‘Still the same Marian’

MISHAWAKA, Ind. (WNDU) - The Marian Knights football team is trying to turn the page after last year’s heartbreaking loss in its third-straight trip to Semi-State.

Despite graduating a large group of seniors, the Knights are confident that they won’t miss a beat.

“There’s a lot of chatter out there about doubting our program, doubting these guys,” says Mike Davidson, Marian football head coach. “I take it back to about 2017, 2018, and that senior class and the senior class before were all coming in freshmen. They didn’t know them, and they became household names. So, our guys—they’re hungry. They want to make a name for themselves as part of this program. And the only way we can do that is go out and show it on Friday night.”

Senior lineman Mikey Fuller also emphasized that this team is “still the same Marian.”

“Every year, every school says Marian is not going to be the same because we lose a lot of seniors,” Fuller said. “But this year, we have a small group, so coach just tells us we’ve got to keep grinding. We’ve got to come out here and just do what we do. We’re the same Marian. We’re still Marian, so they still got to come see us.”

Part of the reason why the Knights are confident in being themselves once again this upcoming season is because of the growth of junior quarterback Bryce LaSane.

Protected by a senior-heavy offensive line, the Knights touched on what his biggest improvements have been as they try to book a trip this November to Indianapolis to play for a state championship—something that’s eluded Davidson during his tenure at Marian.

“My intellegence, my throwing, but my most probably my running. I’ve been working on that in the offseason,” LaSane says. “If we need five yards, I need to be able to get that five yards every single time.”

Fuller and Davidson also expressed a lot of confidence in LaSane.

“Bryce is amazing,” Fuller says. “He knows the plays. He knows where to go, what to do. He helps us out. He helps the receivers out. He knows what this person’s doing, this person’s doing. He’s just great at everything.”

“Comfort level with the offense, and he can be more of a coach as far as he’s not the one asking questions, but some guys can go to him asking questions,” Davidson says. “I think those two—that and leadership—those two intangibles. Those are two big intangibles at the quarterback position that frankly, we can’t live without this year.”

The Knights will begin their season on Aug. 19 when they host Mishawaka at Otolski Field. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

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