ELMHURST, Ill. - Coming off its best season in school history, the expectations for the Elmhurst football team are high entering the 2013 season.

The 2012 squad won a share of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) championship for the first time since the 1980 season and became the first Elmhurst team to qualify for the NCAA Playoffs, advancing to the second round with an opening round win over Coe College. The team finished the season with a 10-2 record, setting a school record for victories in the process.

In addition to the loss of the seven starters on offense and six on defense, the Bluejays will also have a new look on the sidelines as Joe Adam begins his first season as the team's head coach. Adam, who spent the past six seasons as an assistant on the Bluejays' coaching staff, took over for Tim Lester, who departed for an assistant coaching position at Syracuse University.

"This is certainly an exciting time for Elmhurst football," said Adam. "I'm excited to have the opportunity to take over a talented program and am anxious to see where we can take this squad."

Adam knows that one of the first challenges he'll face as the Bluejays' head coach is to replace 13 starters, including eight all-conference players.

"It's difficult anytime you lose great players," he said. "We established a plan four years ago to recruit and develop talented players who shared in our vision. We have a lot of players who have had extra time to develop because we had so many talented seniors last season. While they might not have a lot of game experience, they're familiar with our program and I expect that we won't lose much continuity."

OFFENSE
Perhaps the biggest question mark for the Bluejays is the offense, as Adam's squad will have to replace seven starters, including Gagliardi Trophy winner Scottie Williams in the backfield.

While Scottie Williams may be gone, his younger brother Josh Williams returns for his sophomore season and is expected to play a big role in the Bluejays' backfield. Williams carried 50 times last season for 192 yards and three touchdowns after joining the Bluejays following the opening game of 2012. Senior Andrew Tubek is also expected to play a greater role in the backfield after battling through injuries last season that limited his carries.

"Losing a player of Scottie's caliber is never easy," said Adam. "It's next to impossible to replace a 2,000 yard rusher with just one player. Fortunately, we believe we have two backs that can help carry the load for us this year. Josh is a big and physical runner who will be hard to bring down. Andrew has great speed and is very shifty with his ability to run off tackle."

The Bluejays' offense will also be looking for a new leader under center to replace four-year starter Joe Furco. Adam expects junior Joe Camiliere and sophomore Logan Stelzriede to be the front runners for the quarterback opening.

"Joe Furco did a great job of running our offense and he's certainly going to be missed," said Adam. "It's too early to anoint a new starter at quarterback, but I expect that Joe and Logan are going to be battling in camp for the starting role. Both guys are dual threat quarterbacks who have potential, just not game experience."

Perhaps the most experience on offense returns at tight end. Senior Vince Gabrys earned first-team all-conference honors and was recently tabbed as a preseason All-American after hauling in 29 passes for 436 yards and three touchdowns while also rushing for 200 yards on just 36 carries. Juniors Will Caspers and Tom Lindal combined for 15 catches with Caspers grabbing a pair of touchdown passes. Sophomores Garret Claxon and Evan Leski are also expected to be in the mix at tight end.

"We have a pretty experienced group at tight end," said Adam. "I expect them to cause a lot of matchup problems for defenders because of their size and speed."

Elmhurst returns senior Chase Hamby and sophomores Joe Sanfilippo and Jeff Diegel at wide receiver. The trio of receivers combined for 40 catches and 505 yards last season. Spring transfer Marcus Valentine is also expected to contribute at wide receiver for the Bluejays.

The Bluejays' offensive line returns a pair of starters, but will have to fill three starting spots, including replacing All-Americans Charlie Homoky and Peter Stamos. Senior Adam Smith returns for his third season as the Bluejays' starting right tackle while junior Adam Connors returns at left guard after starting all 12 games in 2012. Adam expects C.J. Barense and Drew Stahl to battle for the left tackle spot while Drake Hoffman, Archer Winberg, Danny McHale and Logan Mosher will fight for the spots at center and at right guard.

"I expect it will take a bit of time for our new offensive line to get some continuity," said Adam. "All of our linemen share the same mentality up front of controlling the line of scrimmage and pounding the ball and airing it out when the defense gives us some favorable matchups."

DEFENSE
Elmhurst's defense will also have several new faces as the Bluejays lost six starters from the 2012 season.

"We certainly are losing some talent on defense, but we have a lot of players who have been developing behind the scenes who are ready to shine," said Adam. "I expect us to be more aggressive at creating pressure while continuing to be a team that is one of the best when it comes to forcing turnovers."

Senior Charlie Roberts and junior Chris Reid highlight the defensive line as returning defensive ends. Juniors Nick Spracklen and Matt Giudicy are also expected to see significant time in the trenches.

"We'll be counting on our defensive line to be more productive this season," said Adam. "Charlie, Chris, Nick and Matt are physical and quick and are capable of coming up with putting pressure on the quarterback and clogging up the middle of the line. We also have a very strong group of recruits who could challenge for playing time immediately."

Middle linebacker George DeMaria is the Bluejays' only returning linebacker with starting experience. DeMaria finished third on the squad last season with 71 tackles while co-leading the team in sacks (three) and finishing second in tackles for loss (6.5). Adam will look to returners Wills Massie, John Eliades, Robbie Dunn, Anthony Beltrano and Jake Garabedian to fill the remaining openings at linebacker.

"I believe that our linebackers are going to be very good at dropping back into pass coverage and shutting down any running back that gets through our defensive line," said Adam. "We'll use a lot of different looks and schemes that should help them get more pressure on the quarterback as well."

Adam believes the Bluejays' secondary could be the strength of the team's defense. Despite losing all-conference cornerback Jamall Lane, the Bluejays return a wealth of experience in the secondary. Mark Evangelista returns to his starting role at cornerback while Jake Pawlicki and Marvin Carr will fight for the opening caused by Lane's departure. At safety, the Bluejays return starters Alec Giles and Stephen Ritter along with seniors Alvin Chackungal and Nate Riffle. Senior Kody Kuczynski is expected to take over starting duties as the Bluejays' roaming safety/linebacker.

"Our secondary should be very strong this season," said Adam. "We return a large group of players that have logged a lot of playing time. I expect this group to play a big role in being leaders for our defense."

Adam believes the Bluejays will continue to have a defense that hunts for the football. "Last year we came away with 22 turnovers on defense," he said. "I expect us to be very aggressive at continuing to try and force turnovers and give our offense the ball back."

SPECIAL TEAMS

One area that Adam shouldn't have to worry much about is the kicking game. Senior David Tomis solidified the Bluejays' kicking last season by converting 40-of-44 extra point attempts and 11-of-18 field goals, including a school-record 51-yard boot.

"David gave us an added dimension last year with the strength of his leg," said Adam. "We won't be afraid to let him try from long range."

Sophomore Brett Bayer and a pair of newcomers will compete for the starting job at punter.

Overall, Adam believes that despite the new faces on the field, the Bluejays have the experience and the talent to continue to compete in the upper tier of the CCIW.

"We're coming on the shoulders of the greatest Elmhurst football team in school history," he said. "Obviously we know that trying to repeat their success may be challenging but the talent and work ethic of this group is there. What we'll find out quickly is how long it takes us to play cohesively as a team."

Elmhurst opens the 2013 season by hosting Loras College under the lights of Langhorst Field on Thursday, September 5.