Alexander Ready to Unleash Rich Central Football Playmakers

Rich Central Olympians

Coach:Terrell Alexander, first year.

Last year: 5-4 overall, 3-2 Southland Conference.

Opener: Aug. 26 vs. Chicago Carver, 6:30 p.m.

Outlook: New Rich Central coach Terrell Alexander will look to lead the Olympians back to the state playoffs for the first time since 2005. The team is hungry for a birth after winning the minimum five games to qualify for the playoffs last year but failing to secure a bid due to not having enough playoff points. The Olympians will be fun to watch on offense with quarterback Devonte Black and wideout Sean Mitchell leading the charge. Though young and inexperienced, the Olympian defense will look to make some noise and cause some turnovers.  The non-conference schedule is highlighted by a home date with Oak Forest (Sept. 2), and the conference looks tough with Crete-Monee being the favorite.

Offense

Backs: Alexander wants his offense to be so efficient and so spread out that you can’t name one guy who is the playmaker on the team. “It’s so hard to pull a guy out of that mix and say he is the man,” Alexander said. Black (5-11, 180) is coming off an all-area season where he passed for 1,846 yards and 18 touchdowns. He also rushed for while 223 yards.

Line: This is a senior group that gained experience playing together over the last couple of years. Charles Hardy, Jerome Connor, Edwin Price and Jaylon Love will be back, while a couple of juniors, including Anthony Jones, are in the mix for the fifth starting spot.

Tight ends/receivers: Mitchell and Black figure to form one of the most dangerous combinations in the Southland. Brandon Fowler is another potential playmaker when he gets the ball in his hands.

Placekicker: Chi Bertrang figures to carry the kicking duties, both as the placekicker and punter.

Defense

Linebackers: The Olympians also have experience at linebacker, where Jermaine Hughes, Derrick Johnson and Calvin Wiley figure to wreak havoc.

Line: Alexander will be trying to find the best fit on the defensive line. The candidates here are young, with just one senior who didn’t play last year, a sophomore and the rest juniors. Malik Fountain and Isaiah Hardy figure to lead this group.

Secondary: Senior Jerrell Bibbs will be the leader in the backfield while junior Kevin Green looks to emerge at strong safety.

Coach Terrell Alexander said: The season will be considered a success if “at the end of the season my seniors come to me and say, 'Coach, you did a great job.' This year, I hope we manage the field position well and make good decisions on special teams. We'll see, maybe the defense, maybe the offense is clicking, but we are going to try to make great decisions overall and manage the game as best as we can. I am excited and just want to go set that field on fire and carry the torch.”