FORTVILLE — The 2016 Mt. Vernon Marauders finished the season 13-3 and lost a heartbreaker in the sectional final to Greenfield-Central in a shootout.
But for head coach Matt Mayhew, it doesn’t pay to dwell in the past. From that 2016 Hoosier Heritage Conference championship team, the Marauders lost nine starters to graduation, and Mayhew has begun the process of rebuilding his team in order to reach those heights again.
“With it being almost an entirely new lineup, we’ve set our sights on just rebuilding to that level,” Mayhew said. “Working hard every day and supporting each other unconditionally is the first step towards getting there.”
Returning in the starting lineup are seniors Timmy Clone at forward and defender Ben Wallace, who will serve as co-captains.
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Juniors, who logged varsity minutes last year and will step up into heavy playing time, are defenders Caleb Vaughan and John Hanson, midfielder Logan Angelopulos and forward Drew Heitman.
Mayhew also has been impressed by sophomore midfielders Brandon Johnson and Jacob Knepper.
Mayhew is yet to commit to a formation this early in the season.
“We played a 3-5-2 in summer camp and the guys have really taken to it,” Mayhew said. “But we also have two other formations we can easily switch into depending on our needs in each game.”
Mayhew was not dwelling on the past when asked about how last year’s disappointing finish is impacting the team’s preparation this year.
“We may discuss the game a little bit to stress the important of missed opportunities within a game, but with such a new group we really are just focusing on setting standards for this particular group of players,” Mayhew said.
