SHORELINE — A third consecutive trip to the district playoffs isn’t going to satisfy the senior-heavy Shorewood football team.
With 17 starters back in the fold — including a dynamic, Division-I prospect in the backfield and the entire offensive line — the Thunderbirds plan to push the boundaries this fall.
“The last two years we got to the playoffs and stopped at the first round,” senior wideout Wade Gurnett said. “We’re trying to get past that and keep going.”
Coming off a second straight 6-4 season that culminated in an opening-round playoff defeat, Shorewood ranks among the favorites again in the Western Conference 4A South Division.
“We feel we’ve got a good shot at the league title with all the returners we have coming back,” Gurnett said. “We feel like we have an edge on the other teams.”
Sound like lofty expectations for a team that hasn’t won a league championship since the mid-80s?
You’d better believe it.
“You’ve got to have them,” fourth-year head coach Jeff Weible said. “It wouldn’t be smart to tell these kids we’re not going to do anything. We need to set the bar high. They know they can be good.”
They also understand nothing is guaranteed and the importance of a sound work ethic.
Weible emphasized that this year’s senior class has exhibited vital leadership on and off the field that was absent much of last season.
And while several seniors are beginning their third varsity season, the returning starters aren’t taking their first-string status for granted.
“Those guys don’t feel that their jobs are 100 percent safe,” Weible said. “You don’t want complacent seniors who feel like they don’t have to work.
“They’re playing like they’re fighting for their job every day. That’s exactly what great leaders do. They don’t sit back and go through the motions.”
Coaches around the league peg the T-birds as playoff contenders for one reason in particular: Seth Setterberg.
Running behind a powerful and experienced offensive line, the rock-solid senior fullback will be the focus of Shorewood’s wing-T scheme for the third year in a row.
“Everyone knows who he is,” Weible said. “If you’re going to beat us, you’re going to have to stop him.”
A two-time second-team, all-league pick, Setterberg rushed for a combined 1,546 yards the past two seasons, breaking off nearly six yards a clip.
“He’s got deceptive speed,” Weible said. “He weighs 225 pounds and he’ll run away from you. One or two guys aren’t going to bring him down. He never gets negative yardage.
“He’s earned the respect of his teammates and coaches and I know people in our league respect him immensely.”
Weible has come across a couple recruiting Web sites that rank Setterberg among the top five fullbacks on the West Coast. But it remains unclear where he’ll end up.
Over the summer Setterberg attended camps run by the University of Oregon, Washington and Colorado in hopes of garnering some attention from college coaches.
Air Force has shown the most interest so far, which intrigues Setterberg.
“I want to be a pilot,” he said.
Many of Setterberg’s teammates shared his commitment to offseason training, meeting up to lift weights and take part in a speed camp at Shoreline Stadium.
“The past couple years we had like two guys in the weight room,” Setterberg said. “This year we had at least 20 every day.”
Seniors Tyler Tonkin and Nic Shalygin and juniors Jeff Brower and Will Barker give the T-birds depth behind Setterberg at tailback.
Up front, Shorewood returns senior linemen Casey McCrone, Bud Klosterman, Joey Steadman, Andrew Preston, Ishmael Easton, Tom Guttu, Dan Pierce and David Hancock.
The principal question on offense is whether 6-foot-5 junior Sean Tracey will stick at quarterback after sitting out his sophomore season. While Tracey clearly has the size and strength coaches crave, Weible acknowledged his lack of game experience is an issue.
Gurnett is the other most likely possibility at quarterback and with his quickness the T-birds could easily run the option. But Weible would prefer to keep Gurnett at receiver, where he flourished in 2002.
“We really want to see Sean be the starting quarterback,” Weible said.
If he’s not needed at quarterback, Gurnett would also stay fresher for defense. He was a first-team, all-league cornerback last year and oversees the secondary.
“We don’t really have a weakness,” Gurnett said. “Our (defensive backs) are a little young but they’re good athletes and we’re coaching them up.”
Outside linebacker John Wiley also received first-team, all-league honors last season and with Steadman, Setterberg and Tonkin returning at linebacker as well, the T-birds won’t be afraid to bring the blitz and take some chances.
“We’re further along now than we were last year at this time because it was a new system,” Weible said. “Being senior-dominated, we’re able to do some things you maybe wouldn’t do with a younger group.”
Like vie for a league championship, or advance deep in the playoffs.
“Everyone’s really excited for this year,” Setterberg said. “Our expectations are very high. Our goals are to get past that first playoff game and get into the state playoffs.”
Another premature exit from the postseason won’t sit well with the core of a senior class that has played on the same teams going back to pee-wee ball.
“A lot of us have been together since Richmond (Junior) Football when we were 8 or 9. It’s a tight-knit group,” Gurnett said.
“We’ve been taught to win. We know how to win and we’re hoping to do that this year.”
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