Prairie Ridge started seven juniors and sophomores in last year's Class 6A title game against Peoria Richwoods, which the Wolves won 35-14.

But two of those players won't be with Prairie Ridge when preseason workouts begin on Aug. 8.

Jordan Getzelman, who ran for 175 yards and two touchdowns against Richwoods, recently committed to play baseball at Missouri and he's skipping his final football season to prepare for that.

Then came the news that Nick Lanaski, a starting linebacker a year ago, is expected to miss the entire 2012 season after suffering a broken vertebra.

"It's been a tough week," Wolves coach Chris Schremp said.

Prairie Ridge will look for its other running backs to pick up the slack in Getzelman's absence and will rely on Northern Illinois-bound Sean Folliard to pace the defense.