Stevens Point (OnFocus) – The Pacelli Cardinals aim to make some noise in the CWC-Small this year, and with good reason. The Cardinals return a bevy of talent on both sides of the ball, and to get a peak inside Pacelli, we caught up with Head Coach Drew Nelson for our season preview.
Stevens Point Pacelli Cardinals Football Season Preview
Coaching staff
Amanda Helt – Athletic Trainer
2021 Stevens Point Pacelli Football Schedule
Offense: key returning players
Brycen Cashin – RB
Drew Kedrowicz – QB
Jacob Firkus – TE
Adam Mueller – OL
Nick Helms – OL
Tyson Krueger – OL
Brock Birrenkott – RB/WR
Defense: key returning players
Brock Birrenkott – LB
Jacob Firkus – LB
Nick Helms – DL
Adam Mueller – DL
Conference outlook
I anticipate that the CWC-Small will be a very competative conference top to bottom. I think we have a lot of good, balanced teams and each week is going to be a challenge. Whoever wins our conference will deservidly earn it.
2021 Stevens Point Pacelli Football Schedule
Keys to your success on offense
We have to be patient and run the ball. Our strength is our run game and we also hit the deep ball now and again on passes. Cashin and Schroeder in the back field is a good duo and with Kedrowicz throwing the Firkus, Birrenkott and crew we have the potential to be a good offensive team.
Keys to your success on defense
We have to stop the run in our conference and create turnovers. If we do those things, we will put ourselves in a position to have success. We must have 11 hats around the ball as well. Our defense is good when all 11 are flying around and being aggressive.
Behind the scenes: Who are some of the people that help your program succeed?
We cannot thank the parents, administration and community for their suppor year after year. From the team meals to filming games, stats, etc., everyone steps up. It really is a family effort. Everything we do is because of people working for eachother and it really is special to see.
What is Pacelli football all about? What does it mean to be a member of the Pacelli football program?
Pacelli football is tradition, pride and determination. Our program is based deep in tradition. We embrace that. We know and respect the players that came before and wore the Cardinal red and white. We take pride in the history and try to teach that pride to the players as they try to write their own history. We expect more and demand more of the players to be leaders on the field, the classroom and community. Playing small school football isn’t easy. Playing 120+ snaps a game is a lot and the players know what a unique opportunity they have. The players take pride in knowing they are working hard and trying to work harder than the day before to get ready to play each game week. I think the players know and understand what it means to play football for Pacelli and they embrace it each fall.
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