Joliet Central optimistic it will get back in the win column

MORRIS – It has been quite a while since Joliet Central last picked up a varsity football win. The Steelmen went 1-8 in 2019 and haven’t won a game since.

But with a healthy number of returning players from last season, Central coach Thomas Hart has high hopes for 2024.

“We have had great numbers this year in the offseason,” Hart said. “We have had quite a few multisport athletes, especially basketball players, coming out and working hard. It’s nice to have a good amount of willing bodies.

“For the last four years, this program has been looking for a win. But to be honest, I am over that. Our goal is the playoffs. When you look at our side of the conference [Southwest Prairie East], no program has really taken control of it, and everyone is pretty evenly matched.

“There have been four champions in six years of this division. We feel like it is our turn.”

One of the key players coming back for Hart, whose team will wear gold jerseys at home this year instead of the traditional blue they have worn since the 1960s, is receiver/defensive back Christian Smith. Smith is entering his third year as a starter for the Steelmen.

“I am ready to take a bigger leadership role,” Smith said. “I had an absence during the offseason, so I am working to build back that trust with my teammates. We look a lot better than we did last year.

“I know that I can’t do anything without my teammates. The linemen, the quarterback, even the guys on the bench. They work hard in practice to make us better, and we can’t get better without them.”

It won’t be an easy road for Central, which opens the season with a road game at Stagg on Aug. 30 before hosting West Chicago on Sept. 6. Next come two SPC crossover games against Minooka on Sept. 13 and Oswego on Sept. 20 before the SPC East schedule begins with a Saturday noon kickoff against crosstown rival Joliet West, last season’s SPC East champion.

“We would love to get a ‘W’ early in the season,” Smith said. “I think we can do that if everyone shows up and we continue to have the dedication that we’ve had this summer. Even on days that we don’t have practice, a lot of the guys have gotten together to go work out on their own.

“If I had to pick one, I would probably rather play offense, but people have been telling me that I might have a better shot of playing in college on defense. I primarily play safety on defense, but I move around a lot. I just play where they tell me to.”

The Steelmen also took advantage of the new rule allowing 11-on-11 scrimmages against other schools. Thornton came to Joliet and went up against Hart’s crew. They also took part in a 7-on-7 competition that featured matchups with Morris’ varsity and JV teams as well as defending Class 2A state champion Wilmington.

“It was nice to get out there on the field with some pads on and hit guys that weren’t on our own team,” Hart said. “One of the big things we want to focus on this year is starting better. In so many of our games last year, we got behind pretty quickly, but then we calmed down and played better the rest of the game.

“Even at this 7-on-7, we started against the Morris JV, and they handled us pretty good. But then we went against Morris’ varsity, and we played a lot better, and we played well against Wilmington.

“If we can figure out how to come out of the gate ready to go, then I think we will be OK.”