LORANGER - The Loranger football team has an opportunity.

After not making the playoffs in recent years, the Wolves return 16 starters on a team that finished 4-6 last year and was a few plays away from the playoffs.

Among those returners is four-year starting quarterback Colton Morris. Morris threw for over 1,000 yards and ran for nearly 1,250 yards last season as a junior for the Wolves.

“He understands what the offense is, he's grown into it, he's an excellent player, but he's an excellent leader as well,” said Head Coach Sam Messina. “He's expanded his game, last year, we asked him to do some things that he hadn't had to do the first two, run the ball a little bit more, and he really had some success at it, and led to the success of what we do as a team as a whole.

Expect the Wolves to rely heavily on the run game.

Sophomore running back Rylan James, who ran for 1800 yards last season, is expected to make a big impact once again this season. His brother Roman also should be a force in the running and passing game out of the slot.

Loranger has 40 upperclassmen, including 18 seniors and 22 juniors, who are looking for their first playoff appearance. The Wolves start their 2024 campaign on September 6 at Independence.