Marist ready for new challenge with only 4 returning starters

Ron Dawczak finds himself in a position he hasn’t experienced since he took over as Marist’s coach in 2017.

When they open the 2023 season, the RedHawks will only have four returning starters.

While Marist finds itself in unfamiliar territory, Dawczak thinks the RedHawks have grown well over the summer as they work to find their new identity.

“Right now we’re not sure what we’re going to get,” Dawczak said. “The guys are just forging ahead and creating their identity as they go ahead.”

Dawczak has continued a strong tradition of winning at Marist since taking over. The RedHawks have made the playoffs each year the IHSA held one, and Marist has reached the Class 8A semifinals three times.

But those teams had a good amount of returning players who had starts under their belt. Dawczak demonstrated how little starting experience this year’s roster has at the beginning of the summer when he asked the four players to stand up during a team meeting.

Marist has slowed things down this summer with so many first-time starters. There are more walkthroughs and film sessions as coaches do more teaching than they’ve done in the past.

Despite the low number of players who’ve started many games, there are plenty of players who played in meaningful games last year. The RedHawks are ready to show that.

“I think it’s great,” quarterback Owen Winters said. “I think we’ve got something to prove, and we can’t wait to show people what having four starters returning means and how much these kids that are younger than us can step up and make a difference on our team.”

Winters will be one of the fresh faces on the RedHawks’ offense. He’ll take over at quarterback and will lead an offensive group that doesn’t have much starting experience. Marist will also have a new offensive leader, with Dontrell Jackson taking over as the offensive coordinator after being on the RedHawks staff the last three years.

“Right now we’re not sure what we’re going to get. The guys are just forging ahead and creating their identity as they go ahead.”

—  Ron Dawczak, Marist coach

The RedHawks will rely on leadership from running back Marc Coy, who played his first season at the position last year. Coy said he’s enjoyed stepping into more of a leadership role, but Marist players know how important his experience will be, especially at the start of the season.

“I think it’s a big confidence boost to know that he played in the same scenarios that we’re going to play in this year,” Winters said. “If he brings in that energy, grit for our whole team, we’ll be just fine.”

Marist will bring back some experience back on the defensive side. Duke White is a veteran at middle linebacker, while Brad Fitzgibbon brings in talent and experience as a junior defensive lineman. Fitzgibbon holds offers from Toledo, Miami (Ohio), Buffalo, Central Michigan, Akron, Bowling Green and Ball State.

The RedHawks will try to replace Division-I talent in defensive lineman Jamel Howard (Wisconsin) and safety John Nestor (Iowa), but they’re ready to show there’s more talent coming up.

“We’re definitely trying to prove them all wrong,” Fitzgibbon said. “Four starters doesn’t mean anything. We had a lot of good guys, a lot of high talent, but we’ve got a lot of guys stepping in this year.”

Marist will also have a change in divisions, moving over to the CCL/ESCC Green. The RedHawks will refresh rivalries with Joliet Catholic and Niles Notre Dame while trying to get to know St. Ignatius.

Dawczak is looking forward to all the challenges of this season. He encourages each team to create its own destiny each season no matter what the program did the year before, even when he had returning talent.

With a team with just a bit of starting experience, he’s excited to see how this year’s team comes together to make its own success.

“For them, it’s a challenge,” Dawczak said. “Nobody is going to hand you anything based on what we’ve done, but you have the ability to continue that tradition of us being successful. You have to make it happen.”