Seneca, Ottawa committed to not being one-and-done in playoff berths

There was much excitement in and around the football programs at Ottawa and Seneca last season, and for good reason as each earned a berth in the IHSA playoffs.

Ottawa started the season 3-0 before dropping four of the next five, all of them to playoff schools – Class 5A (ranked No. 1 at the time) Sycamore, 5A No. 4 Morris, 5A No. 13 L-P and 6A No. 7 Kaneland.

The Pirates, however, earned a 34-9 win over Woodstock at a charged-up King Field in Week 9 to clinch their postseason-qualifying fifth win. It was the first playoff berth since 2012, and the fifth victory matched the win total for the previous six seasons combined.

“We were able to do a better job of playing smart football, and if we shot ourselves in the foot, we were able to overcome it, especially on the mental side.”

—  Chad Gross, Ottawa head football coach

“It was a good season,” said Ottawa fifth-year head coach Chad Gross, whose team lost its first-round Class 5A playoff game at Mahomet-Seymour. “I was so happy for our kids and thankful for the huge support from our community every step of the way. It was great to see the excitement in and around our program. Last season was a positive step in the right direction for Ottawa football and one we are all hoping to build on, improve on and expand on.

“One of the biggest keys for us last season was that we were able to limit our penalties and turnovers. In past seasons, we have put ourselves in tough spots with miscues of all sorts. We were able to do a better job of playing smart football, and if we shot ourselves in the foot, we were able to overcome it, especially on the mental side.”

Ottawa will lose tri-captains Branden Aguirre (RB/LB), Conner Price (WR/DB) and Levi Sheehan (WR/DB), as well as Matt Haerle (WR/DB), Charles Medrow (OL/DL) and Alex Perez (OL/DL) to graduation.

However, Gross is counting on seniors-to-be Ryder Miller (RB/DB), Michael Mills (OL/DL), Cam Loomis (K/P) and Colby Mortenson (QB) to take the reins in leadership and production.

“It starts in the weight room, and our kids have bought in and enjoy working out,” Gross said. “I don’t have to track kids down or beg them to come in. They understand that being stronger was another big part of the success we had last fall.”

Seneca put together a magical campaign last fall, completing the regular season without a loss, claiming its third playoff berth since 2002 and earning the most wins in a season for the program since 2000.

The Fighting Irish also were the Vermilion Valley Football Alliance North champions.

Seneca celebrated its first trip to the postseason since 2019 with a 48-20 victory over Winnebago in a Class 3A opener but lost the next week to Byron.

“We talked as a coaching staff very shortly after our season ended and passed our thoughts to the guys that, while we reached a lot of our goals last season, we can’t settle,” Seneca head coach Terry Maxwell said. “We need to be hungry to not only get back to the postseason, to not only win a playoff game, but to take another step in the process.

“It was a great and exciting season for everyone in and around our football team, but last year’s group set the bar, and now it will be time for this next group to set the bar higher.”

Seneca lost key players to graduation such as Brady Barla (C), Braden Ellis (FB/DB), Gabe Hicks (NG), Aiden Wood (LT/DT) and Collin Wright (RB/LB).

However, Maxwell said with Nathan Grant (QB/DB), Asher Hamby, (RB/DB), Kysen Klinker (TE/LB), all-stater Chris Peura (OL/DL), Paxton Giertz (RB/DB/K) and Lane Provance (TE/DE) coming back, he is looking forward to taking the next step.

“While we lost some key pieces to our team, I also feel we will have a lot of good, experienced senior leaders heading into next season,” Maxwell said. “They also know that getting in the weight room was something that really helped us get to where we got to and have been working in there to get stronger.

“I know I’m excited to see what this group can do, how we are going to answer the question marks we’ll have and how we respond to the success we had.”