Hall using committee approach to filling Mac Resetich’s shoes

When you have a horse, you ride it.

That’s what Randy Tieman did when he returned to coach the Hall Red Devils last year. He plugged in senior Mac Resetich at quarterback and rode him as far as he could.

Resetich had a record-breaking season for most yards rushing (2,227) and touchdowns (30) at Hall, including single-game school records of 429 yards and seven TDs in a 66-45 win over Mendota, leading the Red Devils into the 4A playoffs.

With Resetitch riding off to the University of Illinois to play for the Fighting Illini, the Red Devils have some big shoes to fill.

“I’m going to cry a lot, I think. Those kind of kids don’t come around very often. It will be the only time I coach a kid like that.”

—  Randy Tieman, Hall coach

Asked what he’s going to do without Resetitch, arguably the best all-around athlete in Hall history, Tieman said, “I’m going to cry a lot, I think.

“Those kind of kids don’t come around very often. It will be the only time I coach a kid like that.”

The biggest question in the Red Devils’ camp will be how will they make up for the huge loss of Resetich, who accounted for 90% of their offense?

They will utilize a committee with the likes of senior Gianni Guerrini at quarterback, and seniors Joseph Bacidore and Tristan Redcliff and sophomores Braden Curran and Aiden Redcliff, who will all see time in the backfield.

“We’re going to distribute the ball to other kids. We’ve got some kids that can play a little bit. We’ll see what happens. We’ll try some things out and see how it works,” said Tieman, now in his 10th year overall and second in his second stint as the Hall head coach.

“We’ll run the same type of stuff. We just have to make our reads. Mac did a real good job at that. He kept the ball most of the time, but he did it for a reason. He didn’t put himself ahead of the team, but he did what it took to win.”

Guerrini said the Red Devils are up for the challenge.

“I think we’re going to be a pretty good team this year. (More) team play, spread the ball around more (and) have a good offense, give everybody a look,” Guerrini said.

Bacidore said it will take some changes, but is excited to be more involved.

“We’re trying to incorporate more (backs). Because (Resetich) got the ball most of the time, so we’re getting away from the quarterback runs the ball,” he said. “Try to get the ball run around everywhere. That’s what we’ve been working on.

“I’ll probably get the ball a whole lot more than I did last year. It’s exciting.”

Tieman said senior Leo Lopez will anchor the Hall line along with junior Cameron Spradling and sophomore Jacob Mongan. They’ll be joined up front by seniors Landon Glynn and Joel Koch, juniors James Irwin, Ben Heerdt, Bryce Smith, Mike Terry and Connor Keeling and sophomores Kaiden Kennedy and Eric Vipond.

The Red Devils return a good portion of its defense, minus the talents of Resetich. Tristan Redcliff returns as the leading tackler (92) at inside linebacker along with Koch (51 tackles, 9 sacks) up front, Bacidore at outside linebacker and Guerrini (fourth year) and DeAnthony Weatherspoon (third year) at cornerback.

“We’re bringing back experience (on defense). I would hope we’d be stronger this year,” Tieman said. “We’re a little thin on (defensive) lineman, but we’ve got some kids who got some time last year. So we’ll see.”

This will be the second of a two-year co-op deal with Putnam County. While no PC player saw varsity action last year, Tieman anticipates a couple to contribute this year, including junior lineman Spradling.

Tieman expects the Red Devils to be competitive in the Three Rivers East.

“I really don’t know what everybody is bringing back for sure. I know Princeton is bringing back a really, really good line. They’ll have some skill kids. So I know they’ll be the odds on favorite again,” he said. “Other than that, I think we’ll compete in conference. Just have to see what happens week in and week out. It’s usually a pretty tough conference.

“I think we’ll compete with teams. I don’t know how much we’ll win and lose, but we’ll compete.”

Bacidore believes the Red Devils have what it takes for another winning season.

“I think we’ll have a winning record. Not sure what the record will be, but I say winning,” he said.

Hall has picked up IVC as a Week 6 replacement for St. Bede, which will serve as the homecoming game on Friday, Sept. 29.

There will be two other newcomers to the Hall schedule — Riverdale for the home opener Sept. 1 and Rockridge for the Oct. 13 senior night game.