Streator building something this summer under new head coach Jay Slone

After a successful showing over the weekend at the Clifton Central 7-on-7 and Lineman Challenge, the Streator Bulldogs had to bow out of a scheduled Tuesday joint practice/scrimmage with nearby Marquette Academy because of an illness running through the team.

With a structure-based and team-centered philosophy new head coach Jay Slone is trying to instill into a program that went 3-6 last fall, hasn’t been to the IHSA playoffs since 2017 and has only one playoff win in school history, the Bulldogs were back to work Wednesday morning at Doug Dieken Stadium.

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The Streator Bulldogs football team runs through drills Wednesday, July 16, 2025, during practice at Doug Dieken Stadium. (J.T. Pedelty)

The number of participants at this summer’s film session and summer workout wasn’t high – just under 40 program-wide, leading the varsity and JV players to practice together – but the mood and energy were, especially coming off 5-0 varsity and 3-1 JV showings at the 7-on-7 in Clifton.

“We competed very well at Clifton,” said Slone, a 2013 graduate of Bishop McNamara, former defensive end at Valparaiso University and most recently an assistant for one of Streator’s Illinois Central Eight Conference rivals, Herscher. “We’re right about where I expected us to be at this time.

“They’re learning the schemes, they’re flying around, they’re making plays, they’re understanding the offense and the defense, they’re talking on both sides of the ball.

“It’s coming together very well. ... We’re definitely on track with where I thought we’d be now.”

While a large, talented and already dedicated freshman class clearly has the coaching staff excited for the future, Slone mentioned his seniors are leading the way.

“The future is promising,” Slone said. “Even though the numbers look down, the future is promising. It’s a really special freshman class. A lot of freshmen, very promising.

“And so far our senior class has been stepping up great. They’re ready for that leadership role.”

One of those seniors is play-making defensive back LA Moton, who’s expected to contribute more heavily on offense this season.

“Summer’s been going well,” Moton said. “We’ve got people showing up and putting in the work. We’re hungry to get some wins this year. We’re tired of losing, so we’re going to be ready to get to business when the season starts.

“Coach Slone obviously brings the energy. He’s a lot more active with us, goes into stuff with us, even lifts with us a lot, too. Having him come in here and showing us we’re not the only ones doing it, being energetic and giving us inspiration to work has really been giving us that energy.”

Aside from the new head coach and change in the program’s overall mindset, one of the running stories of this summer has been the quarterback competition between a trio of juniors – Sharonn Morton, Sam LeRette and Jerrad Clark. All have proved capable of running the offense and bring raw athleticism that would allow them to contribute elsewhere on the starting offense.

“[Practice has] been going great,” Morton said. “We’ve been building brotherhood, trying to stay more together as a team and bringing energy that we didn’t have last year. It’s a lot different.”

“For sure,” LeRette said. “We’re just working day by day, nothing too crazy. We’re trying to rally together ... and we’re very comfortable with where we’re at right now. We see progress every single day, getting a little bit better.

“We’re just excited for the season.”

Clark agreed, and said the vibe in summer workouts this year – even if numbers aren’t quite where the team might want them yet – has been electric.

“We’re confident we can win games this year,” Clark said. “We’re getting better ... and the energy’s through the roof.

“Coach Slone is a great coach. We all love him. He wants us to get better, and he’s doing a good job of that.”