HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: Xavier takes aim at a hat trick

By Jim Bransfield, Special to the Register

(Catherine Avalone/The Middletown Press) Xavier seniors Kevin Dean, Jonah Dorsey, quarterback Tim Boyle, Ben Lisle, Zac Creeron, and center Max Schumann (kneeling) at practice Tuesday.

MIDDLETOWN — So what will the Xavier Falcons do for an encore?

It’s going to be tough to match the past two seasons, campaigns which saw Xavier go 26-0, win two Class LL championships and twice find itself named the state’s No. 1 team.

“We’ll be competitive,” said 11-year coach Sean Marinan Sr. “We can play with anybody. But I don’t know if we have the hunger, the mindset, necessary for the fourth quarter. We’re capable of going back to the playoffs and we expect to, but we need to find out where the kids are mentally.”

Xavier, which wasn’t challenged last season, lost 20 seniors to graduation.

“We’re not just replacing kids who graduated,” said Marinan. “We’re replacing some very talented kids. We have an awful lot of inexperience, even though we will be playing a lot of seniors. Right now we’re a work in progress. We’re trying to put kids in positions where they can be successful.