After an opening night loss to Loyola, the Wolverines won three of their next four games heading into Angelus League play. The squad has an overall record of 3-2.
“After the Loyola loss, I think that it woke a lot of the younger guys up to what varsity football is like,” captain Mike Mapes ’16 said. “We really focused hard in practice and prepped very well for the Jefferson game, and since then, we have just figured it out.”
The squad easily handled Jefferson and Granada Hills in back-to-back weeks, but was stopped in its tracks in its first road game at Taft. However, the Wolverines turned it around, hanging on to win against Westchester in their final Angelus League tune up.
Despite not scoring against archrival Loyola and losing quarterback Marshal Cohen ’16 for the season due to injury, the Wolverines have put up at least 35 points in every game since then. Noah Rothman ’16, who took over for Cohen, has completed more than half of his passes, and has thrown for 524 yards and six touchdowns in three starts this season.
Not only is Rothman the team’s leading passer, but he is second on the team in rushing with 188 yards and two touchdowns.
“I try as hard as I can to be a leader on the team and make the underclassmen understand that I am doing everything I can to improve both myself and the team as a whole,” Rothman said. “We need everybody all in as we head into league play.”
The Wolverines’ receiving core is headed by the trio of Alex Barnum ’16, Cameron Jones ’18 and Nick O’Brien ’17, who all have at least 138 yards and an average of 12 or more yards per reception.
Phil Thompson ’16 and Thomas Glover ’18 have anchored the team in the backfield. Their different styles of running, Thompson’s power and Glover’s agility, have made stopping the Wolverines’ ground game a tough task for their opponents thus far. Glover has rushed for 448 yards and is averaging 11.2 yards per carry.
As a four-year varsity starter, Mapes has embraced his role as the “quarterback” of the defense, leading the team with 53 tackles.
Mapes is helped on the defensive end by fellow captain Eric Bradley ’16, who is second on the team with 25 tackles.
Not only is Thompson an imposing force while carrying the ball, but on the defensive line, he has four sacks and two forced fumbles on the season.
“Our defense has played pretty well this year, it has been an overall team effort from them so far,” Captain Nick Richmond ’16 said. “Everyone in our league got better, which means that we need to step up even more. The goal is to win every league game. So we just have to fight.”
The Wolverines will begin their quest for a perfect Angelus League record on Friday at St. Paul High School at 7:30 p.m.
