Season Preview: Monticello looking to replace 18 seniors as they prepare for 2025 campaign

MONTICELLO, Ill. (WAND) -- Monticello enters the 2025 season coming off a 3A state runner's up finish a year ago.

This season the Sages will be with out several key players after graduating 18 seniors that includes quarterback Ike Young and receiver Carter Foran.

Head Coach Culley Welter said he's hopeful their leadership will carry over into this year with the new play makers.

"That's a lot of leadership. And they did a great job on top of it. Not just numbers but quality as well," Welter said. "And so we hope the kids that our junior seniors this year learned and will, you know, show the same type of leadership going forward. And, you know, it'll take a couple of weeks, maybe longer because of the lack of experience, but hopefully it'll it'll pay off."

Welter said with making a run in the post season the extended season helped over the summer leading to this fall. And this time around the Sages are hoping for a faster start.

"So every kid that's out here right now outside of the freshman got an extra five weeks of practice and we felt like come in the summer that that really helped them, that they were a little bit on, a little bit more on the ball, you know, because they had that, that extra time," Welter said.

"I feel like even for the throughout the first couple weeks, we're still, you know, playing it pretty slow. So just starting earlier and making that taking that experience and you know, starting earlier," Nolan Buehnerkemper, Senior Quarterback, said.

One of those new leaders and play makers is Buehnerkemper who will be the starting quarterback.

"I think I bring a lot of experience. And last year I was I'd say I was a good leader and stuff,"Buehnerkemper said. "So, you know, just taking the what the senior class previously has taught me and kind of trying to instill that into, you know, the younger guys."

And to have another successful season the Sages say attention to detail will be key especially with a tough conference and schedule.

"I think it's a thing we need to focus on the most," Mason Pyatt, Senior Linebacker, said. "Just if we have the most for, I think, being our team, I think we'll go further than them. So I think that we can one, as long as we try our hardest, we can have success."