Mavericks, Bronchos ready to go

LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - McCutcheon and Lafayette Jeff are two of the area teams that began two-a-day practices on Monday.

The Mavericks are coming off a 2-8 season. They picked up wins over Harrison and Noblesville last season. They fell to Fishers in the first round of sectionals 29-23.

The Mavericks return seven of their starters on offense.

"We are going to look fast because speed is a big thing on our offense that we have coming back for us," said McCutcheon quarterback Matt Marencik.

The Mavs defense is made up of a lot of young players but they are expecting to grow as the season progresses.

"Our defense is young and it is a weakness right now. One good thing is we don't have any bad habits. We are going to make great strides throughout the season and by the end of the season our defense is going to be looking like veterans out there," said McCutcheon linebacker Matt Muncy.

The Bronchos are focused on having one of their best seasons in recent history. Jeff finished 3-8 last season. They picked up wins over Harrison, McCutcheon, and Anderson. Jeff lost in the second round of sectionals to Fishers 50-19.

Lafayette Jeff returns a lot of their skill positions. The Bronchos have a lot of speed on both offense and defense and they believe that will help them pick up some big wins this season.

"Offensively we are a lot further ahead than we were last year," said Lafayette Jeff head coach Andy Kennedy. "We have a lot of experience and have four starters returning on the offensive line and one that started for us a couple years ago. In skill guys we are very fast and we are the fastest we have been since I have been here."

"I think we have a lot of speed on offense and defense and it will help us a lot going up against the bigger schools," said Lafayette Jeff wide receiver Lucas Wallace.

McCutcheon kicks-off the regular season on August 17, at 7 pm against Brownsburg. Lafayette Jeff will begin their season on August 17 against Zionsville at 7 pm.