Shanley has something special building at Lafayette Jeff

As he enters his fifth season at the helm, Pat Shanley is proud of the program he and his staff have built at Lafayette Jeff.

The Bronchos are 34-8 with him at the helm, including a 28-3 mark the last three seasons, and enter the 2020 season fresh off a 9-1 finish a year ago.

“We truly feel like we have established a very strong culture surrounding our kids and our program. Football is important here, and we are going to ask a lot of them physically and emotionally. However, it’s more than football, and we are always going to do everything in our power to do our part and equip them for life after Jeff High School. There is a strong commitment from the community, our administration, our coaching staff and our student athletes,” Shanley told Sideline Prep Sports Report.

A season ago, the Bronchos came out of the gates hot, knocking off West Lafayette in a shootout before earning eight more victories. Their season came to an end at the hands of Merrilville, who picked up a 27-20 win in the opening round of the sectional tournament.

“We had a lot of success during the regular season. However, our goal of advancing deep into November, obviously, did not happen. Coach Seiss and Merrillville had a great team and they made the 2-3 plays to get the win,” Shanley said.

This season, Jeff will open with a new quarterback who is a familiar face to the staff and program.

Maximus Grimes, who started last year, has transferred to Valparaiso and will be replaced by Brady Preston. Preston is 6-foot-2-inches, 208 pounds and played wide receiver for Jeff until Grimes went down with a knee injury.

Also gone are Marquis Munoz, who is at Purdue, Brady Johnson, who is at Army West Point, and Derrick Matthews, who is at St. Francis.

Munoz was the program’s all-time leader in scoring and rushing. Johnson was the program’s #2 leader in receptions and Matthews had back-to-back 900-plus yards receiving.

The cupboard is far from bare, however, for the Bronchos.

Senior Thomas Hogan is back at tailback and averaged 10-plus yards a carry last year and has been dynamic the past two seasons, according to Shanley. Hogan is drawing some attention from several MAC schools.

“Others who need to step up at wide receiver to make plays are Von Lerma, Caleb Koeppen, Austin McKinney, Asa Koeppen and Derrick Ferguson. We will also rely upon Brandon Norton and Freddy Patton to compete at tailback alongside Hogan,” Shanley said.

While the skill players are back, the strength of the Bronchos could be their offensive line as it is considered to be among the best in the state.

Jeff returns three senior linemen with plenty of experience. Leading the unit is three-year starter Colton Lehnen, who is 6-foot-2-inches and 270. Lehnen has an offer from Valpo and has generated interest from several Ivy League schools.

Zeke Little, who is 6-foot-2-inches and 280 pounds, and Jackson Hernandez, who is 6-foot-1-inch and 266 pounds, are both expected to return as starters at guard. Tyson Miller, a junior, stands 6-foot-6-inches and 280 pounds, is a power five prospect and started much of his sophomore season. Juniors Jared Bunch, Mauro Pablo, Kyle Zickmund and senior TJ York will all compete for playing time as well, according to Shanley.

“It is a group that is very close knit, competes hard on the field, weight room and the classroom,” Shanley said.

Defensively, Jeff has to replace lineman D’Marco Across, who is at Illinois State, and defensive backs Quentin Stepheny and J.J. Lee, both of whom are at Olivet Nazarene, and Garrett Price and Johnell King.

“Those guys had a number of starts and experience under their belts,” Shanley said.

Stepping in to replace the defensive backs will be a number of guys, but Shanley singled out Steven Stephany and Cordea Jones, as well as Mike Holsclaw, Xhavion Reese, Jordan Green, Heze Stacey, Kaleb Fritz, and Keith Wright. Jones is drawing attention from several FCS schools.

Inside linebackers Brendan Segal and Jaymon Alicea and sophomore Jasiah Powers will be counted on. Segan and Alicea are returning starters.

Peyton Price, who is 6-foot-2-inches and 298, will be joined on the line by Jalen Monrrow, who is 6-foot-4-inches and 280, along with Kayden Sowders, who is 6-foot-1-inch, 295. Price is an Eastern Michigan commit, while Monrrow has committed to Cincinnati and Sowders has an offer from Valpo. All three are three-year starters on the defensive line.