Chesterton football kicks into gear tonight at home vs. Hobart with many new faces on offense and more familiar ones on defense

Tom Keegan
Onwardtrojans.com

As Chesterton continues to recover from the aftermath of a powerful derecho dubbed “Storm Lucy” by NIPSCO, the football schedule offers a respite from the stress for those who can make it to the stadium tonight.
For the 10th consecutive season, the Trojans open the season vs. Hobart, a 7 p.m. kickoff.
“I hope so,” Chesterton head coach Mark Peterson said of whether the game can offer some a temporary respite from dealing with the damage of the derecho. “A chance to get out of the house, not having to deal with trees and sump pumps and generators, a nice release to get out and watch a high school football game and I think it should be a good game.”
Chesterton has gone 5-4 since the revival of the series and although the home team has won the past four meetings, the visiting team has won 5 of the 9 games.
Overall, Chesterton doesn’t have a lot of experienced depth, which could result in more players going both ways than in most seasons.
A look by position groups at how the Trojans shape up heading into Peterson’s 14th season at the helm of the program:
Offense:
Quarterback: Tall, slender southpaw Hunter Boyd, a junior, returns as the starter. A dropback quarterback who spins a nice ball with accuracy, Boyd worked hard during the offseason to try to gain speed to buy receivers more time to get open when the pocket collapses.
Boyd averaged a solid 7.1 yards per pass attempt and completed 59.2% of his passes. Excessive sacks during his sophomore season led to a negative rushing total. He’s confident he can improve in that area and overall.
Sophomore Logan Leverenz and freshman Noah Kent bring depth.
Running back: Junior Sam Posavac led Portage in tackles at safety last season and opens the season as the starting running back who also will play some at safety.
Posavac blends enough speed, power and shiftiness to keep the chains moving if he has enough blocks to give him room to work.
Linebackers Mauro Semidei, a junior, and senior Zane Westerlund also will carry the football out of the hybrid tight end/fullback position known as the H back.
Speedy sophomore Harper Brown brings a different look. And once healthy, gadget guy senior Max Soffin will show versatility carrying the ball and catching passes.
Receiver: Louis Raffin, Gus Wisch and Patrick Mochen have graduated, but the Trojans have reloaded with enough talent for an optimistic outlook here.
Athletic defensive back Bradley Robinson will be a two-way starter. Senior Colin McCoy and junior Brody Lane, a transfer from Andrean, also bring speed to the starting lineup. Brayden West and Carter Larson are talented enough to get varsity snaps as sophomores as well. Senior Elliot Mehling’s versatile skillset makes him an option at tight end and receiver.
Offensive line: Experience is a huge factor for high school players at this position because of the gradual gains in size and strength as well as in executing fundamental technique and communicating.
Chesterton’s group is charged with growing up in a hurry because the starting lineup has a freshman, two sophomores, a junior and a senior.
Moving left to right, from left tackle through right tackle, the starters: sophomore Mason Donahue, senior Isaiah Hammond, freshman Nick Galloway, and juniors Leland Skube and Malik Oueslati.
As the blocker with by far the most varsity snaps, Oueslati is charged with protecting the lefty quarterback’s blind side.
“They’re untested, so it’s going to be a great challenge for them tonight,” Peterson said.
Galloway, the center listed at 6-feet, 225 pounds, is Chesterton’s first freshman starter on the O-line since Isaiah Fowler, a fourth-year junior playing defensive tackle in his first season at McNeese State after starting his career at Valparaiso University.
“He’s clearly got some physical development that will take place over the next couple of years,” Peterson said of Galloway. “He’s really earned his spot. He’s done a great job. He’s a good one, he’s going to be a really good one.”
Kicker: Last season, Mace Redman booted a 33-yard game winner vs. Hammond Morton and nailed a big 41-yarder in the win vs. Valparaiso. In limited kickoff opportunities, Redman kicked four touchbacks.
Redman has put no limits on himself this season and ambitiously aims for 50-yards and beyond.
Defense:
Three-man front: Senior Tyler Dhaemers in the middle, flanked by classmate Gabe Vaiolo and junior Christian Melton, gives the Trojans an experienced front in their 3-4 defense. Vaiolo will look to expand his sack total beyond the two he had last year.
Generally, the bigger the body the more rest a football player needs, so senior Carson Hollingsworth will get nearly as many snaps as the starters rotating in to spell teammates lined up on the inside and outside. Sophomore Ryan Bradford also shows promise on the outside.
Linebacker: Penn State became known as Linebacker U. Chesterton hasn’t reached that status yet in Northwest Indiana but it does tend to be a position of strength for the program and this year is no exception.
Westerlund, the top college prospect on the roster, moves from the outside to the inside and looks forward to the challenge of making plays from sideline to sideline.
Senior Charlie Cunningham, a middle linebacker, has waited his turn and approached the offseason with the passion of a player eager to show what he can do with a full-time workload.
When healthy, senior Peyton Dilbeck enables roster flexibility because he’s fast enough to play cornerback and big enough to handle outside linebacker. Semidei projects to get plenty of snaps on offense and has the size and experience to help at linebacker as well.
Junior Dylan Sinclair at 5-9, 160, is on the small side but impressed during preseason practices.
Secondary:
Senior Isaiah Prater returns at safety, where junior Brody Smith, and two-way players Posavac and Robinson also could make appearances.
Robinson also is an option at cornerback, as are seniors De’Sean Reed (interception vs. Crown Point last season) and Chris Wilson.
“Everybody’s excited and amped up and ready to go,” Peterson said of the opener.
Trying to predict a winner in the series vs. the Brickies is forever tricky. The outcome during the season-opening series that turns 10 years old tonight doesn't always offer a window into how the season might go for the Trojans, but it has been an accurate indicator at times.
In the past years, Chesterton has gone 28-25 in the five seasons it won the opener and 15-25 in seasons that start with a loss.