Overall improvement key offseason focus for Ottawa football

Most coaches will tell you good players become great players in the offseason.

For Ottawa coach Chad Gross, he likes the improvements he has seen in a number of his players. They will start the season hosting Plano at King Field on Aug. 30.

“We have a lot of juniors on the roster this year, but not a ton of seniors. That said, many of the juniors saw time at the varsity level last season, some were two-way starters, and they’ve all worked hard to improve in the offseason,” Gross said. “We bring back about half our starters on both sides of the ball, but a key will be four of those guys in our offensive line and a couple more that rotated on the defensive line.

“I have liked what I’ve seen this summer. We are getting there.”

One of the new faces for the Pirates, which finished 3-6 last season, will be junior quarterback Mark Munson.

Munson takes over as the signal caller for Colby Mortenson, who will suit up this fall at Elmhurst University and finished his Ottawa career third on the program’s all-time list with 2,025 passing yards.

“Colby has tremendous arm strength, and that is something I’ve really been working on, but I feel what is important for me is to make quick reads and quick throws,” Munson said after a 7-on-7 against St. Bede in mid-July.

“I can’t lie, I’ve been nervous before our 7-on-7s this summer, but I feel like I’m becoming less nervous or unsure with each one we have. It has also helped that my teammates have shown they have confidence in me, and they feel I can get the job done.”

For junior running back, slot receiver and defensive back Archer Cechowicz, who rushed for 299 yards and two touchdowns and caught 16 passes for 147 yards last year, his focus has been improving his skills on the defensive side of the ball.

“I really wanted to improve my play on the defense,” said Cechowicz, who recorded 19 tackles (14 solo) and one interception. “I hate to say it, but I got burned way too many times last season. I got caught too many times trying to anticipate things instead of just reacting. I would work toward the line too aggressively. I’d bite and lose track of my main assignment. [In] the offseason I’ve really worked on being steadier while still being aggressive to the ball, and I think I’ve improved a lot in that area of my game.”

Junior wide receiver and free safety Owen Sanders, who made four receptions for 42 yards and a TD last year, said the team has talked about many ways it needs to improve from a season ago, but one tops the list.

“We’ve talked a lot in the offseason about our spacing on both sides of the ball,” Sanders said. “Our coaches talked to us about it last year as well, but we had way too many times, especially on defense, where we were just too bunched up and allowed teams to make big plays because of it. I know it’s just 7-on-7s, but I feel like we’ve all done a better job in summer workouts of keeping the spacing we need to be successful.”