thought we could have been better. You don’t try and second guess things, but you look back at that Woodstock game. That would have put us at 5-4. We’ve been 5-4 the last couple years. Sooner or later we have to get above that and strive to do that. That’s what we preach to our younger guys now is it’s commitment in the weight room. It’s commitment in the offseason. It’s doing the little things when coaches aren’t around. That’s what’s going to get us to that next level. I put that as a challenge to our younger guys to hopefully do what they need to do.”

“It’s disappointing. Disappointing in the fact that I thought we could have been better. You don’t try and second guess things, but you look back at that Woodstock game. That would have put us at 5-4.”

—  Jose Medina, La Salle-Peru coach

In an attempt to improve on their 5-4 streak and first-round playoff exits and compete better with the top-tier teams, the Cavs made a change to their offensive scheme in the offseason.

L-P dropped the triple-option offense it used for six years and moved to a gap scheme, shotgun-based attack that was designed to be more balanced after the ground game accounted for 84.8% of the team’s yards in 2022.

The Cavs debuted the offense to great success in the season opener with a 34-14 win over United Township, which finished 4-5.

L-P ran for 307 yards and threw for 159 yards. Brady Romagnoli rushed for 157 yards and two touchdowns, while quarterback Brendan Boudreau was 11 of 19 for 159 yards and a TD while also rushing for 103 yards and a score.

However, in Week 2, the Cavs struggled offensively in a 37-6 loss to Metamora, which went 7-2 and qualified for the Class 5A playoffs.

The trend from recent years of struggling to score and move the ball against top teams continued throughout this season.

The Cavs were shut out by Morris (9-0) and Sycamore (8-1) and had 21 points - only seven against the first-team defense – in the loss to Kaneland. The Cavs scored 20 points against Plano (5-4) in their only win against a playoff team.

L-P scored a season-high 35 points in a win over Woodstock North and had 24 points in the Cavs’ ninth consecutive win over rival Ottawa.

The Cavs did have a more balanced attack this fall, averaging 139.3 rushing yards and 101.4 passing yards per game this season compared to 183.6 rushing yards and 32.9 passing yards per game last year.

L-P’s scoring was a bit down, averaging 17.1 points per game after averaging 19.3 per game last year.

“We did some good things,” Medina said about the offense. “I would say [this season] was kind of the building blocks. We’ll revise and see what we have, what worked and what didn’t work and kind of build off of that.”

The Cavs graduate their top passer (Boudreau), rusher (Romagnoli) and receiver (Seth Adams), multiple offensive linemen, including Ty Terzick and Adam Lane, and several key defenders, including Nolan Glynn, Josh Senica and Kaleb Kennedy.

“They’ve stuck it out for the last four years,” Medina said about the senior class. “It started out with five COVID games. They battled. They fought through everything. They’ve done everything I’ve asked them to do. Come in the mornings. Go to 7-on-7s. That’s what we need to do and continue to do that. I know it’s not the way they wanted to end, but I think those kids will do some great things in the future.”

L-P will return several key players, including Andy Medina on the offensive line and at linebacker, Noah Zebron at receiver, Mikey Hartman at defensive back and Richie Santiago on the line.

Junior Adrian Arzola got involved in the running game more in the final two games with 10 carries for 70 yards, while backup quarterback Justus Byrd also saw more action toward the end of the season. Byrd was 5-of-14 passing for 54 yards in the final two games while running for 25 yards and a TD on five carries in the finale.

“We got Justus more reps [against Kaneland],” Medina said. “He did some good things. He threw the ball pretty well.”