Aug 13, 2005 By Justin Zackal For The 3 min read

Jan Haiden wrestled with his thoughts when sizing up the 2005 edition of his Jefferson-Morgan football team. “I don’t know,” said Haiden, entering his 14th year as head coach. “We’re young and we only have five seniors.”

The five seniors, one of whom did not play last year, will have to alleviate Haiden’s uncertainty and lead a large Class A roster consisting of 37 underclassmen.

Two of those seniors that Haiden has high hopes for are quarterback Josh Lawrence and tackle Steve Yourchik.

So guys, any pressure?

“No,” said Lawrence, who threw for over 1,000 yards last season as a first-year starter. “I trust the receivers. I just give them a chance to catch it.

“I’m more comfortable this year. I’m not going to be that nervous and I know what to expect in games.”

Yourchik, when asked what his biggest challenge will be this year, just shrugged his shoulders after long pause of silence as if saying, “Actually, I never thought about it.”

Saying his job will be to “keep everything in order,” the massive 6-5, 350-pounder did acknowledge his leadership role on the Rocket line, a place where he will be a two-way starter at tackle for a third year.

“We got a lot of young kids that are going to have to step up and play,” Yourchik said. “We just got to play how we know how to play; just got to play football.”

Lawrence and Yourchik are joined by classmates Jeremy Weaver, Mack Kline, and Blake Elkins to make up the Rockets’ small senior class.

Kline is a returning starter at center and defensive end.

The success of the seniors will be vital if Jefferson-Morgan wants to qualify for the WPIAL playoffs for a third straight year.

Yourchik and Lawrence were two of the seniors that Haiden called out as players who he expects to have the most impact.

“Steve, we’re expecting big things out of him,” Haiden said. “He’s a big kid. If he doesn’t go into a game and dominate, well, that’s what he should do.”

According to Haiden, Yourchik improved as the season went on last year and also increased his speed in the off-season after attending the Metro Index football camp in Pittsburgh.

Yourchik has the luxury of not facing anyone bigger than him during the season, as his size is unmatched at the Class A level.

“No, I don’t think there’s going to be anyone quite that size,” Yourchik said. “There are still some pretty good kids out there and I take on a lot of double-teams.”

Lawrence, meanwhile, will be the focal point of the offense with Jefferson-Morgan losing both its receivers from last year and Haiden revealing as many as six names as potential running backs.

“He’s a good leader, he has a good arm, and he’s a good quarterback,” Haiden added.

With players like Yourchik and Lawrence leading the way, having “only” five seniors doesn’t seem so bad after all.