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working, committed group. They've got-f lot to live up to and, sure, they probably feel a little pressure. PVJ I ft s||M|AlfjK7«. I » Big names gone, Streaks try to conquer the odds . . . . • s- , " • • • " • By 8am Natrop Plaintfealer News Service WOODSTOCK r The household names, once common in the Woodstock High School football camp, are gone. Bradshaw. Fields. Birdsell. Goodwin. Gone. The players that combined for nearly all the offensive and defensive statistics for the defending Class 4A state champions have graduated, and it's time for a new era. One with fresh, young, inexperienced players who are just waiting for a chance to show that because one group of fine gridders has graduated, that another can't step in. MEET THE 1984 BLUE STREAKS- young and inex­ perienced. But hungry. The attitude in the Blue Streak camp is one of extreme con­ fidence. The Blue Streaks will be inexperienced at every position, but that needier starters breeds a lit of competition for every pop tion. And that gets football players' very, very hungry- bradshaw won't have had the luxury of having his starting lineup picked before the Streaks' intra-squad scrim­ mage. But, he says, there's nothing wrong with that. "I like the personnel in camp. I like the attitude," Bradshaw said. "This is a very hard- of optimism reigns in the Blue Streak camp. A senior class that was 9-0 as sophomores and a junior class that was 8-1 as sophs give Bradshaw 57 prospects from winning teams within the WHS program. And like last year, the Blue Streaks will be tested early against a trio of non-conference foes that should stack up to be at the top of their respective conferences. Waukegan West hass 17 lettermen back, ac­ cording to Bradshaw, and should be at the top of its con­ ference, he said. Riverside- Brookfield, the team that gave WHS one of its two losses last season, is supposed to be at the top of the Des Plaines Valley Conference. "Those games should toughen us up for the season," Bradshaw said. "We know we can play With any of then. We'll have to play good football and improve in the next couple of weeks." TWO OF THE MAINSTAYS OF LASTseason's backfield return for Bradshaw in seniors Warren Wolschlager and C a r n e l l W a s h i n g t o n . Wolschlger, a slashing, 5-9, 175- pound speedster, gained more than 700 yards and provides the Blue Streaks with a breakaway threat at halfback, while Washington offers WHS another lode. THE BURLY 6-3, MS- POUNDER is a prototype fullback with above average speed. Washington, "looks good offensively and defensively," according to his coach and should bulk up the Streaks front four on defense. Taking over the quar- terbacking chores for departed Greg Bradshaw will be no easy task for either senior Jim Judson or junior Timm Fields, and neither had the inside track on the job until the intra-sqaud scrimmage last weekend, Bradshaw said. "But we have two good ones. Either one can do the job," he said. - Up front, Woodstock lodes to have a respectable set of blockers for the offense to work behind as senior Brad Parrish returns at one guard and fellow classmates Bruce Eddy, Brian Oughton, Dave Little (who will •also handle kickoffs), and John Peters4bok to have the inside edge at the other line spots. Little is the biggest' Blue Streak lineman at 208 pounds as the rest of the offensive line averages out at abogjt 180 pounds. OTHER BACKS VYING FOR SPOTS are juniors Jerry deG elder, Bob Birdsell and Bob Botts. "Jerry does a good job running the ball and Birdsell is a good all-around player," -Bradshaw noted. "He will play somewhere." "BUT THEY'VE GOT THE TASTE (of winning) -and they like it. The positives far out­ weigh the negatives." Bradshaw said summer practices have been a test of patience for he and his coaching staff. "There are a lot of mistakes made. We work hard at correcting then but we've got a " he said. But mention the Blue Streaks lossibly finishing with a .500 ecord, in what should be a very good Fox Valley Conference, and Bradshaw flashes that cold stare that only a coach can offer. "Five-hundred I'd be pretty disappointed if we finished .560. I think we're considerably better than that," Bradshaw said. "Our competition is ex- trememly tough, but I'm looking forward to a winning season + to being a contender." THOSE ARE BIG WORDS COMING from a coach who must fill 20 starting spots, but a 3 ' mm wm* i Three new receivers will also have to be chosen from six potential candidates. Replacing the fleet Gregg Fields and the sure-handed duo of Dean Albrecht and Jeff Okey is also a monumental task, but Matt Haulotte, Chris Glowacki, Tim Briscoe and Ken Kohley' are battling for the tight end and split end slots while Kurt Brown and Duane Pohlman duel for the starting flanker assignment. Defense, which carried the Blue Streaks through the last two-thirds of the season last year,- has several question marks that must be answered by Friday night. Brown, Birdsell, Botts, Glowacki and Pohlman offer the Blue Streaks fine overall speed in the secondary while an inexperienced group of eight players battle for the four linebacking positions. Greg Andes, Joe McAuley, Wolschlger and Kohley had the inside edge early on, but Bradshaw said that juniors Max Fortin, Lee Sundberg and Jim Kersten along with senior Greg Knaack provide plenty of depth at that position. AND. THAT HAUNTING WORD "inexperience" keeps popping up as Bradshaw and assitants Bob Johnsons Tom Mitchell and Bud jSwi^tout continue to assess iKe '84 Streaks. "We've got-to cut down on errors as soon as possible," Bradshaw sj^id. "To win we have to execute. We have to find out the character of these kids + how they react under pressure, and we won't really know that until we get into game situations. "But we've got to get some momentum early," he added. "We have the talent, we just need a little experience." AND WHAT ABOUT THAT ONE particular face that has been on the WHS practice field for the last three years that has up-and-gone off to Northwestern University ^ "It's kind of funny. I never really thought about Greg not being there," Bradshaw said. "I just prepared myself for this year*" The Fox Valley Conference could be as much as a four-team race between Woodstock, Crystal Lake Central, Crystal Lake South and McHenry, "with the other three ready to cause problems," Bradshaw, said quickly. "It's going to be a very good league. "I feel people are always out to get us. They're always up for us and that's bound to make us better." For Woodstock's sake, the sooner the "better" comes, the better. WOODSTOCK LIMBERS UP