Marengo’s offense to look different without standout QB Josh Holst leading the way

Marengo coach Paul Forsythe wasn’t sure what type of reaction he would get when he told junior David Lopez that he would no longer play wide receiver and defensive back this fall.

Instead, Lopez was going to be the Indians’ starting quarterback, a position he had not played since eighth grade.

“He has this really stoic, kind of hard-to-read face,” Forsythe said. “I was really trying to look into his eyes to see how he was going to respond to that. I don’t think he was super excited about it, but that kind of tells you what kind of player and person he is.”

“He understands that this is the best thing for our team, and he was in. He knew this is what we needed to do, and he’s embraced it ever since.”

Lopez (6 foot, 160 pounds), who caught four touchdowns last season and was one of the team’s top defenders, will take over at quarterback for Josh Holst, a four-year varsity player who became the team’s starter in the last few games of his freshman year – even winning a playoff game.

Holst, who threw for 61 touchdowns in his career, is now at NIU after committing there at the end of last season.

Forsythe felt Lopez checked all the boxes of what he was looking for in the Indians’ next quarterback.

“Our philosophy here is we like to find our best athlete and put them at quarterback,” Forsythe said. “He’s definitely that guy. At the quarterback position, you need a guy who’s smart, you need a guy who’s tough, and you need a guy who’s athletic. He’s all of those things.

“I also think the rest of our kids know what to expect from him. He’s pretty even-keel and he’s consistent, which is a really good thing, too.”

Holst made the Indians offense go last season and was voted the All-Kishwaukee River/Interstate 8 Blue Division Offensive MVP by coaches after throwing for 1,574 yards, 24 touchdowns and four interceptions. He was no slouch on the ground, either, and was the team’s second-leading rusher with 744 yards and 13 scores.

With Holst, Marengo was one of McHenry County’s most pass-heavy teams.

Forsythe said the Indians will look to run the ball more this season, with senior running back-linebacker Isaac Anthony and sophomore running back-linebacker Connor Sacco getting most of the work. Seniors Rune Boyd and Evan Maniates, who missed all of last season with a broken right leg, are a couple of Marengo’s top lineman.

Forsythe expects to see a physical running game with Anthony at the forefront. Lopez called Anthony a freight train.

“He’s our strongest kid,” Forsythe said of Anthony. “So we feel good about having a real big strong kid back there, where the other team kind of tires from tackling him after awhile. The strengths of our offense will definitely be our run game and getting our bigger people involved.”

Anthony is excited to get going again after getting his first varsity experience last season. Anthony, who is 5-9, worked on getting bigger and stronger in the offseason, and has put on 40 pounds since his sophomore season two years ago. He now weighs 200 pounds.

“I’m just a whole different animal than I was before. A lot stronger, just a completely different person, and I hope that I can use that this year on the field.”

—  Isaac Anthony, Marengo senior running back

“Varsity is a whole different tempo, a whole different speed than JV,” Anthony said. “You have to really step up. When I was a freshman and sophomore, I was like, ‘I’ll never be like these guys, there’s just no way,’ and here I am now.

“I’m just a whole different animal than I was before. A lot stronger, just a completely different person, and I hope that I can use that this year on the field.”

Lopez, who also played varsity baseball for the Indians’ KRC champion in the spring, feels that he has improved significantly since the start of summer, in his knowledge of the offense and getting comfortable throwing again.

Lopez doesn’t expect to put up numbers similar to Holst. He just wants to help the Indians to another strong season.

Last year’s Indians went 5-5 and made the postseason for the fourth straight year, winning their last two games to qualify.

“I feel like I’m not going to be as good as [Holst], obviously,” Lopez said. “I just want to do what’s expected of me so we have another good year. Josh scrambled really well. I’ve been watching lots of film of him, looking how to scramble better and just keeping my eyes down the field.

“I feel like we’ve all been meshing as a team. We’ve got a good energy for the start of the season.”