狐狸视频

The 狐狸视频 U. High football coach was looking for a few players to step up during the first assembled workout of the offseason in May.

It was a call for a few alpha dogs to emerge from the pack.

"You can't just point to a player and say, 'You're going to be one of our leaders this year,' " Cruz said. "It's got to come from within the person, within the team.

"That's what leadership is really about."

Cruz watched as the group congregated in the middle of the field to open the practice with calisthenics.

That's when it happened.

Junior-to-be Keenan Harris immediately took the reins and began counting off the numbers as the players reeled off jumping jack exercises.

Minutes later, incoming senior Landon Pace stepped in to send players to their position coaches with a rhythmic chant.

That was all Cruz needed to see.

This team had its leadership group.

"I just knew it was my time to step up," said Harris, a high-level NCAA Division I prospect. "I had to get out there and run with it."

Ditto for Pace, the son of NFL Hall of Fame offensive lineman Orlando Pace.

"Seeing the guys before me, they taught me how to follow in their footsteps," Pace said.

The ability of Pace, Harris and a few others to take charge has played a key role in helping the Junior Billikens to another strong season.

SLUH (7-4) travels to De Smet (8-2) to take on Metro Catholic Conference rival in the Class 6 District 3 championship game at 7 p.m. Friday.

The Jr. Bills lost a wide array of talent from last year's 7-5 team that lost to De Smet 19-13 in the district final.

Standout wide receiver Ryan Wingo, one of the most sought-after players in the long history of the program, went off the University of Texas.

Cornerback Jacobi Oliphant left for Oklahoma State University.

Quarterback Marco Sansone moved on to Bucknell. Wide receiver/defensive back Joseph Harris took his talents to Princeton.

With that quartet gone, Cruz was wondering which players would step in to lead the way.

It became obvious from the first day of practice.

In addition to Pace and Harris, John Kruse, Matthew Moore and Dom Sansone have also added even more leadership strength to the tightly knit unit.

Now, the Junior Bills are galvanized.

"This is group that grinds it out and does whatever it can to get the job done," said Kruse, a 6-foot-3, 275-pound center.

The togetherness was never more evident than when SLUH lost three of its first five games. It has rebounded to win five of six and is playing its best football of the season and the most opportune time.

Which makes the Jr. Bills an underdog worth watching this weekend, and possibly beyond.

SLUH flexed its muscles last week by recording the biggest come-from-behind rally program history, according to team historian Frank Pawloski.

Trailing 27-7 late in the first half, the Junior Bills charged back to keep their season alive with a 43-40 victory at Ritenour.

"I think we just all figured out that we weren't ready for our season to end," said Harris, a wide receiver and linebacker.

Added Pace, "For some reason, we were really confident that we could come back."

The preseason prognostications were modest for SLUH after the huge losses.

But the program, which is 140 players strong including 20 seniors, banded behind its new leaders and slowly but surely picked up momentum as the season went along.

Now, this group is in the exact same place as last year's studded team.

Harris and Pace lead the way, both on and off the field. The two are the only two-way starters on the team and have doing to heavy lifting since day one.

The 6-1, 210-pound Harris has caught 22 passes for 323 yards and three scores. He is averaging 14.7 yards per grab. Plus, he has recorded a team-high 98 tackles with 25 for losses.

Pace, a 6-3, 215-pound tight end and linebacker, has hauled in 31 passes for 363 yards and three scores.

The Junior Billikens are getting a kick out of silencing anyone who thought heavy graduation losses would sink the ship.

"It's always nice when you do something that people said you couldn't do," Kruse said.

Cruz feels as though the school's deep athletic tradition played a key role in this year's success.

"Around here, we call it upholding the standard," Cruz said. "These guys have worked hard to say, 'Where we were last year is kind of the way we do things around here and our leadership group is making sure things stay that way.' "

The Junior Bills have outscored their opponents 172-105 in the current 5-1 run, with the only loss to Rockhurst.

"The way we're playing right now, we're not afraid of anybody," Harris said.