SKOKIE — The Deerfield football team lost a heartbreaker Friday that ended its season.
Leading by 14 midway through the third quarter, the Warriors watched as Niles North scored three unanswered touchdowns to earn a 56-49 win in the CSL North. The victory qualified the Vikings for the playoffs for the first time since 1992.
But there is reason to believe Deerfield (4-5, 3-2) can end its own playoff drought. The Warriors last played in the postseason in 2011 when the current juniors were in eighth grade.
The expected return of junior quarterback Brian Ranallo and junior fullback Johnny Fisher should give Deerfield a head start on most teams heading into 2015.
“They are our building blocks,” said Deerfield coach Steve Winiecki, who will lose 18 seniors from his 38-player roster. “We have to replace some offensive linemen, but [Ranallo and Fisher] are a good place to start.”
Against the Vikings, Fisher ran 39 times for 356 yards and scored four touchdowns. Ranallo added 117 rushing yards and scored twice. For the season, Fisher totaled 1,379 yards and 21 touchdowns, while Ranallo finished with 722 yards and nine scores. The two of them accounted for 78 percent of the team’s yards on the ground.
Ranallo said he and some of the other players already have talked about putting in time in the weight room during the offseason. Ranallo and Fisher also will run indoor and outdoor track as sprinters for the Warriors. It will be Fisher’s first season.
“Track really helps us with our speed, and I really like being part of coach [Jeremy] Kauffman’s team,” Ranallo said. “It’s great atmosphere, and it makes you want to work. We also will get in our lifting. I’m going to try and bulk up as much as I can.”
The prospects of next season don’t lessen the sting of last week’s loss, though.
“It obviously was a disappointing game, but the biggest thing I got out of it was how to prepare myself to not be in that spot in the first place,” Ranallo said of needing to win in Week 9 to qualify for the playoffs. “Even though this season just ended, we are excited for next year.”
