Utica coaching staff put trust in Potes

UTICA - Ted Londot dropped by a boys basketball practice this past winter, and he experienced every football coach’s worst nightmare.

Quarterback Brad Potes injured his knee during basketball practice, immediately leaving his status for this fall in doubt.

“I saw that happen, and it was an intense moment,” Londot said. “To be honest, that was one of our big, huge question marks coming into the year. We knew he was good enough we could design an offense around him, but when you start to do that and he’s on crutches, it’s a concern.”

Potes tore his patella tendon and was given a positive prognosis. He worked hard throughout his rehabilitation and was back on the field during the summer.

“I knew I would miss basketball season, but the doctor told me I would definitely be ready for football,” Potes said.

The Redskins will add to their offense as Potes gains more strength in the knee. They used Potes on some design runs early in this past Friday’s 49-7 loss to Watkins Memorial.

The offense admittedly is a work in progress. The Redskins connected on some passes downfield in Week 1 against Centerburg, but those are low-percentage attempts and have not opened up the running game as hoped.

“He still lacks mobility here and there,” Londot said. “You can see it still bothers him a little bit, but all in all, he’s very confident out there and doing a great job of throwing the ball.”

The evaluation period of this first season in the new offensive system continues as the Redskins visit Granville on Friday.

With a move from the wing-t to the spread, all of the receivers are serving new roles.

“I love the challenge because it lets me throw the ball,” Potes said. “I didn’t really get to last year or the year before. We got out in the summer a lot and during practice work on our timing.”

Seven Redskins caught passes against Watkins with senior Chase Smith covering 32 yards on his four receptions.

“We didn’t know a lot about the skill set of a lot of the receivers just because of being in the wing-t,” Londot said. “A little bit of that was a leap of faith. If we can coach these guys up enough, they will figure that out.”

Utica’s best two plays of the first three quarters were runs of 25 and 12 yards for Noah Thompson, who is a change-of-pace back from the powerful Brad Keener.

The Redskins then cashed in a Watkins fumble with a nine-play drive in the fourth quarter. Thompson converted a third-and-3 with a nine-yard run, and Keener converted a pair of fourth downs, the second resulting in a 2-yard touchdown.

The defense played well early, forcing a three and out on the Warriors’ first drive. The Redskins recorded four sacks, and Mack Marston intercepted two passes.

“Jarrett Miller, we moved him from linebacker to defensive end this week, and he had about three or four tackles for loss,” Londot said. “He is a guy who is selfless and changed positions. He made the best of it and really got after it and played start to finish.

“Mack Marston obviously made some really big plays for us at some very key times to really keep us in the fight for a while.”

ksnyder@newarkadvocate.com

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Twitter: @newarkurt

Aug. 26: Centerburg 31, Utica 19

Sept. 2: East Knox 24, Utica 12

Sept. 9: Fredericktown 29, Utica 12

Sept. 16: Lakewood 40, Utica 13

Sept. 23: Watkins 49, Utica 7

Sept. 30: @Granville, 7 p.m.

Oct. 7: Heath, 7 p.m.

Oct. 15: @Newark Catholic, 7 p.m.

Oct. 21: @Johnstown, 7 p.m.

Oct. 28: Northridge, 7 p.m.