Boylan Titans have the same high standards despite declining numbers

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO/WQRF) — The Boylan Titans have always been up for any challenge in football. The one they’ve been dealing with in recent years has been declining enrollment at the school and declining numbers on their roster, but they’re determined to keep up their high standards.

The Titans were right there in the hunt for the NIC-10 championship last season. Their only conference loss was by three points to Hononegah. Now, they’re amping back up with 40 varsity players and about 40 players for the sophomore team. Not bad numbers, but not ideal.

“It’s not where we have been, you go back even ten years, 12 years ago, but that’s not a focal point for us,” said head coach John Cacciatore. “Nobody is going to complain about numbers being up or down. These are the guys we have to coach.”

Depth might be a bit of an issue, but as usual, the Titans starting talent will be right there with the best in the conference. That includes senior two-way lineman Barron Sholl. He was first-team all-conference last season. Sholl has already committed to D1 Eastern Illinois University.

Davont Boddie and Jayden Bali are two more big linemen.

Senior captain Charlie Maier will play fullback, and he’ll replace last year’s NIC-10 defensive MVP Ryan Stark at inside linebacker.

“I saw how good he was, how fast, aggressive he played, so it just pushed me that much harder to just work hard this offseason to kind of fill his shoes,” said Maier.

Senior Owen Scandroli also has some big shoes to fill at quarterback. He replaces Boylan’s all-time passing leader Connor Dennis. The Titans have confidence in Scandroli.

“He definitely is not someone that should be overlooked,” said senior captain and receiver Mikey Hernandez. “He has all the talent we need, and yeah, he’s definitely a good leader. He’s definitely a good quarterback.”

Hernandez will be one of the Titans receivers. Anthony Lorenzo is back at receiver for his third season on varsity. The Titans have an intriguing pair of running backs. Junior Caiden Gates showed some flashes when he got some touches last year. The other running back is newcomer Donzelle Ingram-Love, nicknamed “Dtrain”. He transferred in from Hiram High School in Georgia. He’s a Rockford guy though. He grew up here and two years ago as a freshman he started at Rockford Christian.

“It doesn’t take long to figure out that he loves football. We’re super happy to have him with us here,” said Cacciatore. One of the things that always helps your quarterback out is having a solid running game, so between Donzelle and Caiden I think we’ve got a nice little combination back there.”
Those same two players are also expected to shine at linebacker.

Yep, the Titans will show up this season like they always do, ready to contend for a NIC-10 championship. “We’ve worked very hard in this offseason, and I still think we can be that team that everyone has to beat,” said Hernandez.

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