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Doyle, Guerin still running hard
Updated: September 25, 2012 8:48PM
River Grove
Kevin Doyle personifies toughness for Guerin — the senior running back and linebacker isn’t shy when it comes to making contact on either side of the ball.
“Kevin will wear on you,” head coach Tony Pecoraro said. “He looks for contact. He’ll pick out a defender and try running them over.”
Guerin (1-3) opened Saturday’s game against Walther Lutheran with seven straight handoffs to Doyle before its nine play drive stalled at the Broncos’ 27 yard line. From that point on, it was all Walther Lutheran as the Broncos won, 60-0 at Melrose Park.
“He’s a hard-nosed, never give up no matter what the score is kind of player,” Pecoraro said of Doyle. “He’s a senior leader for us. He knew that we were going to be a young football team and we are rebuilding, but he doesn’t believe that just because we’re rebuilding that there’s no hope.”
But one moment last season almost changed that.
The 2011 season ended early for Doyle as he tore his ACL during the opening kickoff of the second game against Elmwood Park.
When he returned, Doyle was questioning his every move.
“It was kind of hard, especially during week one and practice, because there was that fear factor that I was going to get injured again,” said Doyle, a senior. “But I feel like I’ve overcome every obstacle that had to do with my knee.”
One way for Doyle to rebuild his confidence was to draw on his experience as a wrestler.
“[In] wrestling you need to get low and concentrate on angles; football is kind of the same thing,” Doyle said. “It’s an easy transition.”
Wrestling will be Doyle’s primary focus after graduation. He said he will attend Triton for two years starting next fall, but he is also in talks with Wisconsin-Platteville and Minnesota State to join their wrestling programs.
The starting back is eager to continue taking on a heavy workload on the football field.
“I kind of like it when the pressure’s on me to be honest,” said Doyle. “It makes me more focused to do better and to help my team.”
Doyle rushed for 55 yards on 19 attempts and lost one fumble.
“Offensively, we came out with a game plan and we ran the ball right down them,” Pecoraro said. “Defensively, we’re a young team, and that’s a fast team, and they’re just better than us today. We couldn’t stop them and there was nothing that we could do.”
The Gators host Chicago Christian at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.~.
