Streator finishes with well-earned break after busy summer

STREATOR – Next week is commonly known around Illinois high school football as “dead week” – a break from organized team workouts and a transition from summer activities to the official opening day of in-season practices.

The Streator Bulldogs front-loaded their busy July schedule to turn that one-week break into a two-week recharge, taking off both the final full week of July and the first week of August before opening official practices Aug. 7.

“What we’re selling,” Streator head coach Kyle Tutt said, “is, ‘Hey, come from July 5th through the 23rd, and then we give you two weeks off.’ ”

So with their summer activities wrapped up, does Tutt think his Bulldogs accomplished what they needed to this offseason?

“I think we have,” the fourth-year Streator coach said. “The guys are really buying in, and I think they understand our system and were able to come in and be like, ‘Oh, I remember that,’ and ‘Oh, we already did that.’

“We’ve worked really hard as a staff to hire some great people that have really energized our program and brought in some great ideas. With what we’ve been able to do offensively, we feel real comfortable. And without a doubt defense was a big issue for us last year, but we think we’ve found a couple guys who have found some spots and fell into those roles, and we feel more confident every day.”

Senior QB/LB Christian Benning, already the school’s all-time leading passer, and junior WR/DB Matt Williamson were selected to retain their captaincy status from last season’s 2-7 Streator team. Selected this summer to join them as captains are junior Isaiah Weibel, the quarterback of last year’s sophomore team who’s expected to be a featured defensive player this fall, and proven senior WR/DB Collin Jeffries.

The program is expected to be extremely light on seniors, but still have pretty good numbers overall.

“We feel real good about where we’re at,” said Tutt, noting he expects numbers program-wide on the opening day of official practice to be in the mid-80s. “We have a lot of guys coming back who have been with us, even though there are only six seniors coming back total. ... The seniors aren’t going to be there, but we’re heavy on juniors and sophomores.”

As for the summer, the Bulldogs crammed a lot of work into their three July weeks.

“We’ve been to a lot of 7-on-7s. I think it was six 7-on-7s that we’ve been to, actual competitions, and to a multiteam camp twice with people like Peoria, Maroa(-Forsyth), Canton, Heyworth, and we also did one with Pontiac and Dwight,” Tutt said. “We finished up in the championship game of a 7-on-7 in Maroa.

“I think understanding what we’re trying to do each play has been a big push for us, and [the team is] really starting to buy in. We’re real excited. ...

“Improving our offensive and defensive lines is a big thing for us, and that’s where we’re spending a lot of our time. A lot of those kids who have been with me have been in the weight room now for 3 1/2 years. That’s been a huge blessing, and I think you can see some of the difference.

“And of course, we’ve always had great team speed. We’re continuing to focus on that.”

Streator is scheduled to open the 2023 regular season at home Friday, Aug. 25, against East Peoria. It’s the final season the Bulldogs will meet the Raiders in this recent renewal of their rivalry. Beginning in 2024, Streator’s Week 1 opponent will switch to Decatur Eisenhower.

“The guys are really buying in, and I think they understand our system and were able to come in and be like, ‘Oh, I remember that,’ and ‘Oh, we already did that.’ "

—  Kyle Tutt, Streator football head coach