Coming off a CIF semifinal appearance last season, the La Jolla Country Day football team is heading into the 2010 campaign with a different mix on its roster than in past seasons. Head coach Jeff Hutzler feels his squad is made up of a talented senior class that will help mentor a promising group of sophomores and, hopefully, become one cohesive unit for another successful season. “We have a good set of sophomores that will be trying to fill some big shoes this year,” Hutzler said. “The coaching staff’s main task during training camp was to keep everything simple. I would rather execute 10 plays perfectly right now, rather than implementing our entire scheme and confusing everyone. We’re going to start a lot of them, and their biggest growth should come between the first and second game of the season.” Gone are quarterback Derek Hatfield, running back/linebacker Montell Allen, wide receiver/defensive back Connor Gerhart and offensive lineman Indie Lauarias. Three of the four are currently preparing for their collegiate debuts in September. Allen, the Pacific League Player of the Year last season, stayed in town at the University of San Diego. Hutzler has always divided the football season into three parts: non-league, league and playoffs. He said he is anxious to get his young sophomores out on the field and compete at the varsity level. They got their first opportunity at the CIF Kickoff Classic on Friday against Hoover before they head to Hawaii to play their season opener against Kamehameha Maui on Saturday, Sept. 4. “We been invited to play in the Kickoff Classic several times in the past, and I like that it’s a scrimmage played under game-like conditions,” Hutzler said. “We need this team-building experience to show our youngsters how to prepare to play ball each week at this level.” All eyes will be on two sophomores — receiver/safety Sage Burmeister and running back/linebacker Colin McMahon — who could make an immediate impact on the Torreys season. After Hatfield went down with a season-ending injury in 2009, Burmeister was brought up from freshman squad and jumped right into his safety position on the defense. This season, he is expected to replace Gerhart at the offensive slot receiver position. McMahon’s play has been the talk of camp, as he has shown great vision running the football and has been very physical in all of the defensive drills thus far. The new signal-caller this year will be junior Ruben Peña, who gained valuable experience after replacing Hatfield in the final three games of last season. He is coming into his own at the position, and not too many QBs can play the outside linebacker position like him. The injury bug has hit the Torreys hard early, however. Senior all-league candidate tight end/linebacker Mical Bailey has been hampered throughout training camp with an injured hip flexor. Bailey’s injury has become an area of concern for Hutzler, who will sit him out of practice until the team arrives in Hawaii. Bailey is an important cog to the Torreys’ success, catching 34 balls for 657 yards while being a dominant force on the defensive side with 100 tackles and 8.5 sacks last season. The Torreys have been in mix in the Pacific League for the better part of five seasons, and this year should be no different. A home night game against rival The Bishop’s School on Sept. 16 will launch them into league play, and Hutzler anticipates the same usual suspects (Francis Parker, Christian and Army-Navy) to battling them once again for league supremacy.
