SVM_Prep Football Preview_082323

5 football storylines to watch in the Sauk Valley area in 2023

By DAN WUSSOW dwussow@shawmedia.com

Football season is finally here.

After the Week 1 games conclude this weekend, some of our lingering questions will be answered. Until then, here are five storylines to watch in the Sauk Valley area in 2023:

Who will lead Sterling’s offense?

Last season, the Sterling Golden Warriors ran most of their offense through three seniors: quarterbacks Kael Ryan and JP Schilling and running back Antonio Tablante. This season, the offensive leaders are less certain.

As the Western Big 6 MVP and a Class 5A IHSFCA All-State selection, Ryan compiled 1,565 yards of total offense (1,178 rushing, 387 passing) and 24 touchdowns (22 rushing, 2 passing) in 2022. Schilling, a First-Team All-Western Big 6 selection, went 50-for-80 passing for 680 yards and seven touchdowns, and added 641 yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground.

Tablante, another First-Team All-Western Big 6 pick at running back, racked up 772 yards and 14 touchdowns on 119 carries and caught five passes for 47 yards and a touchdown.

With both quarterbacks gone, as well as twothirds of the three-headed monster backfield, there’s a lot of offensive production to replace.

Can Newman make a playoff run in Year 2 with LeMay?

The Newman Comets snuck into the playoffs in 2022, winning three of their last five games to qualify in head coach Mike LeMay’s first season.

Gone are running backs Nolan Britt and Hunter Luyando, quarterback JJ Castle and receiver Ayden Batten. Offensive/defensive linemen Hayden Witt, a First-Team All-Three Rivers East pick in 2022, leaves a big void in the trenches as well, but the Comets will return most of their linemen from a season ago.

With all of those holes to fill, Newman will look to rising seniors like Carter Rude, Brady Grennan, Isaiah Williams and Mac Hanrahan to keep the offense churning at the skill positions.

Dixon going for ninth straight playoff appearance

The Dixon Dukes have been a model of consistency for about a decade, making eight straight playoff appearances. This year, they’ll try to extend that streak to nine in a row with the help of their two leading rushers from 2022.

Senior quarterback Tyler Shaner, a Second-Team All-Big Northern selection, racked up more than 2,000 yards of total offense (1,058 rushing, 1,007 passing) and 22 touchdowns (13 passing, 9 rushing) in 2022.

Senior running back/linebacker Aiden Wiseman, another Second-Team All-Big Northern selection, rushed for 951 yards and a team-leading 12 touchdowns to go with one receiving touchdown last year. He was also one of the Dukes’ leading

tacklers.

Can Amboy co-op get back to I8FA state championship game?

The Amboy-LaMoille-Ohio Clippers had a tremendous postseason run in 2022, finishing second in the Illinois 8-Man Football Association after a 44-36 loss to West Central in the state championship at Monmouth College.

This year, they’ll be a favorite to win it as they return all but one player from that second-place team. The loss of I8FA All-State quarterback Tucker Lindenmeyer is undoubtedly a big one, but the Clippers will cushion that blow by bringing back all of their top weapons, a good offensive line, an experienced backup quarterback and a rocksolid defense.

Can Polo reclaim I8FA crown?

From the time they switched to eight-man football in 2019, the Polo Marcos have established themselves as a powerhouse program. With back-to-back state championships in 2019 and 2021 [no 2020 season], and a state semifinals appearance and nearwin over eventual 2022 state champion West Central, expectations will again be high for the Marcos.

Polo brings back I8FA All-State running back and reigning SVM Football Player of the Year Brock Soltow, along with most of last year’s state semifinal team.

The Marcos have the ingredients of a championship team, but can they knock off Amboy and West Central?

Western Big 6

EAST MOLINE UNITED TOWNSHIP

2022 record: 1-8

Coach: Nick Welch

Worth noting: East Moline took a step back in 2022, but did employ a number of underclassmen. A number of players will be entering their third year as starters, most notably quarterback Matthew Kelley, who threw for nearly 1,200 yards and a combined 15 touchdowns (9 passing, 6 rushing). Korey Randle returns as well and served as Kelley’s primary target. Like Kelley, Randle will be entering his third season as a starter. On the offensive line, both seniors Jacob VandeWiele and Aaron Clifford have been starters since their sophomore year and will anchor an offensive line that has four returning starters. On defense, seven players that played regularly return, led by a pair of secondary standouts in Randle and Anass Issifou.

GALESBURG

2022 record: 3-6

Coach: Derek Blackwell

Worth noting: Galesburg will be looking to bridge the gap with the more consistently strong programs in the Western Big Six. All three of Galesburg’s 2022 wins came against opponents that finished with one victory on the year, while the Silver Streaks went 0-5 against playoff-bound opposition and struggled to post points against all of those foes. The offense is led by quarterback Gino Williams and running back Amarie Richardson, but the biggest obstacle Galesburg is facing is tightening up its defensive performance. During a six-game midseason stretch of games where Galesburg went 1-5, the Silver Streaks allowed a minimum of five touchdowns per game. Defensive lineman Jamari McDonald and defensive back

Markis Lewis will be leaned upon heavily to try to help those improvements.

GENESEO

2022 record: 5-5

Coach: Larry Johnsen

Worth noting: A whopping 15 starters return for the Leafs, seven of which enter their third year fulfilling starting roles. As such, Geneseo hopes to get off to a fast start. Caleb Craterfield and Nathan Dunker should both provide anchors for a defense that just needs to fill two spots with players that didn’t start a year ago. That group does have some things to atone for, however, as the Leafs struggled to keep opponents off the scoreboard in the second half of the season. Geneseo’s offense was of all over the map as well, but things should be more stable with yet another returning player – QB A.J. Weller –engineering the offense once again. Kade VanOpdorp, Jackson Reade and Luke Johnsen should be primary receiving threats.

MOLINE

2022 record: 9-2

Coach: Mike Morrissey

Worth noting: Moline has now strung together five

playoff appearances, bowing out in the Class 7A second round last season with a loss to Yorkville. It was a seniorheavy squad that swept the Western Big Six schedule. Moline will need some big efforts from some new faces. Defensive lineman William DePaepe, a Georgia Tech recruit, will serve as a leader on defense, but the offense has more questions to answer. Wide receiver Zander Ealy, running back Pablo Perez and running back Adrian Cooper should all figure prominently in whatever direction the Maroons end up taking.

QUINCY

2022 record: 8-3

Coach: Rick Little Worth noting: The scoreboard was working overtime last season for the Blue Devils. That experience will likely come in handy. Junior quarterback Braydn Little returns after putting together a banner sophomore season that included a school record 432-yard passing effort against Glenwood. Some of his favorite targets are back as well including running back Jeraius Rice and wide receiver Ty Hammers. Quincy looks capable of outscoring its opponents on most nights,

but certainly wouldn’t frown upon the defense tightening things up a bit. Linebacker Ty Douglas will play a big part in those efforts.

ROCK ISLAND

2022 record: 4-5

Coach: Fritz Dieudonne

Worth noting: The Rocks missed the playoffs for the first time in four seasons, but it looks as if the foundation is in place for Rock Island to find its way back into the postseason mix. Junior quarterback Javion ClarkPugh will engineer an offense that also has returners at several skill positions, including wide receiver Joe Allen, running back Garr Tarr and tight end Amare Overton. The Rocks will need to develop a little bit more trustworthy depth as those same players will likely have to play both ways. Too much double duty could be problematic against programs that likely won’t face the same challenge.

STERLING

2022 record: 9-3

Coach: Jonathan Schlemmer

Worth noting: Sterling has made the playoff field in 19 of 20 playoff-contested seasons. It will need to rely on the program’s consistency and stability while some younger players get up to speed as the base of experienced players is relatively thin in Sterling camp right now. Senior quarterback Cale Ledergerber will guide the offense and a pair of returning running backs, Andre Claver and Joseph Holcomb, also return. Beyond big tackle Lucas Austin (6-7, 265) the offensive line will be largely new, but the Golden Warriors like the potential of the players that will be filling the gaps. Kendrick Muhammad should be a steady force for Sterling on either side of the football in the trenches, possibly both.

Big Northern

Byron

2022 record: 11-2, 8-1

Coach: Jeff Boyer

Worth noting: The 2021 state champs reached the semifinals last year and have dominated the BNC. They’ve had at least a share of the conference title since the league condensed from two divisions in 2016. Running backs Jacob Ross and Kye Aken plus lineman Jared Clauch all started for the state championship team. Ashton Henkel and Caden Considine should all see big minutes at running back as well.

Dixon

2022 record: 6-4, 6-3

Coach: Jared Shaner

Worth noting: The Dukes have qualified for every postseason since 2014, last year included behind quarterback Tyler Shaner and running back Aiden Wiseman. Wiseman ran for 951 yards and scored a teambest 12 rushing touchdowns. He was also one of the team’s top tacklers at linebacker. The Dukes are looking to make a leap back toward the top of the BNC and also pick up their first playoff win since 2017.

Genoa-Kingston

2022 record: 8-3, 7-2

Coach: Cam Davekos

Worth noting: The Cogs have gone at least two rounds deep in every postseason since 2016. There aren’t a lot of starters back for the Cogs, but quarterback Nathan Kleba had some experience running the Wing-T offense after Nolan Perry got hurt last year. Brady Berwick also had some time at fullback and will transition into a larger role. In all, four starters on offense and three on defense are back.

North Boone

2022 record: 3-6, 3-6

Coach: Ryan Kelley

Worth noting: The Vikings are looking to return to the playoffs after appearing in four straight postseasons. The team hasn’t won a playoff game since 2004. Wide receiver and safety Chris Doetch is a four-year starter back for the Vikings and will lead a team hungry for a postseason return.

Oregon

2022 record: 2-7, 2-7

Coach: Broc Kundert

Worth noting: The Hawks struggled against the top of the BNC last year. Against the six playoff teams, Oregon was winless and was held to eight points or less in each game. There are nine offensive and eight defensive starters back for a team that hasn’t made the playoffs since 2014.

Rock Falls

2022 record: 0-9, 0-9

Coach: Kevin Parker

Worth noting: The Rockets were shut out five times last year in their first winless season since 2015. They are looking for a turnaround in a program that hasn’t won more than one game in a year since 2017, three games in a year since 2009 and hasn’t made the playoff since 1992. Turnout is up for the Rockets this year and there’s a lot of experience back from last year.

Rockford Christian

2022 record: 1-8, 1-8

Coach: Terry Gulley

Worth noting: Since last making the playoffs in 2019, the Royal Lions are 2-21. Brody Carlson had some growing pains as a freshman quarterback, but is back after throwing for 364 yards last year, splitting time with fellow freshman Jaden Williams, who threw for 170 yards.

Rockford Lutheran

2022 record: 6-5, 5-4

Coach: Jeff Luedke

Worth noting: Luedke said

he’s cautiously optimistic about what the year holds. For starters, the Crusaders won a playoff game for the first time since 2016. They have 43 players on the roster compared to 25 last year. There are senior leaders like Hunter Evans and A.J. Moore, plus a new quarterback, Gavin Sanders, and a new receiver and explosive freshman Richard Anderson. Sanders will take over for Kyng Hughes, one of three BNC quarterbacks to eclipse 1,000 yards passing last year.

Stillman Valley

2022 record: 9-2, 8-1

Coach: Mike Lalor

Worth noting: The top three rushers from last year all graduated, leaving quarterback Braden Engel as the team’s top returning rusher. He ran for 422 yards and three scores last year, although only attempted five passes. Kale Rauman, also graduated, attempted seven passes. The Cardinals are coming off their fourth straight playoff appearance, with all four ending in the second round.

Winnebago

2022 record: 5-5, 5-4

Coach: Mark Helm

Worth noting: The Indians qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2017 last year, and this year are looking to go a step further in picking up the team’s first playoff win since 2013. Alec Weavel threw for over 1,100 yards last year but has since graduated. But running back Supreme Muhammad, one of the top sprinters in the state, is back after a big 2022 campaign.

Three Rivers Mississippi

Bureau Valley

2022 record: 1-8 (0-6).

Coach: Mat Pistole

Worth noting: The Storm have seven returning starters on offense and defense, looking to use their experience to make strides on the field this season. They will line up with a pair of four-year starters and returning allconference players in seniors Connor Scott (OG/LB) and Jon Dybek (OT/D). Scott has been the Storm’s leading tackler for the past three seasons and has put on “25 pounds of really good weight that will really help him,” Pistole said. Both Dybek and senior Aidan Morris (OL/DL), a returning starter, have both had very good offseasons, Pistole said. Junior Bryce Helms was thrown into the fire to play quarterback for the first time for the varsity last season and has only benefited from that experience. Other playmakers returning for the Storm are juniors Elijah Endress (RB/ LB) and Brock Shane (WR/ DB). Sophomore Brady Hartz (RB/DB) showed much promise in his varsity debut running for 150 yards in the final game of last season last year against Hall. The Storm seek their first winning season since going 6-4 in 2016.

Hall

2022 record: 5-5 (4-2)

Coach: Randy Tieman

Worth noting: All-State quarterback Mac Resetich, now at the University of Illinois, accumulated 90% of the Red Devils’ offense last year with school records of 2,227 yards rushing and 30 touchdowns. Senior Gianni Guerrini will take over behind center, directing a more balanced offense by committee including senior Joseph Bacidore and Tristen

Redcliff and sophomores

Braden Curran and Aiden

Redcliff. “We’re going to distribute the ball to other kids. We’ve got some kids that can play a little bit. We’ll see what happens,” said Tieman, who is in the second year of his second stint as the Red Devils head coach. Tristen Redcliff returns as the leading tackler (92) with Guerrini returning for his fourth year at cornerback and Deanthony Weatherspoon for his third year. Senior Leo Lopez will anchor the Red Devils line.

Kewanee

2022 record: 4-5 (3-3)

Coach: Matt Taylor Worth noting: Taylor succeeds Brad Swanson, who was not rehired after four years. The new Boilermakers coach said it’s been a smooth transition. “Summer has been busy,” he said. “A high percentage of athletes got after it. The community and school have supported us. We have planned and prepared to be competitive. I expect to be competitive. We as a staff and community are excited to test this team.” ... The Boilers have a large volume of skill position players, returning linemen, and are three-deep at the QB position, Taylor said. The Boilers return four starting linemen in seniors Jackson Hawkins (G), Daniel Boswell (T) and Corbyn Powers (C/G) and junior Leocadio Gandarilla (T). Kewanee returns three mainstays at the skills positions – seniors Brady Clark (QB), Alex Duarte (RB) and Ben Taylor (E). Duarte led the team in rushing and was second in points scored last year with a 7.9 yard per carry average and five touchdowns. Clark was the second leading rusher and leading scorer and passer with 39 points, 1,286 yards and nine TDs. Taylor was the second leading receiver with 12 catches and TD. The Boilers return nine defensive starters, including

linebacker Duarte, their top tackler (49).

Mendota

2022 record: 3-6 (1-5).

Coach: Keegan Hill

Worth noting: The Trojans lost a lot to graduation but do return a few key players in quarterback Justin Randolph (89 for 169, 1,472 yards, 11 touchdowns in 2022), wide receiver Braden Freeman (32 receptions, 651 yards, four TDs in 2022) and offensive lineman Gabe Vallejo on offense, while Freeman returns on defense as well in the secondary. Receivers Keegan Beetz and Aden Tillman and lineman Joe Stewart are expected to make an impact on offense, while lineman Xzavior Orozco, linebackers Corbin Furar and Wyatt Ossman and defensive backs Rhett Watson and Keegan Stewart will be key additions to the defense. “With a lot of new faces, we look to build on the strengths of each unit,” Hill said. “Building confidence each day will be critical to being ready for Week 1. Having an identity on offense, defense and special teams is a must so we can play to our strengths and minimize our weaknesses.”

Princeton

2022 record: 11-1 (6-0).

Coach: Ryan Pearson

Worth noting: The Tigers continue to reload after going 45-9 over the last five seasons with one semifinal and two quarterfinal appearances and five conference championships. They boast two Division I commits in senior lineman Bennett Williams (Air Force) and Payne Miller (Western Illinois) and have another Division 1/Big Ten prospect, junior end Noah LaPorte, on the roster. The 6-foot6 LaPorte had a breakout

sophomore season (45-884, 12 TDs). The only question in camp is how junior Will Lott can step in at quarterback after the graduation of AllStater Teegan Davis, now at the University of Iowa. With the graduation of lead back Augie Christiansen, the Tigers turn to his brother, Ace, a junior, and sophomore Casey Etheridge, to pick up the ground game. The Tigers have as good a line as anyone in Class 3A built behind seniors Jack May, Williams and Miller and juniors Cade Odell and Anthony Vujanov. Defensively, the Tigers return starters that contributed to holding opponents to 12.8 points per game.

Newman

2022 record: 5-5 (3-3).

Coach: Mike LeMay

Worth noting: The Comets return eight of 11 offensive linemen from a season ago ... They’ll need to replace four of their top rushers from 2022, three top pass-catchers and first-team all-conference OL/ DL Hayden Witt ... They won three of their last five games to qualify for the playoffs in 2022 ... They bring back second-team all-conference LB Daniel Kelly, who led them in tackles with 88 last year, as well as OL/DL Caleb Donna, and DBs Carter Rude, Brady Grennan and Cody McBride. Newcomers expected to make an impact this year include sophomores Evan Bushman and George Jungerman, and juniors

Ryan Partington and Briar Ivey. “You can tell they’re a pretty tight-knit group. It seems like it’s kind of coming around this summer, and really, I’m excited to see how our offense blossoms,” LeMay said. “I’m really excited to see our defense. We’re going to be pretty darn quick, fast to the ball, and I think it’s going to be a lot of fun to watch on Friday nights.

Three Rivers Rock

Erie-Prophetstown

2022 record: 4-5 (1-4)

Coach: Tyler Whitebread

Worth noting: The Panthers return five two-way starters from a season ago in senior H-back/LB Luke Otten, senior OG/LB Zeb Wickes, junior OG/LB Amen Barron, senior WR/LB Franky Bushaw and senior OT/DE Bryce Folsom

... Newcomers poised for big roles are senior QB/DB Jeremiah Kochevar, senior RB/LB Justus Hough, junior RB/DB Demetree Larson and sophomore OL/DL Jack Hockaday ... They lose two of their best two-way players in RB/LB Jase Grunder and OL/ DL Clay Hockaday. Grunder, a Class 2A IHSFCA All-State selection and unanimous All-Three Rivers Athletic Conference West pick on offense and defense, rushed for 1,607 yards and 21 touchdowns on 176 carries, and made 121 tackles. Clay Hockaday, a first-team AllTRAC West defensive lineman, tallied 54 tackles and two sacks ... The Panthers expect to be solid along the offensive line and at linebacker.

Monmouth-Roseville

2022 record: 5-5 (4-2).

Coach: Jeremy Adolphson

Worth noting: The Titans have an opportunity to qualify for the playoffs for the third straight year, which has never happened in M-R history. To make that happen, Adolphson said they will need to be dominant at the line of scrimmage this year to support an inexperienced backfield, which returns less than 200 yards from scrimmage. “We have good size, strength and depth up front on both sides of the ball. so the development of our inexperienced skill kids will be crucial to our level of success this fall,” he said. M-R returns 19 lettermen with five starters back on offense

and three on defense. Senior Tyler Finnicum (RB/LB) and junior Payton Thompson (RB/ DB) are the top returning tacklers with 57 and 35. Other expected top performers are seniors Rhett Willett (RB/DB), juniors Andy Myers (QB/DB) and Jackson Thomas (OL/DL) and sophomores Brody Dodd (OL/DL) and Andrew Way (RB/LB). ... Adolphson looks for Rockridge and Morrison to be significant favorites in the TRAC West based on the talent they return.

Morrison

2022 record: 5-5 (4-2).

Coach: Nathan Vandermyde Worth noting: The Mustangs are coming off a rebound season, improving from 2-7 in 2021 to 5-5 in 2022 ... They’ll return four of their top playmakers from a season ago in sophomore RB/SS Brady Anderson (660 rushing yards, 10 TDs), senior RB/FS Chase Newman (559 receiving yards, six receiving TDs, 327 rushing yards, one rushing TD), senior FB/LB Carson Strating (577 rushing yards, seven rushing TDs), and senior WR/CB Daeshaun McQueen (476 receiving yards, five receiving TDs) ... Newman was a Class 1A IHSFCA All-State honorable mention, a firstteam all-conference selection at defensive back and a second-team pick at running back last year. Strating was a second-team all-conference selection at linebacker and an honorable mention pick at running back ... Junior Colton Bielema takes over at QB for Danny Mouw ... Morrison should be strong at running back, linebacker and defensive back this season.

Orion

2022 record: 4-5 (3-3).

Coach: Chip Filler

Worth noting: With their second straight 4-5 season, the Chargers look to get back on

the winning side of the ledger. They made the postseason six consecutive seasons from 2014-19 and nine times total since Filler took over in 2009. Filler believes the Chargers have what it takes to make it happen. “We feel like we should be really solid on defense as long as we are physical and will tackle well. We have some good depth on that side of the ball with some quality athletes,” he said. “Offensively we feel like our QB Kale Filler gives us a good centerpiece to build around. We have eight quality receivers to go with him so that helps. We also have three really good running backs so offensively we could look fivewide one play and fullhouse the next. Really depends for us on the offensive line how quickly they jell and if they can stay healthy.” .... Filler threw for 1,009 yards passing and 13 TDs as a freshman. Other key personnel are seniors Kaden Edmunds (RB/S), Nolan Loete (C) and Luke Dunlap (OL/DE) and juniors Aiden Fisher (RB/ LB), Jake Bainbridge (WR), Maddux Arnold (WR/LB) and Duncan Adamson (TE/LB).

Riverdale

2022 record: 0-0.

Coach: Guy Dierikx.

Worth noting: The Rams return to the field after canceling the 2022 season due to lack of numbers. In their last season on the field (2021), the Rams went 1-8 ... Senior DE Zac Bradley, junior MLB Kolton Kruse and junior OT Kalvin Smith return from the 2021 team ... Newcomers poised for significant roles include RB/LB Gaege Heinsen, RB/DB Caen Beckett, DB Nick Goodson, OLB Elliot Fries and K/P Aiden Sensabaugh ... “As we continue to rebuild our program, focusing on the little things and the things we can control. Attitude and effort will be huge. Regardless of

who we are playing, they can expect to get our best each and every play,” Dierikx said.

Rockridge

2022 record: 10-2 (6-0).

Coach: Sam Graves

Worth noting: The Rockets return seven players on both sides of the ball, including linemen Vaughn Frere, Landon Bull, Caden Hart and Tanner McKeag and front seven on defense, from last year’s Class 2A quarterfinalists and TRAC West champions. They do have some holes to fill with the loss of lot of offensive firepower in RB Peyton Locke (1,107 yards/13 TDS rushing, 500 yards, seven TDS receiving), QB Jacob Bayne (1,070 yards passing/14 TDs) and WR

Kameron Bohnsoch (40-859, 14 TDs). Alex Zarlatanes (773 yards, six TDs) will be the featured back. Senior Connor Deem, who took over for Bayne last year when he broke a leg and went 40 of 69 for 640 yards, eight TDs, and one interception, and freshman Cullen Schwigen will both get looks at QB.

Sherrard

2022 record: 1-8 (1-4).

Coach: Brandon Johnston

Worth noting: The Tigers have won just one game in the past two years, defeating Morrison, 26-22, in Week 5 last year ... They return sophomore Carter Brown, a first-team all-conference WR and second-team DB, senior Riley Colbrese, a secondteam all-conference OT, Kyler Schmidt, a second-team allconference WR, Grady Steele, a second-team all-conference DL, and Holland Anderson, an honorable mention allconference QB ... Newcomers slated for significant roles include senior WR/DB Sam Crownover, junior WR/LB Brody Bender, junior OL/DL Aidan Geyssens and junior WR/DB Richard Shannon.

Conference Preview 2023

Northwest Upstate Illini

Dakota

2022 record: 7-5

Coach: Eric Didesch

Worth noting: The Indians come off a resurgent season, improving from 2-7 in 2021 to 7-5 in 2022 ... Last year, they reached the Class 1A quarterfinals ... Former defensive coordinator Eric Didesch takes over as interim head coach ... They must replace all-conference QB

Kaidyn Niedermeier and allconference RB/LB Adrian Arellano.

Durand-Pecatonica

2022 record: 8-3

Coach: Tyler Hoffman

Worth noting: Top returning players include junior QB

Cooper Hoffman, senior WR/ DB Drew Williams, junior WR/ OLB Jaxon Diedrich, senior RB/DB Jaylen Noud and senior OL/DL Erik Kormoczy

... Hoffman was a first-team

All-conference pick at QB

... Three of the returners were honorable mention all-conference last year:

Diedrich at EDGE, Noud at utility, and Kormoczy at C ... Du-Pec will need to replace first-team All-conference OL/ DL Briaun Green and IHSFCA

All-State RB/S AJ Mulcahy

... Newcomers slated for significant roles include junior WR/DB pair Jordan Gassman and Brody Black, senior OL/DL

Shawn Squires and sophomore

H/ILB Justin Anderson.

Eastland-Pearl City

2022 record: 3-6

Coach: Jared McNutt

Worth noting: The Cougars return a handful of key starters, including two seniors that were first-team all-conference selections in 2022: RB/WR/DB Brady

Sweitzer and WR/DB Ethan

Petta. Will Birchen returns to man the middle linebacker and fullback spots after an all-conference selection as a freshman ... Senior TE/ DL Jayden Downs is back to

lead on both sides of the ball, and junior Jaxsyn Kempel is expected to be the feature back while starting at outside linebacker ... Sophomore RB/ LB Draven Zier, who Coach McNutt describes as “arguably our most athletic kid in the program,” is expected to play significant roles on offense, defense and special teams this year ... 300-pound sophomore Brody Voegeli will anchor the middle of the defensive line and start at left tackle this season ... McNutt expects big strides from junior OL/ DL Jacob Runkle, who played sparingly last season, and forsees his twin brother, RB/ LB Jared Runkle, having a major impact on defense.

“Our key to success this year is how well we can run the football and establish an attitude up front, along with our skill players in the backfield. Another key is our defense, and if we can stop the run and be physical,” McNutt said. “We only have five seniors, but I think our expectations are high for this group this year. We are playing a lot of young guys, but the young guys got a lot of experience playing last season on varsity as well. Week in and week out will be a grind. Every team has the guys to compete at a high level, and the coaching in the NUIC is very good as well. I think Le-Win will be strong again this year along with Du-Pec and Fulton.”

Forreston

2022 record: 8-5

Coach: Keynon Janicke

Worth noting: The Cardinals reached the Class 1A State semifinals last year ... They bring back a pair of first-team all-conference selections and three-year starters in senior RB/LB Kaleb Sanders and senior RB/DB Micah Nelson ... Sanders, who rushed for 938 yards, scored 13 total touchdowns, and racked up 49 tackles, two sacks, four

tackles for loss and four takeaways (three forced fumbles, one interception), was a first-team all-conference pick at EDGE and honorable mention at RB ... Nelson, who totaled 513 yards of offense, nine touchdowns, 51 tackles and four pass breakups, was a first-teamer at DB ... Senior OL/DL Ethan Bocker, another three-year starter, returns after an all-conference honorable mention in 2022 ... Forreston also welcomes back five two-year senior starters: OL/DL Zac Shuman, RB/ DB Alex Ryia, RB/LB Owen Mulder, TE/LB Andrew Wells and OL/DL Grant Johnson. Ryia had 61 tackles and two pass breakups last year. Sophomore quarterback Brady Gill, and junior offensive linemen Ayden Book, Alec Schoonhoven and Justin Myers are newcomers slated for significant roles this year. “On top of staying healthy, we must execute more efficiently on special teams, which arguably cost us three games in the regular season last year,” Janicke said. “Then, it comes down to the basics, as always: be as physical as possible and be willing to correct mistakes once they are made. This is a tough conference, so we cannot afford to have any major mental lapses in a given week. Until somebody knocks them off, Le-Win is No. 1. After that, this remains a great conference because everybody has the opportunity to prove themselves.

“While becoming better men and students off the field, our expectations on the field remain the same: compete for a state championship.”

Fulton

2022 record: 9-3

Coach: Patrick Lower Worth noting: The Steamers have made the Class 1A quarterfinals two years in a row ... They return

6-foot-6 senior WR/DB Baylen Damhoff, a speedy weapon who has amassed 72 receptions, 972 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns in two seasons. He also had two interceptions and a kickoff return touchdown last year ... Senior WR/S Trevor Tiesman, who Lower describes as “a very good safety,” “a very smart player,” “very physical” and “very athletic,” returns from a broken collarbone that limited him to four games in 2022 ... Junior dual-threat QB/OLB Dom Kramer also returns, as does junior OL/DL Josiah Heald to anchor both sides of the line ... Newcomers expected to make an impact are senior RB/WR/OLB A.J. Boardman, junior TE/DE Jacob Huisenga, junior RB/ ILB Skyler Crook, junior OL/ DL Daniel Holman, sophomore WR/DB Landon Leu, and sophomore OL/ILB Landon Boonstra ... “We will be young, and that is very exciting for us. As coaches, we have our work cut out for us trying to get this group ready to play at Forreston Week 1 and hosting Lena Week 2,” Lower said. “We will open with a 1A semifinalist last year whom we beat in the regular season in Forreston and then host the three-time defending state champions in Lena-Winslow. We are embracing the opportunity.”

Galena

2022 record: 4-5

Coach: Ed Freed

Worth noting: The Pirates return senior RB/LB Jack Ries, a second-team allconference EDGE and secondteam all-conference utility who totaled 530 rushing yards and nine touchdowns on 87 carries, caught 11 passes for 134 yards, and racked up 48 tackles, three tackles for loss and four fumble recoveries in 2022 ...

See UPSTATE, page 20

Amboy-LaMoille-Ohio

Coach: Scott Payne

Last year’s record: 10-3, 6-1 North 2 Division (first) Worth noting: The Clippers reached the I8FA state semifinals in 2021 and were the state runner-up in 2022. ... They return every starter from last season except All-State QB Tucker Lindenmeyer. ... AllState senior TE/DE Brennan Blaine, junior FB/DE Quinn Leffelman and senior RB/ LB Landon Whelchel return. Whelchel and Leffelman were last year’s leading rushers, and both were two-way All-North 2 Division picks. They’ll have an experienced offensive line to pave the way again ... Junior QB Eddie Jones takes over for Lindenmeyer after starting six games in his absence last season.

Polo

Coach: Ted Alston

Last year’s record: 9-3, 5-2 (second in North 2 Division)

Worth noting: The Marcos won back-to-back I8FA state championships in 2019 and 2021 (no 2020 season), and reached the state semifinals in 2022. They nearly went to state for the third time in three seasons but lost to eventual state champion West Central on the last play of the game. ... They return backto-back I8FA All-State RB/ LB and SVM Football Player of the Year Brock Soltow, and lose an All-State RB/LB in Avery Grenoble ... All but one of last year’s starting offensive linemen are back, and senior Delo Fernandez returns to maintain a talented backfield.

Good Luck To All Area Teams!

Milledgeville

Coach: Jason Wroble

Last year’s record: 7-4, 4-3 (third in North 2 Division)

Worth noting: The Missiles bring back senior QB/LB Conner Nye, a two-time All-State selection at QB and First-Team All-North 2 defensive utility player, as well as Konner Johnson, Bruce Raymond, Micah Toms-Smith, ans Bryce McKenna. ... Coach Wroble expects “big things” from sophomore OL/TE/DL Karter Livengood, who started in the playoffs against West Central. He also anticipates big seasons from sophomore LB/RB Spencer Nye, senior LB Wyatt Meiners and junior OL/DL Dalton Adamec. ... The Missiles must replace two allstate WRs in Kacen Johnson and Bryce Aude.

Ashton-Franklin Center

Coach: Ben Mershon

Last year’s record: 5-4, 3-3 North Division 1 (second)

Worth noting: The Raiders return five players with significant playing experience at the varsity level: senior RB/MLB Danny Bevan, sophomore OL/DL Lane Messer, sophomore RB-to-QB convert Logan Mershon, junior RB/MLB Nolan Rueff and junior OL/DL Ben Rockwood. Mershon was an honorable mention All-North 1 pick at RB last year. ... Coach Mershon anticipates significant playing time for sophomore WR/CB Chase Near, junior TE/DE Brock Lehman, and senior RB/WR/LB Noah Danielson, among others, and thinks some talented freshmen could factor in this year.

Clippers ready to roll into 2023

By DAN WUSSOW dwussow@shawmedia.com

AMBOY – The standard for the Amboy-LaMoille-Ohio football team has always been high. The last two seasons only solidify that.

After reaching the Illinois 8-Man Football Association state semifinals two seasons ago, and nabbing a runner-up finish at state last season, the Clippers are riding high.

This year, they’ll have the same championship mentality as always – and, as they aim for the I8FA state title once again, almost the exact same team.

With the exception of quarterback Tucker Lindenmeyer – a 2021 I8FA All-State selection in his last fully healthy season – and a handful of newcomers, it’s the same group as last year.

Because of that, expectations are as high as they’ve ever been.

“We obviously have very high expectations for this year. We only lost one senior,” said senior tight end/defensive end Brennan Blaine, an I8FA AllState pick in 2022. “It was a pretty important senior to lose being our starting quarterback, Tucker Lindenmeyer, but our expectations are the same as they were last season, and we are very far from satisfied.”

“Our confidence has gotten higher since we made it so far last year with only one senior,” said junior Eddie Jones, who takes over for Lindenmeyer as the starting quarterback this year. “We lost a big part of our team in Tucker, but I feel like we’re going to do a lot better, and we’re hungry for more and we all want more. We want to get to state again this year.”

In addition to the all-stater Blaine, the Amboy co-op returns its top two rushers: halfback Landon Whelchel and fullback Quinn Leffelman. It also brings back an experienced and talented offensive line.

A unanimous all-North 2 Division pick at tight end and first-teamer at defensive end, Blaine caught 46 passes for 1,191 yards and 21 touchdowns in 2022. He also rushed for 133 yards and three touchdowns,

and racked up 98 tackles, 14 sacks and 17 tackles for loss last year.

Whelchel, a second team all-North 2 Division pick at running back and linebacker, rushed for 1,451 yards and 18 touchdowns on 182 carries last year, and racked up 119 tackles, including nine tackles for a loss.

Leffelman, a second-team all-North 2 Division pick at defensive end and honorable mention at fullback, rushed for 896 yards and 16 touchdowns on 132 carries, added 109 receiving yards and two touchdown catches, and racked up 73 tackles, 10 tackles for loss and eight sacks.

The large number of returning players has the Clippers feeling confident. There’s a ton of pre-existing team chemistry and knowledge of the offensive and defensive schemes to build on.

All of that could take them far this year.

“It does a lot for our confidence. These guys know that everyone’s back, and I think it gives us a really good shot,” Clippers coach Scott Payne said. “They all know the offense, defense, so coming into camp

week and doubles, we’re already a couple steps ahead. They’ve been in the program for three years now, because most of them started as sophomores, so it helps a lot having all these guys coming back. It’s a great thing to have.”

With all but one senior returning, the lineups should remain largely unchanged. But that doesn’t mean everything will stay the same.

A pair of juniors and a sophomore could be in line for more playing time this year.

“We’ve got a couple juniors coming in. [DB/RB] Ed Fry, [LB/RB] Brayden Klein, they were sophomores last year, they’ll be juniors now,” Payne said. “And we’ll be moving up a sophomore, Cody Winn, who we think can provide some good playing time at defensive back and wide receiver. We’ve got some good juniors that are going to help out a lot, I think, and that’s always great to have, is have some backups.”

“Cody Winn. He’s going to be our defensive guy this year. He’s going to be a sophomore,” Blaine said. “We’re really excited about him. He got to play a little defensive back in the playoffs last year, and he did well. We’re expecting him to do really good things this season.”

Last year, when Lindenmeyer was sidelined for

Alex T. Paschal – apaschal@shawmedia.com Amboy-LaMoille-Ohio football players run through drills Monday, July 24, 2023 during a camp at the high school.

See AMBOY, page 25

By TY REYNOLDS sports@saukvalley.com

Things really turned around for the Ashton-Franklin Center football team last fall. Now, a new group of Raiders is looking to build on it.

Gone are 11 seniors who helped take a team that hadn’t had a full varsity season since 2019 to the playoffs for the first time since 2005. They accounted for more than 2,000 passing yards and 40 touchdowns in the Raiders’ wide-open offense, and will be tough to replace.

But while AFC brings back just a handful of juniors and seniors this season, lots of the younger players got to experience that success in 2022.

“I feel like the people who came back are pretty comfortable, because it’s the same coaching staff and the same style and players. I think that’s comforting, and I think that’s going to help a little bit come Week 1,” senior halfback Daniel Bevan said.

Ben Mershon enters his third season as AFC’s coach, and he feels like the success experienced last fall, coupled with the comfort level of the players in his system, is a good mix for continuing to build the program.

“I’m very comfortable, and I think they’re pretty comfortable with me too; they know what to expect,” Mershon said. “But last year and this year are two different worlds. It’s a lot different, and numbers are going to be a little lower, so we’re really, really young. We’re going to have a lot of freshmen and sophomores, with a few juniors and handful of seniors.”

The main contributor coming back is Logan Mershon. After finishing with 313 rush yards, 194 receiving yards and five touchdowns as a freshman running back last season, he will move to quarterback this fall to replace the now-graduated Carson Rueff, who threw for 2,276 yards and 34 TDs, and ran for 539 yards and four scores in 2022.

Logan Mershon believes a fast start will go a long way this season.

“Last year was a big confidence-booster after a couple of rough seasons before that. We lost a lot of people [for this year], so I think that’s going to hurt us a little bit, but if we have a good Game 1, I think we’ll be back and confident. We’d be able to see

that we can still win even without those guys, so I think we’ll be better,” he said. “I think our confidence will just be better for everyone as we go along, get more used to hitting. We have a lot of new people – not as many as we lost – but those guys, if they get going into everything and play well, I think we’ll be pretty well off.”

With receivers Lane Koning (906 yards, 19 TDs), Zane Murphy (626 yards, 10 TDs) and Auden Polk (424 receiving yards, 165 rush yards, 4 TDs) also gone, look for the Raiders to rely on the run game a little more this fall.

And not only was that senior class good on the field, the leadership those players showed in practice and the locker room was also valuable for the younger guys. One of the biggest

Alex T. Paschal – apaschal@shawmedia.com

AFC’s Logan Mershon leads the group in football drills during a camp practice Friday, July 14, 2023 in Franklin Grove. The Raiders lost several key seniors from last year’s 6-3 team, but they hope to build on the program’s first trip to the playoffs since 2005.

Bureau Valley aims for winning season

BY KEVIN HIERONYMUS khieronymus@bcrnews.com

MANLIUS - The signs are there.

Bureau Valley is returning seven starters on both sides of the ball, including a pair of four-year starters.

Senior Connor Scott, the Storm’s leading tackler three years running, is bigger and stronger. Senior Jon Dybeck returns as a stalwart on the line for both sides of the ball. Junior quarterback Bryce Helms has a full year under his belt after being thrown into a new position last year at the varsity level. And the Storm had a productive summer camp.

Could this be the year the Storm have their first winning season in seven years? Head coach Mat Pistole believes so.

“We feel really good about certain players,” Pistole said. “Connor Scott and Jon Dybek are going to be fouryear starters for us. (We’re) bringing back Bryce Helms and Brady Hartz that played a good role for us last year. Brock Shane, Cameron Lemons, Elijah Endress, Aidan Morris bunch of guys that played a lot of football last year and gained a lot of valuable experience. I think that bodes well for us.

“I think we can compete at a higher level than we did last year. We have to stay healthy like every team and we have to execute at a higher level. We’ve got to find a competitive spirit that maybe’s been missing. That’s something we’ve been working on. I think this group is capable. I certainly believe in them. Now we’ve got to prove it on Friday nights.”

The Storm, which went 1-8 a year ago, had a strong showing at the Princ-

eton 7-on-7 Tournament, finishing second on admittedly a favorable schedule. Nonetheless, it was a confidence booster.

“Any time we gain confidence from things like that is huge for our program,” Pistole said. “That’s the kind of confidence we need and things we just need to carry that over into the season and continue to work on the fundamentals and on Aug. 25 be ready for E-P.”

Dybek and Scott want to go out as seniors and believe they can.

“I feel like we’re all ready to win. This group of seniors have put in a lot of work from last year and we’re ready to win,” Dybek said. “Coming in, me and Connor as freshmen, didn’t feel

like we had that much control over the game. Now as seniors, feels like there’s a lot of leadership and control that we have in the game.”

“We’ve seen an increase in our numbers a little bit. The size of our kids has grown. Got a great attitude coming into the season. Looking forward to it,” Scott said.

Scott (guard) and Dybek (tackle) will anchor the Storm line alongside classmates Aidan Morris (tackle), Blake Erickson (center) and junior Bracin Patnoe (guard).

Pistole said Helms gained a lot of valuable experience playing quarterback for the first time at the varsity level and has worked hard to improve his game.

The rest of the backfield has promise with senior Cameron Lemons, junior Elijah Endress and sophomore Brady Hartz, who shined with 150 yards rushing in his varsity debut in last year’s season finale. The receiving crew will consist of seniors Corban Chhim, Eli Attig, Blake Foster and Shane.

There’s been some good position battles defensively in the Storm camp, Pistole said. Dybek and Morris will man the tackle spots with juniors Ayden Andrade and Braden Patnoe vying for nose guard. Scott (82 tackles),

Sept.

Endress and Lemons will play linebacker. Shane is locked in at one cornerback spot with Chhim and senior Eli Attig vying for the other. Helms will be joined at safety by a cast of Hartz, senior Payton Walowski, junior Drake Hardy and Attig.

Pistole said the Storm will have their hands full in the TRAC East.

“In our conference, you’ve got to bring it every week,” he said. “We have a tremendous conference. To be honest, we play schools that are 150 to 200 bigger than us enrollment-wise. The numbers are against us more weeks than they’re not. That’s not something we use as an excuse. We use that as motivation.

“When Bureau Valley comes to town, we want to be known as a team that plays really hard, is going to compete at a high level and do things the right way. This year’s version of the Bureau Valley Storm is going to be able to do that more times than not.”

Scott Anderson – sanderson@shawmedia.com

Bureau Valley’s quarterback Bryce Helms throws a pass as teammate Jon Dybek (55) blocks Hall’s Joel Koch (57) on Friday, Oct. 21, 2022 at Richard Nesti Stadium in Spring Valley.

Dukes duo looking for even more

By TY REYNOLDS sports@saukvalley.com

Dixon’s quarterback-running back duo rushed for 2,009 yards last season – and both are back this fall. Needless to say, there will be high expectations for the Dukes offense in 2023.

In his first full season as the starting QB, Tyler Shaner ran for 1,058 yards and nine touchdowns on 160 carries, and threw for 1,007 yards and 13 TDs on 75-for-134 passing. In his first season in the backfield last fall, Aiden Wiseman ran 140 times for 951 yards and 12 scores.

Both return as seniors this fall, and with a year in the backfield together under their belts, they’re looking for even bigger things.

“Ever since last year, we’ve been closer together, and then baseball helped us a lot to get even closer, too,” Wiseman said. “I think this year, we’re going to be connected more and you’re going to see a lot more out of the backfield.”

After seeing what those players accomplished last year as juniors, and the work they’ve put in during the offseason, Dixon coach Jared Shaner knows he’s got a strong 1-2 punch right out of the gate this fall.

“No question, they’re more comfortable together. They’ve played nine games together – I think Aiden was out once last year – and Ty had some games his sophomore year, so they’ve got that experience,” coach Shaner said. “And then they’re just a year older, a year stronger, a year more mature. They’ve both gained quite a bit of weight, they’ve both gotten faster, they committed to being better. It’s certainly a nice starting point for us offensively.”

While Dixon loses top receivers Ethan Hays (26 catches, 379 yards, 4 TDs), Rylan Ramsdell (16 catches, 233 yards, 4 TDs; 19 rushes, 94 yards) and Jath St. Pier (13 catches, 16- yards, 1 TD; 6 rushes, 88 yards 2 TDs) and another running back in Hunter Vacek (21 rushes, 118 yards), there will be some new weapons on display.

Eli Davidson is healthy after suffering a season-ending injury in Week 3 last season; he was Shaner’s top target in the first two games, with six catches for 92 yards and a touchdown.

“Aiden and I made a really nice combo in the backfield, and with Eli coming back, it’s another weapon,” Tyler Shaner said. “We can go a little bit of two-back stuff with him, and they’re both good receivers, too; Aiden can go up and get the ball, and Eli’s just

a fantastic athlete who can do anything you want him to.”

Shaner’s younger brother Cullen also returns after a season with seven catches, 100 yards and two scores, while Collin Scott, Wiseman and Cort Jacobson also caught passes last year. The experience in the system and another offseason together has the Dixon offense feeling good about the upcoming season.

Everything starts up front, and there are a few holes on the offensive line. Shaun DeVries, Matt Warkins and Gavin Jensen anchored the crew in the trenches last season, but they’ve graduated and left some big shoes to fill.

But only four of the 19 linemen listed on last year’s roster were seniors, so there a lot of guys in

camp this year with some varsity experience who are hungry to step up and earn those spots.

“We’re going to miss Shaun, Matt and Gavin, but it’s nice to have the guys we’ve got up front this year. We’ve got other core guys who are going to come in and fill those shoes pretty well, I think. It’s hard to do that for those three guys – they’re really good players – but I think we have guys who will step up,” Tyler Shaner said. “Spencer Thompson comes back from an ACL injury, I think he’s going to be good. Jaron Hermes missed eight or nine games last year with a broken collarbone, he’s going to be really good. We’ve got Peyton Dingley back, we’ve got Tyler Herwig back, so that’s good, that’s a big plus. Right now we’re kind of having a battle at center, but I think whoever we go with by Week 1, we’re going to be set in stone and I think we’re going to be rolling pretty well.”

With so many familiar faces blocking for him, Wiseman says he feels a tight bond on offense that will help the Dukes not only have success, but overcome any adversity throughout the season.

Alex T. Paschal – apaschal@shawmedia.com

Dixon’s football team works against Newman during a 7-on-7 contest on Thursday, July 20, 2023 at Roscoe Eades Stadium.

Eastland-Pearl City

Eastland-Pearl City eyeing playoff return

By By DAN WUSSOW dwussow@shawmedia.com

LANARK – The Eastland-Pearl City Wildcatz have gone four seasons without a playoff appearance, but make no mistake, this is a competitive football team.

In a perennially tough Northwest Upstate Illini Conference, it’s never easy to win five games. The Wildcatz know that firsthand.

Considering the strength of the conference, last season’s 3-6 record probably is misleading.

EPC played well against good competition in 2022, it just wasn’t consistent enough to make the playoffs.

In Week 5, it won 40-36 against Dakota, a 7-5 team who advanced to the Class 1A quarterfinals. In Week 3, it played Class 1A state semifinalist Forreston to within two scores, but lost 34-21.

This year, the Wildcatz think they can be more consistent, and they’re hopeful they can end the playoff drought.

“I think we have a good nucleus of dudes who can put the pads on and play with just about anybody, and they’re not scared to mix it up,” EPC head coach Jared McNutt said. “Hopefully, we can give something to our EPC community that they haven’t had in a while: a nice playoff berth. And hopefully, we can make a playoff run. We’ll see. Time will tell. We play in the toughest conference, but hopefully we can make some noise.”

EPC only returns about four starters on each side of the ball this season. Senior WR/DB Ethan Petta and senior RB/WR/DB Brady Sweitzer were first-team all-conference selections in 2022.

Sophomore FB/MLB Will Birchen was the team’s leading tackler, and an honorable mention all-conference pick a season ago. Senior TE/DL Jayden Downs will be a leader on offense and defense this year, and junior Jaxson Kempel is expected to be the feature back and one of the starting outside linebackers.

With only six seniors this season, the Wildcatz will need a lot from their underclassmen.

Sweitzer feels confident they’ll be up to the task.

“We have a lot of good sophomores, a lot of good underclassmen that I think will make a good impact on the team,” he said.

Sweitzer believes the increase in participation numbers and improved team chemistry will also make a difference.

“Just the amount of guys that we’ve got now, and the team chemistry is a little bit different from last year. So that will make us a better team, I believe,” he said.

Many of EPC’s sophomore starters played extensively as freshmen. Coach McNutt hopes that previous experience will help them hit the ground running this season.

“We are going to be young, but we have a lot of guys that have experience from playing up. I think we have three or four sophomores that are going to start on both sides of the ball for us,” McNutt said. “With that being said, all of those as freshmen played varsity, so they have experience, and they played like they should be on varsity as well. So we’re very pleased with their progression.

“We only have six seniors, so we’re hoping for a lot of leadership out of them, but I think our young guys have really transitioned into the varsity game very well.”

Petta also sees an improved team from 2022. He anticipates a few sophomores making a big impact this season.

“I think we’ve got a good chance of improving. We’re a whole different team. We’ve got a lot more energy,” he said. “Draven Zier, he’s going to be a big help for us, Will Birchen – they’re both really young. Brody Voegeli as well.”

Voegeli will be one sophomore starter on the offensive and defensive lines this year. Teigan Dyson will be another.

McNutt has high expectations for the new starters, especially the sophomores.

“I think Draven Zier, he played a little bit as a freshman last year. He’s going to be a skill player for us, running the ball, catching the ball,” McNutt said. “Peyton Spears, I think Zy Haverland will [make an impact]. I also think that Brody Voegeli, Teigan Dyson up front, both of those guys are sophomores that will be starting on our offensive line, defensive line. Robert Rodriguez. We’ve got a number of guys that I’m really high on that I think are going to do really well for us.”

McNutt is especially excited about his skill players.

“I think that we have some of the best skill players in the area. It just all

depends on up front, whether we can stop the run and we can run the football,” McNutt said. “I think that our skill players are probably some of the best, and we’re very deep at skill players, so we can get the ball on the edge, we can run it between the tackles. Obviously, that’s to be determined, but I think that we can do that. But I think our guys have really bought into our program, and we’re looking forward to seeing what we can do.”

Schedule

Date Opponent

Aug. 25 Galena, 7 p.m.

Sept. 1 Durand-Pecatonica, 7 p.m.

Sept. 8 at Fulton, 7 p.m.

Sept. 15 at Forreston, 7 p.m.

Sept. 22 Stockton, 7 p.m.

Sept. 29 at Aurora Central Catholic, 7

Oct. 6 at Lena-Winslow, 7 p.m.

Oct. 13 West Carroll, 7 p.m.

Oct. 20 at Dakota, 7 p.m.

Alex T. Paschal – apaschal@shawmedia.com

Eastland-Pearl City junior Robert Rodriguez works on his bench press Monday in the weight room at Eastland High School.

Preseason All-Area Team

Sauk Valley Media picks 24 players to watch this fall

Photos by Alex T. Paschal, Earleen Hinton & Ty Reynolds

Brennan Blaine

Amboy • Sr. • TE/DE

Daniel Kelly

Newman •Jr. • RB/LB

Baylen Damhoff

Fulton • Sr. • WR/DB

Eli Davidson

Dixon • Jr. • WR/LB

Delo Fernandez

Polo • Sr. • RB/DL

Brady Grennan

Newman • Sr. • RB/DB

Kohle Bradley

Rock Falls • Sr. • RB/S

Lucas Austin

Sterling • Sr. • OL/DL

Quinn Leffelman

Amboy • Jr. • FB/DE

Brady Anderson

Morrison • So. • RB/SS

Cale Ledergerber

Sterling • Sr. • RB/LB

Vinnie Lombardo

Rock Falls • Sr. • QB/DB

Preseason All-Area Team

Sauk Valley Media picks 24 players to watch this fall

Photos by Alex T. Paschal, Earleen Hinton & Ty Reynolds

Micah Nelson

Forreston • Sr. • RB/DB

Landon Whelchel

Amboy • Sr. • RB/LB

Connor Nye

Milledgeville • Sr. • QB/LB

Carter Rude

Noah Reber

Tyler Shaner

Brock Soltow

Aiden Wiseman

Chase Newman

Morrison • Sr. • RB/FS

Kendric Muhammad Sterling • Sr. • OL/DL

Brady Sweitzer

Kaleb Sanders Forreston • Sr. • RB/DL

Erie-Prophetstown

‘A perfect timing type of thing’

By DAN WUSSOW dwussow@shawmedia.com

Timing is everything. Or so the saying goes. For Erie-Prophetstown football coaches Tyler Whitebread and Jesse Abbott, who essentially traded places on the coaching staff this offseason, those words ring true.

Abbott, who served as head coach of the Panthers for the past five seasons, will be an assistant coach this season. Whitebread, who served as a defensive assistant the past seven seasons, will be the head coach.

“This is a great opportunity for me,” Whitebread said. “This is something that I’ve always wanted; I just never really thought I was ready for it, but within the past few years, I felt I was getting closer to that, so I’m super excited.”

The coaching switch made perfect sense for both parties. Whitebread was interested in becoming a varsity football head coach. Abbott was looking to free up time for his family. By essentially swapping roles on the team, they killed two birds with one stone.

“I think it was kind of a perfect timing type of thing where I probably wasn’t too many years down the road from being done, and he expressed the desire to be a head coach,” Abbott said. “It just felt like now would be the best time: it keeps the staff together, we don’t have to find another person of Tyler’s quality. I don’t really see a lot of change from now. He’s very detailed, he’s dedicated, he’s really building relationships with the players, which is a good thing right now.”

Five years ago, Abbott accepted the head coach job with some reservations. Over time, he grew into it.

Now, he’s handing it off to his co-worker, hoping he can do the same.

“When I first took the head coach job, it was never my goal to be a head coach. I grew to love it, but I’ve got a daughter who’s a sophomore, and I had to miss a few of her things playing sports in the fall. I knew it came with the territory,” Abbott said. “At the end of the season, near the winter, Tyler expressed a desire to be a head coach and saw some opportunties, and I suggested him and I flipping roles and taking more of the assistant varsity role that he had, and he takes on the head coach mantra and steering the program in the direction he wants to take it.

“But I guess it really comes down to

freeing up a little more time for me to see my family, and my eldest daughter playing high school sports, and my younger daughter who will be in middle school the following year.”

Whitebread brings 17 years of coaching experience to the Panthers. He spent the first five years coaching at Kirkland Hiawatha, then he moved on to Morrison, where he taught and coached for another five years. From there, he went to Erie.

He’s been there ever since.

At Morrison, Whitebread was a varsity girls basketball head coach. Now, he’s a first-time varsity football head coach for E-P.

All of those years of coaching have prepared Whitebread for this moment, but his time under Abbott has been especially important.

“I think the biggest thing Jesse did for me is he allowed me to be myself. He allowed me to game-plan defensively, kind of whatever I thought was going to work, he was willing to try it. He gave me total control of it,” Whitebread said. “He kind of empowered me, and that’s what got me the confidence to direct an entire program, from him allowing me to do that. Jesse’s really good with organization, making sure we spend enough time on offense, defense and special teams, setting up the fundraisers. He’s a huge benefit to me and the program.”

As he adjusts to life as a head football coach, Whitebread will lean on his assistants as often as needed. Going into the new job, he knows he’ll never have all the answers, or always have the best solution to a problem. That humility and self-awareness should serve him well.

“I think I’m collaborative. I like to see how the other coaches can help,” Whitebread said. “I know I don’t have the answers to every situation, so I’m going to try to pick their brains and try to figure out what the best solution is.”

In his first year leading the team, Whitebread isn’t planning any radical changes. In fact, he expects much to remain the same – perhaps with an added emphasis on the defensive side of the ball.

“There’s some things I want to focus on in terms of how we play. I want to compete harder than any team we play – that’s one play at a time –and I really want us to focus on that,” Whitebread said. “I want the guys to be selfless, where it’s about the team,

about each other, rather than the individual goals. Lastly, we’ve gotta be positive. Adversity is going to hit us at some point, so we have to embrace that rather than run from it.

“Being a defensive coach, I’m probably going to spend a little more time on defense, kind of what we’ve been doing. We run the ball, that’s kind of our style. Grind it out. Not letting any big plays beat us.”

Schedule

Date Opponent

Aug. 25 Bureau Valley, 7 p.m.

Sept. 1 at Kewanee, 7 p.m.

Sept. 8 at Monmouth-Roseville, 7

Sept. 15 Morrison, 7 p.m.

Sept. 22 Newman, 7 p.m.

Sept. 29 at Orion, 7 p.m.

Oct. 6 at Riverdale, 7 p.m.

Oct. 13 Sherrard, 7 p.m.

Oct. 20 at Rockridge, 7 p.m.

Shaw Media file photo by Alex T. Paschal – apaschal@shawmedia.com Erie-Prophetstown’s Jase Grunder fights for yards against Bureau Valley during their Week 7 Three Rivers crossover game last season.

Shaw Media file photo by Annette Barr Erie-Prophetstown’s Amen Barron (52) and Michael Collins (50) tackle St. Bede quarterback John Brady (4) during their Week 2 Three Rivers crossover game last season.

Forreston looks to ‘keep the train moving’

By TY REYNOLDS sports@saukvalley.com

Another year, another group of Cardinals ready to step up and fulfill the high expectations that come with the territory of two decades of success.

Last year’s run to the Class 1A semifinals was the seventh trip in the last 11 years and the 12th straight postseason berth for the Cardinals. They had qualified for the playoffs 22 of the last 25 seasons, and have had only one sub-.500 record since 1997.

It’s a lot to live up to, but it seems like Forreston is up to the task year in and year out.

“It feels great to be the next group up,” senior running back Kaleb Sanders said. “The only thing is it’s just a lot of pressure to keep everything going. But we love that challenge.”

“It’s kind of a lot of pressure, because we’ve had so many good years,” senior lineman Ethan Bocker added. “But most of us have been in the program long enough to understand it and just be competitive about it. We want to carry on that tradition.”

The key to such a long stretch of success has been a stable system. Ever since Greg Wood came in as head coach in 1997, the Cardinals have been a perennial playoff contender. When Denny Diduch took over in 2008, he helped Forreston take the next step, winning 1A state titles in 2014 and 2016. Kyle Zick stepped in and added a third title in 2018.

Now, Keynon Janicke enters his third season at the Cardinals’ helm. A player under Diduch, he has followed in Zick’s footsteps of keeping things the same since Diduch took the program to

the promised land.

“What’s really cool about Forreston is just the tradition that Coach Diduch started when I was in school,” Janicke said, “and now being the head coach, it’s just really cool to see that we’re still reaping the benefits of that.”

Every year, opponents know what they’re going to get when they face Forreston: a dynamic rushing attack with a physical fullback and speedy tailbacks behind a big offensive line, and a hardnosed defense with toughness in the trenches and linebackers and defensive backs who fly around and make plays.

And no matter who graduates one year, the Cardinals are still going to be a force to be reckoned with the next season. Janicke said this year’s seniors are ready to take the reins.

“We lost some great kids again from last year – we were a 5-4 team and those seniors were able to propel us to a semifinal, which was really cool. But unfortunately, like anything else, they have to move on with life,” Janicke said. “But the thing that’s cool about that is now other kids get an opportunity to step up and let it be their time for a little bit.

“We’ve got a really interesting group of seniors, a lot of them that have been starters since they were sophomores, and they’re ready to be leaders on this team. It’s just same old, same old, just keep the train moving and hopefully get some more guys involved. It may be some different names, but that’s what’s really cool about this whole experience.”

A lot of that experience can be found on the lines. It’s always a welcome sight for a team that relies on the ground

game to be able to build their scheme behind veteran players up front.

“It’s pretty key, just the experience on the line. It’s going to help us a lot, because we all know what we’re doing and just how it all works,” Bocker said. “We all bond together, and it makes it easy to play together. We’re in the weight room a lot, and just all the stuff we do together makes us mesh on the field.”

Earleen Hinton – ehinton@shawmedia.com Forreston players walk off the field following a scrimmage on the Cardinals’ football field on Thursday, July 27, 2023.

Continued from page 8

They also bring back sophomore WR/DB Roman Romer, a second-team allconference performer at both positions who totaled 40 tackles and five interceptions last year, as well as a pair of honorable mention Allconference OL in junior Will Anderson and senior Nick Handfeldt, and an honorable mention all-conference P in junior Josh McNett ... “We feel that it will be important for us to stay healthy as we don’t have a lot of depth at certain positions,” Freed said. “We need to be able to run the ball well to have good balance offensively, and defensively, win the battle up front. Having an advantage on special teams and also winning the turnover battle each week [will be key for us]. “With Jack Ries returning at running back, we feel that the backfield will be a strength, with Schumacher and Heller added in. Defensively, we have some good size and

experience returning on the defensive line with Will Anderson, Josh McNett, and Nick Handfelt.”

Lena-Winslow

2022 record: 14-0

Coach: Ric Arand

Worth noting: The Panthers have won three straight Class 1A state titles, but they have a ton to replace. Gone from a season ago are 10 defensive starters and eight offensive starters. Back to lead the team are three letter-winners: OLB/FB Gage Dunker, OT Odin Stabenow and OT Tanner Kempel. Dunker was a unanimous all-conference pick in 2022 and IHSFCA Class 1A All-State honorable mention ... Lena-Winslow won’t have as much as experience as in years past, but it will have depth on both sides of the trenches. Luke Kempel, Luke Stabenow, Brady Aurand and Alex Packard step in as twoway lineman. Nick Tippett, Lucas Fye, Cobryn Lynch and Blake Duncan will contribute in the offensive and defensive

Good luck to all area teams on your upcoming season!

backfields ... Mason Spidahl, Quinn Rodebaugh and Casey Klever will play at tight end; Spidahl and Rodebaugh will see time at defensive end as well, and Klever will get some snaps at outside linebacker. “We had a great summer on the track and in the weight room. We need a lot of guys to step up and mature quickly to be successful.” Arand said.

Stockton

2022 record: 3-6

Coach: Sean Downey

Worth noting: The Blackhawks bring back two All-conference selections in OL/DL Michael Haas and OL Wesley Logemann ... Running backs Karl Hubb and Tanner Gile return to lead the backfield ... Senior Colby Tucker moves to QB senior Brady Haas will come in at S/ TE, and senior RB/LB Carson Mcpeek will be the primary return man ... Jeremiah Luke and Mark Detwiler are slated for sizable roles as underclassmen ... Stockton’s primary strengths are expected to be at DB, RB and OL. “Staying healthy [will be

key for us] - most of our depth will be sophomores,” Downey said. “Our expectation is to compete in every single game and improve throughout the year. Le-Win is the favorite [in the NUIC] until someone beats them. Du-Pec, Forreston will be right at the top. I think the conference will be competitive night in and night out.”

West Carroll

2022 record: 0-9

Coach: Mike Bicksler

Worth noting: Bicksler takes over for Teo Clark as head coach ... The Thunder returned to a full-season schedule last year for the first time since 2019, a season in which they finished 5-5 with a playoff appearance ... OL Iggy Baragan, TE Austin Lehr and WR Aaron Becker are top returning players ... OL Durlin Richardson is a newcomer poised for impact ... “Keys to success is to win as many of the little battles on the line as we can and have a bend, but do-not-break defense,” Bicksler said.

Fulton

More smooth sailing for Steamers?

By TY REYNOLDS sports@saukvalley.com

The Fulton Steamers have fit in nicely in their first two seasons in the Northwest Upstate Illini Conference. Now, a new group of Steamers is out to prove they can follow up the success from the last two years.

After second-place finishes in the NUIC and back-to-back trips to the Class 1A quarterfinals in 2021 and 2022, Fulton lost big senior classes following both seasons. That leaves most of the starting spots open and needing to be filled by less-experienced players who didn’t get a lot of playing time in the past.

But this year’s squad takes some comfort in the fact that last year’s seniors were kind of in the same boat. Many of them had to wait their turn behind the players ahead of them, and they came out and had success when they got their chance as seniors, matching the 9-3 record from 2021.

“We lost 19 seniors from last year, but coming into this year, we realize that a bunch of those seniors didn’t get a lot of playing time as juniors either, and they still performed well, so we believe that our seniors this year can come in and perform well, too,” senior Baylen Damhoff said.

Key losses from last year’s offense are quarterback Brayden Dykstra (1,583 pass yards, 16 touchdowns), running back Lukas Schroeder (812 rush yards, 5.8 yards per carry, 12 TDs), running back/receiver/returner/defensive back Ryan Eads (646 rush yards, 43 catches for 403 yards, 14 total TDs, kick-return TD, 5 interceptions), receiver Ethan Price (13 catches, 254 yards, 2 TDs), and first-team all-state lineman Braiden Damhoff, who also had 78 tackles, seven tackles for loss, and a sack on defense.

Also on that side of the ball, lineman Zane Pannell (137 tackles, 17 TFL, 3 sacks, 6 fumble recoveries) and linebackers Conner Sheridan (132 tackles, 5 TFL, 5 INTs, 1 INT-return TD), Joel Ford (124 tackles, 19 TFL, 3 sacks) and Ben Fosdick (108 tackles, 9 TFL, 2 sacks, 3 INTs) leave big shoes to fill.

And on special teams, honorable mention all-state kicker Endi Qunaj was a key weapon after hitting 45 PATs and seven field goals while booting 22 touchbacks.

“We’ve just got to fill in those spots, keep working to get better. We have to step and and fill in their spots, and try

to play our best,” senior Trevor Tiesman said. “I think it does give us confidence to see those guys have that success. I think the guys we’ve got coming up are going to fill in spots pretty good. I think we’re pretty big this year, and the line has to really fill in; we lost our guy Braiden, he was our anchor, so those will be big shoes to fill. But I think our line’s going to be pretty good this year, and everywhere else, we’ve got some good players.”

Longtime coach Patrick Lower likes what he’s seen so far this offseason. Now entering his 17th season as Steamers head coach, and 24th as a coach in the program, he’s seen a lot of strong classes come and go, and believes tradition is a big piece of Fulton’s success.

“I think it does set the tone. Hopefully with the success we’ve had the last few years, we can just kind of keep it rolling a little bit,” he said. “But a lot of young guys are going to have to prove themselves. We’ve got a lot of coaching to do and a lot of work to do, but our kids are very receptive to that and understand the process.”

Lower credits that to the continuity in the program.

“I think that comes from being here with some longevity and having basically the same assistants that we’ve had for all these years,” Lower said. “I always say the one thing I’m the most proud of is that since 1968, we’ve had

four coaches at Fulton High School in football, and I think that’s pretty cool.”

That string started with Dale Giesler (1968-82), followed by Al Schuitema (1984-88) and Jim Proud (1983, 1989-2006). Darel Mensch started the trend of coaches staying for at least five seasons, coaching from 1955-58 and again from 1962-67.

Not only do the kids grow up in the program seeing how things are done before them, but they see what it takes to have success – and they’re eager to show what they can do and live up to those high expectations.

“I feel some hunger from the guys, and I just feel the idea that these kids know what to expect and know what we expect of them is big for us. We just kind of keep going with the tradition, and keep working hard and hopefully putting a good product out on the field every Friday night,” Lower said. “But really, just teaching the game of football and letting these kids understand, and now it’s their chance to kind of prove themselves, and we’re excited about that – and they are too.”

As a three-year starting receiver, Baylen Damhoff – who had 50 catches for 637 yards and nine touchdowns last fall – is one of the few guys returning this season with a lot of varsity

experience. Along with his three years of varsity basketball, he’s comfortable in a leadership role as he enters his final year of high school.

Tiesman also returns after getting quite a few snaps last season, especially at defensive back. He says that instead of feeling pressure by Fulton’s tradition of success, this year’s team has used it as motivation to keep on winning.

“It means a lot to be the next group to keep it going,” he said. “We’ve just got to keep working hard on the field and in the weight room. We have to go into every game wanting to win and thinking we can win. We have to be confident; playing with confidence is key.”

And it all starts in the offseason, which has been going well.

“Our weight room attendance has been pretty good this year, we’ve had a lot of numbers in there. That’s going to be a big key for us, and getting everyone here; we can’t be missing these practices, because they’re important when the season comes,” Tiesman said.

“It starts in the weight room with our strength coach, Jared Wessels, who does a great job with the kids. We’ve been having good workouts this summer,” Lower said. “We don’t use too many of our contact days, just enough to kind of give them the taste of football, and then when we get started on August 7, they’ll be full go.”

Entering their third year in the NUIC, the Steamers are starting to feel comfortable after seeing each team head-to-head at least twice. They’ve beaten every team in the NUIC at least once except for two-time defensing 1A state champion Lena-Winslow, which has defeated Fulton in both the regular season and the quarterfinals in each of the last two years.

Schedule

Date Opponent

Aug. 25 at Forreston, 7 p.m.

Sept. 1 Lena-Winslow, 7 p.m.

Sept. 8 Eastland-Pearl City, 7 p.m.

Sept. 15 at Stockton, 7 p.m.

Sept. 22 at Dakota, 7 p.m.

Sept. 29 Galena, 7 p.m.

Oct. 6 Durand-Pecatonica, 7 p.m.

Oct. 13 at Knoxville, 7 p.m.

Oct. 20 at West Carroll, 7 p.m.

Alex T. Paschal – apaschal@shawmedia.com

Fulton football players run through drills during camp on Tuesday, July 18. After back-toback runs to the Class 1A quarterfinals the past two seasons, the Steamers must replace a majority of their starting lineup. See more photos from camp at SaukValley.com.

Experience should help fill big shoes

By TY REYNOLDS sports@saukvalley.com

This season’s Milledgeville football roster will look fairly similar to last year, with a few key differences.

While the Missiles lose only six players off last year’s squad, they were big pieces of the puzzle that led Milledgeville to a 7-4 record and an I8FA first-round playoff victory for the second straight season.

The biggest shoes to fill were left by top receivers Kacen Johnson and Bryce Aude, running back Kolton Wilk, and two-way lineman Eric Ebersole, a three-year varsity starter.

But dual-threat quarterback Connor Nye is returning this fall for his third season as a varsity starter, and he believes that the experience some of the younger players got in 2022 will help fill the void left by those key skill players.

“We had a lot of underclassmen that played last year, a lot of freshmen that played, so they have a lot of experience,” Nye said. “We don’t have very many freshmen this season, but the sophomore class has really stepped up a lot. Hopefully that helps take care of the spots of some of the key players that we lost.”

Nye ran for 933 yards and 12 touchdowns last year, and also threw for 1,344 yards and 26 TDs, with only four interceptions.

Head coach Jason Wroble says it’s Nye’s leadership through the offseason that has allowed him to take the next step in his development.

“I think having a kid like Conner who’s had a ton of experience has really helped. As a sophomore he just played offense, and he was real green; last year he played both sides of the ball. And now he’s become a good leader for us,” Wroble said. “I think the big thing is the kids realize what our expectations are, as far as performance in the season, and also performance in the weight room and performance on the practice field. Those older guys, having that expectation, are passing it on to the younger kids, and everybody’s coming out and working hard.”

Senior lineman Bruce Raymond says that meeting those expectations was easier because of the experience the younger players got last year, as well as the Missiles having two years of eight-man football under their belts.

“It’s definitely a lot easier on our

mindsets, just being able to know what’s coming. Eight-man was just something that we had never done before my freshman year, but now that we’ve got our feelers in, it’s definitely a lot easier on us,” Raymond said. “We’ve got a decent amount of guys coming back from last year; we lost good players, but we definitely have had a lot of guys come in to try and fill those spots. The freshmen last year, they’re going to help us a lot. They got good reps on scout team and on the field, and they’re definitely going to help us this year.”

Added production from some fresh faces will be welcome by Wroble and his staff. Wilk had 832 yards rushing and 136 yards receiving with 13 total touchdowns, and also returned a kickoff for a score. Johnson had two kickoff return TDs and three punt returns to the end zone, and had 40 catches for 816 yards and 13 touchdowns. Aude bounced back after missing the end of his junior season with an injury to provide solid defense in the secondary and a consistent set of hands for Nye as a receiver.

But Wroble sees several potential successors at the skill positions, and has liked the effort put forth by his players throughout the offseason.

“We always try to have the mentality of ‘next man up,’ and I think we have some young guys who are ready to step up. I don’t know if we’re going to have the breakaway speed that we had last year, and the hands on the perimeter with Kacen and Bryce and Kolton, but I think we have some nice pieces,” Wroble said. “Konnor Johnson is a sophomore, but he got a lot of time last year as a freshman. Micah Toms-

Smith, he played last year as a sophomore quite a bit, had some quality time, and I think he’s going to step in there nicely. And Spencer Nye, Connor’s little brother, he’s worked real hard in the weight room, he’s a kid that just has a nose for the football, a tough, scrappy kid like Connor. You look at him and he’s not big and imposing, but man, he plays hard and has that grit.

“So I think we’ve got some nice pieces back – we’ve got some big shoes to fill, for sure – but I’m excited about our younger kids being able to fill those shoes.”

Connor Nye believes hard work in the weight room and the attitude his team plays with is key for the younger guys stepping up and filling in.

“We just play hard, that’s what we do. We don’t give up, don’t look back. Obviously the outcome is the outcome, but we

just play tough until that last whistle to finish games,” he said. “We’ve been hitting the weight room a lot, we’ve had a special coach come in and he’s really helped us lift weights better, and a lot of kids have gotten stronger because of that.”

The schedule is also a friendly one for the Missiles. They start with five homes games in the first six weeks of the season, with the lone away game just a short 13-mile trip down the road to visit rival Polo. With Peoria Quest taking over Aquin’s schedule and having to play all road games, Milledgeville will have six games at Floyd Daub Field this fall, including last year’s state runner-up Amboy-LaMoille-Ohio in Week 6.

The Missiles also have a pair of long road trips to Pawnee and Decatur for Saturday games in Weeks 7 and 8 to go with the short drive to Polo.

Milledgeville again looks to be one of the top teams in eight-man football this season, but Raymond knows the players can’t sit back and expect to win just because of past success.

Shaw Media file photo

Milledgeville defenders tackle a ball carrier during the Missiles’ camp Tuesday, July 25, 2023.

Morrison

‘Our speed is going to kill’

By DAN WUSSOW dwussow@shawmedia.com

MORRISON – The Morrison football team took a big step forward last season, improving from 1-7 the season before to a playoff-qualifying 5-5.

This year, it hopes to keep that momentum going.

With first-year head coach Nathan Vandermyde, an experienced lineup, and plenty of senior leadership, the Mustangs feel they’re ready for the next step.

“This year is going to be a good one, I believe. There’s a lot of tough opponents, we’re a smaller school, but we returned a lot [of players], so I’m looking forward to this year,” senior running back/safety Chase Newman said. “We had a lot of young kids [in 2021 and 2022]. We were young, we grew. We’ve got a lot of seniors this year, and I think that we’re a 7-2 team this year.”

“I think we’re able to build on that. Last year was a good season,” junior quarterback Colton Bielema said. “We made a lot of improvements, we’re going to get better this offseason and do better this year.”

As a first-year starter at quarterback, Bielema has some big shoes to fill. Last year, the Mustangs were led by Danny Mouw, a second-team allTRAC West pick on both sides of the ball. In 2022, Mouw went 65-for-114 passing with 14 touchdowns and one interception. His 1,180 passing yards was the second-highest single-season total in program history.

But now, it’s Bielema’s turn. And Vandermyde has complete confidence in him.

“Colton Bielema will be coming in as the quarterback. He’s been behind Danny Mouw the past two years, so it’s a little bit of a learning curve for him, but he’s a great kid, smart kid,” Vandermyde said. “He’s picking up on the offense, he’s known the offense for the past two years, so I have high hopes for him.”

With three of the top offensive weapons returning, and all but two starters back, Bielema should have plenty of help this year.

Morrison welcomes back Newman, an honorable mention 1A IHSFCA allstate pick and second-team all-TRAC West RB, who rushed for 327 yards and a touchdown on 39 carries, and caught 28 passes for 559 yards and

six touchdowns last year.

It also returns sophomore running back Brady Anderson, who racked up 660 yards and 10 touchdowns on 103 carries, and caught five passes for 74 yards and two touchdowns last season as a freshman.

Senior Carson Strating, a first-team all-TRAC West linebacker and honorable mention running back, is back as well. He rushed for 588 yards and seven touchdowns on 159 carries last season.

With so much speed at the skill positions, the Mustangs hope to create consistent matchup problems.

“I think our speed’s going to be what most people struggle with, our speed is going to kill,” Strating said. “I think our speed is going to be the strongest part of our offense. And on defense, we’re going to be fast and strong.”

“We’re going to have speed, so our outside game is going to be really, really fast,” Newman said. “And our passing is going to be right there, too.”

So far, the coaching transition has been a smooth one for the Mustangs.

As a former assistant coach, the players already know Vandermyde well.

“It’s been great. He’s been in the program for quite some time now, and he played college himself at North Central, so he’s a great football mind,” Newman said. “I’m looking forward to this year.”

“It’s been great,” Bielema said. “He’s a great coach, and we all love him.”

Every year, there’sa lways tough competition in the Three Rivers Athletic Conference – on both sides. This year, the Mustangs expect Princeton and Rockridge to be their toughest opponents, but they know they’ll need to be ready for everyone.

“It’s a tough schedule. We’ve got some big bruisers on the schedule that are tough year in, year out,” Vandermyde said. “Princeton is a perennial playoff team that’s been really good in the Three Rivers, Rockridge is always tough. Practically every single team presents their own challenges. It’s going to be

a tough schedule.”

“[We want to] win the conference. I think a big one is to end up beating Princeton in Week 2 – that’s a goal that we’re looking forward to, and a lot of us are excited for it,” Newman said. “A lot of people are counting us out right now, but I think we have a real great chance to win that one. And another goal is make a run in the playoffs. That’s our big goal right there.”

Morrison hosts Mendota for the season opener on Friday, Aug. 25 at 7 p.m. at E.M. “Bud” Cole Field.

Schedule

Date Opponent

Aug. 25 Mendota, 7 p.m.

Sept. 1 at Princeton, 7 p.m.

Sept. 8 Orion, 7 p.m.

Sept. 15 at Erie-Prophetstown, 7 p.m.

Sept. 22 at Monmouth-Roseville, 7

Sept. 29 Sherrard, 7 p.m.

Oct. 6 Rockridge, 7 p.m.

Oct. 13 at Riverdale, 7 p.m.

Oct. 20 Bureau Valley, 7 p.m.

Alex T. Paschal - apaschal@shawmedia.com

The Morrison football team goes through workouts during a camp Tuesday, July 25, 2023. The Mustangs will open their season at home against Mendota at 7 p.m. on August 25 at E.M. “Bud” Cole Field.

Newman way ahead of last year heading into LeMay’s second season

By TY REYNOLDS sports@saukvalley.com

Last season was a bit of a learning curve for the Newman Comets. This season, they feel like they’re ahead of the curve.

With a brand new head coach bringing in a different offensive system in 2022, Newman’s players were forced to learn a lot of new things in a short amount of time last summer.

Now with a year in coach Mike LeMay’s system under their belts, the Comets are looking to hit the ground running next month.

“It’s a lot more comfortable. We have a lot of our offense and defense down now,” senior Mac Hanrahan said. “We changed a lot last year, so it feels a lot more comfortable this summer because we know what we’re doing. We’re not learning everything new all at once now, so it’s a lot of just fine details and tuning everything up for the season.”

LeMay was hired at the end of March 2022, and he went right to work last offseason getting the players up to speed. A former Comet himself, LeMay knew the “Blue Machine” tradition, but also brought in some new ideas after spending a decade as a defensive coach at Sterling High School.

Everybody involved knew it was going to be an adjustment, but the Newman players picked it up quickly and steadily improved throughout the season. That has been a foundation for this offseason.

“We’re picking up right where we left off. Last year, we were trying to get into the swing of things with a new coach and a new offense and everything,” senior Carter Rude said. “We’ve been working all throughout the winter, going over film, going over new plays and formations. Right after school ended last year, we got into some lifting, some practices – not full contact, but the guys were still going in and working as a team.

“Last year was just a lot of learning all the new stuff. This year, we’re acclimating a lot better to it.”

LeMay liked the growth he saw last season. After a 2-2 start, the Comets won three of their final five games to qualify for the playoffs. And even though they lost in the first round against Rockridge, it has been a strong springboard into the offseason.

“To be expected, with all the changes and nuances that were coming in last year, we’re more comfortable now. We’ve really made

some big-time strides this summer, and it’s really pleasing to see that the kids are really picking up on stuff,” LeMay said. “They’re asking the right questions, which is always good. We did a lot of stuff during the school year, too, when we could, like classroom sessions and absorbing stuff, and it’s showing; when we can get out on the field and practice stuff, it’s working.”

Newman enters 2023 looking for some new faces to step up at the skill positions. Four of the six leading rushers graduated, including top backs Nolan Britt (414 yards) and Hunter Luyando (336 yards), as well as quarterback JJ Castle (188 rush yards, 595 pass yards). Top receivers Ayden Batten (21 caches, 409 yards), Britt (11 catches, 112 yards) and Gabe Padilla (11 catches, 69 yards; 130 rush yards) are also gone.

But returning backs like Carter Rude (237 yards) and Brady Grennan (234 yards) will have a veteran offensive line to run behind, and whoever takes over at QB will have Hanrahan (2 catches, 43 yards) and Isaiah Williams (5 catches, 59 yards) as weapons down the field.

That lineman group brings back all but three of the 11 players from last year’s roster, and the returning players got quite a bit of experience last fall. The Comets believe that building from the lines outward is a good formula for their attack.

“Since we have such low numbers, it’s just nice to have a position area where we have some veterans in there,” Rude said.

“I like it a lot when we have experience on the lines,” Hanrahan added. “The skill guys, I think, are going to do pretty good this year. We have me and Isaiah both coming back as wide receivers; we both started to play a lot last year, so that’s pretty good. Everyone else is pretty good in their position, so I feel pretty good about that.”

As the first day of practice gets closer, Newman’s players and coaches realize that they’re much farther ahead of where they were last year at this point. Instead of trying to implement new things, the Comets are honing the skills they’ve already picked up under the coaching staff heading into LeMay’s second season at the helm.

“I think it’s just sharpening

up all the areas that we’re not totally ready in,” Rude said, about the key to being ready for Week 1 at the end of August. “We’re still going over things, fine-tuning everything, working on special teams, things like that. We just need to sharpen up the edges and we’ll be fine.”

Hanrahan said the biggest difference in Week 1 this year will be the comfortability the Comets have in their aerial attack, something they were still adjusting to at the start of last season.

“I think most people are expecting our run game, but I really think that our passing game is a lot better this year, and I think that we’ll be able to come out and do both, mix the run and the pass right from the start,” he said.

LeMay knows that Newman has some holes to fill on the offensive side of the ball, but with the experience in the trenches and some returning starters at the second and third levels of the defense, he feels that the skill positions will come along quickly and the Comets will be ready to play their usual hard-nosed, physical brand of football right out of the gate.

Alex T. Paschal – apaschal@shawmedia.com

The Newman Comets work against Dixon during a 7-on-7 event Thursday, July 20, 2023 at Sterling High School’s Roscoe Eades Stadium.

Continued from page 10

six games with a hamstring injury, the Clippers were forced to turn to Jones. The then-sophomore proved to be up to the challenge, passing for over 400 yards and nine touchdowns, while leading them to a 4-2 record in his starts.

Now that he’s the full-time starter, Payne and Blaine are excited to see what he can do.

“I can’t wait to see how he is this year. Eddie did a phenomenal job last year in the games that he played for us,” Payne said. “He’s a year older, he’s been in the weight room all summer, he’s gotten bigger and quicker. I think Eddie’s going to have a great year, and he’ll do a great job of running the offense for us.”

“I feel great about him taking over, because he has that experience from last year,” Blaine said. “He played for half the season, did great, so we’ve already played around him, and we’re ready to do it again.”

Jones is feeling confident, too, after handling himself well in those six starts last season. He feels to ready to lead the team in 2023.

“It helped me gain a lot of confidence. It’s not like I’m coming in here with no experience,” Jones said. “I’ve

played varsity quarterback, like six games, and I’m ready to play QB this year.”

In the eight-man football field, there’s always going to be some tough competition. Unity Christian (formerly Decatur Lutheran), Polo and Milledgeville should be some of the toughest opponents this year.

“Our schedule, it’s no easy task. We open up against, they used to be Decatur Lutheran, now they’re Unity. They have a very good running back back, and obviously, we’ve got Polo, Milledgeville, they’re both always good every year, well-coached teams,” Payne said. “And then we’ve got Cambridge, they’re a very well-coached team, too. There’s going to be a lot of competition. I think it’s wide open this year, anybody can win it this year. There’s a lot of good football teams out there, and it should be a fun, exciting year.”

“A game that I’m looking out for is Polo, Week 9, for sure. We’ve got a long way to go until then, but Polo, great coach, they’ve got Brock Soltow coming back. They’re a great, wellrounded team, so we’re looking forward to that game,” Blaine said. “Week 1, Decatur as well. That’s who we’re preparing for now. They have Lleyton Miller – he was one of the best running backs in the league last year – so we’re looking forward to that game as well.”

• ASHTON

Continued from page 11

lessons was to not let negative plays affect the next one.

“We learned that we just have to push through whatever happens. We can’t get hung up on the last play, you’ve just got to keep going and play hard every play,” Bevan said. “The key is going to be just staying confident and working as a team to keep pushing, not giving up when we start getting down.”

With fewer players on this year’s team, Logan Mershon says one of the big keys is to make sure the Raiders are in better shape to handle a heavier workload.

“We lost a lot of people, so we obviously have to condition more because we won’t have as many people on the sideline. It’s just a lot of conditioning, getting into the weight room, getting people in shape. Hopefully it will lead to another good season,” he said. “We’ll just have to rely more on practice to get us back into it, and get everyone running their drills and their routes well. We have a big skill

class, so that’ll help too, just get everyone a lot of reps and experience.”

After the success of last season –the Raiders lost their first two games, then bounced back to win six of their next seven before losing in the first round of the Illinois 8-Man Football Association playoffs – coach Mershon sees a positive affect on his players’ attitudes and approach, and how they’re preparing for this fall.

“Last year, when we were pretty successful, the whole offseason before that, we had only two or three kids in the weight room regularly. This past year, we had about 10 every day. That’s a lot better, so they see it and I think they know if they put in the work, it’ll turn into wins,” he said. “I see their confidence; that want to win. They’re eager, they’re hungry. We’ve even had five or six new guys who have never played before come out for the team, so that’s a big help.

“We can’t replace the class we had last year; they were really athletic and really good leaders. But they set the tone and turned things around here in Ashton, and we’re going to move forward and hopefully that continues.”

Oregon

‘Great to be back’ for Hawks

By DAN WUSSOW dwussow@shawmedia.com

OREGON – The Oregon Hawks are in the midst of a rebuild entering Year 2 under head coach Broc Kundert, but it still sees a brighter future ahead, even though wins have been hard to come by recently.

With a great offseason turnout for workouts, a large number of returning players, and a year to adjust to the coaching change, the Hawks are feeling optimistic about 2023.

“We feel really good [about Year 2 under Kundert],” senior wide receiver/ linebacker Trevor Burkhart said. “He’s been showing us a lot more, what his training methods are with the teams that he coached in the past and how they all had success, and he’s starting to give us that success, too.”

“[Last season] helps with our trust in Coach, because last year was our first year, so we weren’t sure how it was going to go,” senior wide receiver/ cornerback Griffin Marlatt said. “And now, it feels a lot better to have that one year under our belt with him. We have a lot of trust in him and what he can do. The progress has been great [during the offseason]. We’ve had a lot of numbers in the weight room, a lot of people showing up to all the workouts, putting in a lot of work, and it’s going to really show this season.”

Ever since the 2022 season ended, the Oregon players have been champing at the bit to get back on the field. On Monday, that day finally came.

“It feels really good. It’s always great to get back into the season,” Marlatt said. “You’ve always got new people joining the team, and you get to see the development of the team throughout the year. It just feels great to get back in there and get back to playing football.”

“I also feel like we all are a lot more conditioned than we were before, because we put in a lot of work in the offseason,” Burkhart said. “A lot of lifting and conditioning in the Blackhawk Center, so we’re pretty excited to go.”

One thing that should work to the Hawks’ benefit – this year and in the future – is the increase in numbers for the program. Coach Kundert says those have held steady since he took over last year.

“We wanted to get numbers up, and they’ve been pretty consistent. Last

year, we were right around 65-70; we’ll be right at the same again this year, which is nice,” Kundert said. “Really, we just want to put an emphasis on the weight room, and getting bigger and faster just to be able to compete in the conference. I felt like that part’s gone really well this whole offseason, so I’d say we’re taking steps in the right direction as far as that goes.”

Continuity in the starting lineups and game experience will help this year as well, as nine offensive starters and eight defensive starters return from 2022. The incoming junior class will patch holes and add depth, too.

“We’re replacing two kids on the line offensively, and then defensively, we have to replace three kids, so we return a ton of guys,” Kundert said. “Last year, we started four sophomores, one at quarterback, so they’ll all be juniors. And our sophomore class last year, with those guys gone, were still 6-3 in the conference, so there’s some talent coming up that we feel pretty excited about.”

With a smaller senior class last year, the sophomores and juniors got a lot of playing time. This year, it should prove invaluable in their junior and senior seasons.

“A lot of us seniors have more experience since we didn’t have as many seniors last year, so we had more juniors come up, and we all got a little more experience than most would,” Burkhart said. “We all have a little

more experience under our belts, and hopefully it’ll pay off.”

Coming off a 2-7 season, the Hawks expect to be viewed as underdogs in almost game they play this season. In a way, that could work in their favor.

“It’s tough [in the Big Northern]. Week in and week out, there’s not a week you can take off and expect to win,” Kundert said. “We’re kind of in the bottom quadrant right now of groups of teams, so we’ve gotta be ready to play every week because no game is going to be easy for us. Just having that mindset going in every week that we’ve gotta prepare because we’re probably

the underdog is kind of a good thing. We can’t take any weeks off, so continue to improve all throughout the season.”

Schedule

Date Opponent

Aug. 25 North Boone, 7 p.m.

Sept. 1 Dixon, 7 p.m.

Sept. 8 at Genoa-Kingston, 7 p.m.

Sept. 15 at Winnebago, 7 p.m.

Sept. 22 Byron, 7 p.m.

Sept. 29 at Stillman Valley, 7 p.m.

Oct. 6 Rock Falls, 7 p.m.

Oct. 13 Rockford Lutheran, 7 p.m.

Oct. 20 at Rockford Christian, 7

Photos by Alex T. Paschal – apaschal@shawmedia.com Oregon football players run through drills during camp Tuesday, July 11, 2023, on the practice field at the high school. Preseason practices don’t start until August 7, but local teams will use their summer contact days over the next few weeks to start to prepare for the 2023 season.

Oregon football players run through drills during camp Tuesday, July 11, 2023 on the practice field at the high school.

Alex T. Paschal - apaschal@ shawmedia.com

Polo looks to pick up where it left off

By TY REYNOLDS sports@saukvalley.com

Last season was one of exponential growth for the Polo Marcos. Now, they hope to keep building from there.

After starting 2022 with several questions marks following their second straight Illinois 8-Man Football Association state championship, the Marcos came out of the gate a bit slowly.

But in both of their losses through the first four weeks, they found something to hang their hats on. Against Amboy-LaMoille-Ohio in the season opener, it was an 8 1/2-minute touchdown drive in the fourth quarter. Against rival Milledgeville in Week 4, it was a new direction on offense.

Polo won the rest of its regular-season games, then made a run to the I8FA state semifinals for the third straight season before losing on the final play of the game to eventual champion West Central.

“I don’t think many people watching us Week 1 would’ve thought we would be one play away from going to Monmouth again [to play in the state championship game], but our kids really dealt with adversity well last year, and matured a huge amount in that 12-week schedule,” Polo coach Ted Alston said. “The nice thing is we have a lot of big contributors coming back this year who have matured even more – physically matured, mentally matured – and become our leaders.”

The biggest improvement as the season wore on was in the trenches. With the offensive and defensive lines decimated by losses to graduation after the 2021 season, the Marcos were looking to a lot of inexperienced players stepping into key roles up front.

But that group got better and better each week, and by the end of the season was paving the way for a 2,000-yard rusher in Sauk Valley Media Player of the Year Brock Soltow and a 900-yard rusher in Avery Grenoble.

The only senior in that group last year was Waylon Harris, so now the lines look to be a strength from Day 1 this fall.

“Our offensive line last year was key. We lost a lot of seniors from the year before, and we weren’t very big, but you don’t really need size in eight-man – it’s more about speed – and we just kept getting better,” senior Landen Brooks said. “And we return pretty much everyone from that offensive line besides one guy, and I think

we’ve already got that one spot filled, so if we continue with what we’ve got going and our guys can step up like they did last year in the playoffs and continue to play like we did at the end of last year, we should be good.”

The playoff run was even more impressive considering Grenoble suffered a knee injury the day before the first-round game. The loss of their standout running back/linebacker would have played mind games with some teams, but not the Marcos; they rallied around their fallen leader and used it as fuel for their playoff run.

One of the players who stepped up when Grenoble went down was Delo Fernandez, who had some huge touchdown runs in the postseason last year and provided a strong second option after Soltow.

Fernandez believes that strong finish to 2022 will pay dividends right from the start in 2023.

“I think we’re going to start off really strong. We’re going to know our offense a little better. I feel good about our team this year,” he said. “I feel really confident in my team to be able to fill in the spots that we lost seniors from last year.”

The offense started clicking after the switch at halftime against Milledgeville in Week 4. Soltow started taking the direct snap in a Wildcat formation, and he would either hand it off to Grenoble or keep it himself. Cayden Webster was able to move to a halfback position and serve as a lead blocker, and Polo started to find its rhythm, scoring 60 points or more in each of the last three weeks of the regular season.

That has the Marcos thinking big

once again this fall.

“We’ve got tons of confidence. After our losses [last season], we were kind of stuck and didn’t really know what to do. Then we got a new offense going and picked up some big wins along the way,” Brooks said. “We went into the semifinals against the best team – they won the state title – and played a very good game, played them very close, right down to the final seconds. I think that will just continue into this year.”

Soltow led the area in rushing by a wide margin last season, as his 2,407 yards were 800 more than the next back, and his 39 touchdowns were 15 more than the next player. He also ended up throwing for 202 yards and four touchdowns after the offensive change.

Fernandez finished with 327

yards and four scores, and Noah Dewey is also back and looking for a bigger role after a touchdown run and a touchdown catch last year. Both Fernandez and Dewey were on the Class 1A 4x100-meter state championship relay team for Forreston-Polo this past spring, as well as the fifth-place 4x200 relay. Dewey and Soltow ran on the fourth-place 4x400 relay team in Charleston.

With such success the direct result of hard work, it’s no wonder the Marcos have put in the time and effort this offseason to try and improve.

“It’s been a good summer for us. I think we’ve got nice depth, we’ve got good skill, we’ve got all of our linemen except one coming back on each side of the ball, and whenever you can have that experience, that’s going to help,” Alston said. “There’s a couple kids we have to replace that are going to be tough to replace, but hopefully our kids are up for that and do all right with that. I think we’ll be pretty competitive.”

Alex T. Paschal – apaschal@shawmedia.com

Polo football players run through drills Wednesday, July 27, 2023 during a camp at the high school. The Marcos steadily improved throughout last season, and look to build on that in 2023.

Rockets ready to rewrite narrative

By DAN WUSSOW dwussow@shawmedia.com

Every high school football season offers a fresh start. For the Rock Falls Rockets, it can’t come soon enough.

After a winless 2022 campaign, they have everything to prove and everything to gain. And that’s what’s been fueling them all offseason.

“Everyone is going to be thinking it’s normal Rock Falls, but we’re going to show them this year is different,” senior running back/safety Kohle Bradley said. “We’ve just been working hard for this season. We’re going to make sure it pays off.”

“We’ve just gotta find a way to prove them wrong. All of the tough times we’ve had in the past years has built up to this, so here goes nothing. The season’s coming up,” senior quarterback/defensive back Vinnie Lombardo said.

An increase in numbers program-wide is a sign of progress for the rebuilding Rockets. With more competition in practices, they hope to field a much better team in 2023.

“I feel great about our chances of improving this year. Observations are a higher number of kids committing, more kids in the program. Just taking that step,” Rock Falls coach Kevin Parker said. “It’s just, in this conference, those things take time when you’re coming from the bottom. So we’re hoping to keep working hard and crawl out of the cellar of the conference.

“We have a lot of returning starters. A lot of these kids that are juniors this year, a handful of them were starting their freshman year on varsity. We’re taking another year in the maturation process of our program. We expect to have more improvements as our core, who are this year’s juniors, gets older and gets more experience.”

Bradley and Lombardo are also expecting results this upcoming season. So far, they like what they’ve seen in the offseason.

“I think everything that we worked for in the offseason is going to pay off during the season, and that’s what our program’s really starting to figure out right now,” Bradley said. “And that’s why we’re going to kick this year off with a bang.”

“I think with the amount of work we’ve put in this summer, it’ll be a bet-

ter outcome,” Lombardo added.

Every year, there’s tough competition in the Big Northern Conference. This year is no exception, with Stillman Valley and Byron looming large in the first two weeks.

“I don’t know how it can get much better, especially with us starting off with Byron and Stillman Valley,” Parker said. “When you’re trying to create a program and then you’re playing the state’s best for decades, it’s hard to get around that. But we have to be smart enough, we have to work hard enough to be able to work around those situations, and get our wins when we can.”

Ultimately, the Rockets share the same goal as every team: making the playoffs. But Parker knows it will be a process to get there.

“Really, our team goals are just to get better. When you want to start throwing out things like playoffs and stuff like that, you want to take the first steps,” Parker said. “You can’t run until you take steps, and when you’re coming from a winless season, we’ve gotta take steps. If we have a chance to sneak into the playoffs, that would be wonderful for us, and that would be a great goal.”

Sept.

Oct.

Photos by Alex T. Paschal – apaschal@shawmedia.com

Rock Falls football players run through summer camp drills Monday, July 17, 2023 behind Hinders Field. The Rockets hope an increase in numbers and a large core of returning players can help them bounce back after going winless last season.

Sterling

‘As wide-open as we’ve ever had’

By DAN WUSSOW dwussow@shawmedia.com

STERLING – As summer heats up in late July, so does the quarterback competition at Sterling football camp.

Through the first week-and-a-half of 7-on-7s and camp, it’s been a threehorse race for the starting job.

The contenders so far? Senior Cale Ledergerber and junior Joe Holcomb – both converted running backs/ receivers – and junior Drew Nettleton, last year’s third-string quarterback.

As the 2023 season draws nearer, the quarterback depth chart will come into focus. Right now, the starting job is anyone’s to win.

“What is it, the 20th today? And I don’t know if I’ve got a good answer for you yet. We’ve got three kids competing, and we think three different kids bring different skill sets to the table,” Sterling coach Jon Schlemmer said at a three-team 7-on-7 with Dixon and Newman this summer. “I don’t necessarily have a good answer. It’s not like I’m trying to hide anything, there’s just a lot of competition left. And getting into fall camp, there’s going to be guys competing for that job. Being this late in the summer, it’s as wide-open as we’ve ever had. We’ve still got time to figure some things out, but there’s nothing there yet.”

Last year, the Golden Warriors relied heavily on two senior quarterbacks: Kael Ryan, a Class 5A IHSFCA All-State selection and Western Big 6 MVP, and JP Schilling, an all-Western Big 6 first-team selection.

Ryan rushed for 1,178 yards and 22 touchdowns on 154 carries, and was 36-for-68 passing for 387 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions last year.

Schilling went 50-for-80 passing for 680 yards and seven touchdowns, and rushed for 641 yards and 12 touchdowns on 124 carries.

Suffice to say, replacing them will not be easy.

“Those are two special, special high school players. They brought not only the physical attributes of being able to run the ball, being able to scramble, kind of get out of some sticky situations, but they both led on the field,” Schlemmer said. “And Kael, a little bit more of a running guy, but both guys played both ways, so they’re going to be hard to replace. But we have good kids that are coming back up. Some of

the intangibles that both of those guys had, it’s not something I coach. It’s just what they were born with. They worked hard to get their skill sets and get the things that they needed to get, but they’re tough ones to replace.”

The starting quarterback job, wide open as it is, could come down to who is the most efficient passer. Decision-making will also influence the choice, and running ability could separate one from the rest.

“We have three people in the quarterback competition right now. It’s a pretty good competition,” Ledergerber said. “I’ll definitely have to complete like 50% or more [of my passes] to have the starting job, passing-wise, anyway. We have some pretty good quarterbacks in the quarterback room.”

“I’ve thought it’s been really good. It’s been a really tough competition, too, because Cale and Joe, they’re both really good players,” Nettleton said. “So it’s been really difficult, but I think to win that, I’ll just have to complete more passes, make better reads and

better decisions overall.”

“It’ll definitely take determination [to win the job],” Holcomb said. “We have a lot of people coming in at quarterback.”

Each quarterback could add a different dimension to the offense. Nettleton, a varsity baseball pitcher and shortstop, is the most polished passer of the three. Ledergerber and Holcomb are dangerous runners; their 4x200 relay team won the Class 2A Illinois Top Times indoor state track & field championship in March, then earned fourth- and sixth-place medals in 4x200 and 4x100 at the IHSA outdoor state meet in May.

Schlemmer is intrigued by all three.

“Cale Ledergerber, he’ll be a senior. He played running back for us the last couple of years, and the kid can really, really, really scoot, man,” Schlemmer said. “He’s a good-looking athlete, he runs really well, he’s

good in open space. I think he’s working on some things as far as he just hasn’t played quarterback ever before. The reads in the pass games and certain things like that, they’re going to come, it just takes time. And it doesn’t always happen immediately.

“Drew Nettleton, who’s a junior –we think he throws the ball really well, and he’s got a pretty good understanding of our pass scheme and what we’re trying to do. So he does a good job with that.

“And then Joe Holcomb, who’s kind of played receiver/running back before, he’s just such a dynamic athlete, and he’s a smart kid. And once things start slowing down for him, we think he can be really, really good.”

As a converted running back/ receiver, Ledergerber is still developing as a passer. But that previous experience, although at different positions, is coming in handy.

“I never played quarterback when I was younger, but playing receiver and running back helps a lot because I already know some of the reads for run plays,” Ledergerber said. “And then it helps with knowing what the DBs are going to do on pass plays.”

In the wake of the senior departures at quarterback – as well as running backs Antonio Tablante and AJ Kested – Sterling has big production and leadership voids to fill. To reach its lofty goals this season, the seniors will need to rise to the occasion.

“Definitely leadership, someone needs to take control,” Holcomb said. “Some seniors need to step up and lead the team, for sure.”

“We definitely have to have some people step up as vocal leaders in practice and on the field during games,” Ledergerber said.

Schedule

Date Opponent

Aug. 25 at Metamora, 7:30 p.m.

Sept. 1 Wheaton St. Francis, 7 p.m.

Sept. 8 at United Township, 7 p.m.

Sept. 15 Galesburg, 7 p.m.

Sept. 22 at Princeton, 7 p.m.

Sept. 29 at Geneseo, 7 p.m.

Oct. 6 Quincy, 7 p.m.

Oct. 13 at Rock Island, 7 p.m.

Oct. 20 Moline, 7 p.m.

Alex T. Paschal – apaschal@shawmedia.com

A Sterling quarterback throws a deep pass against Newman during a 7-on-7 competition Thursday, July 20, 2023 at Roscoe Eades Stadium. There are three players competing for the Golden Warriors’ starting quarterback job this fall: senior Cale Ledergerber and juniors Drew Nettleton and Joe Holcomb.

West Carroll setting sights on playoff berth: ‘Anything less is a failure’

By DAN WUSSOW dwussow@shawmedia.com

SAVANNA – After an offseason of uncertainty, West Carroll will field a varsity football team this year.

Last year, the Thunder returned to a full varsity schedule for the first time since 2019. This year, they probably won’t have a JV team, because of low numbers and an injury, but at least there’s another varsity season to look forward to.

That was especially good news for this year’s seniors, who hope to end their high school careers on a better note than the Class of 2023 did.

“It’s definitely a little scary, because I’m a senior and these four years have gone by pretty fast, but I’m excited for what our team can accomplish,” senior wide receiver Aaron Becker said. “It’s definitely a relief having a varsity squad this year, and I’m just excited for what’s ahead.”

Senior tight end Austin Lahre is also ready for one last hurrah.

“I’m really excited to go play some football, and I’m very happy that we have a varsity team this year,” he said.

Last year, the Thunder stumbled to an 0-9 finish, trying to navigate depth issues and a difficult Northwest Upstate Illini Conference schedule.

But the winless season has added fuel to the fire. West Carroll hopes to translate that into wins this season.

“It’s lit a fire in me. I wasn’t happy with what we did and how we came out, and that’s why I stuck around to be head coach,” said Bicksler, who takes over for Teo Clark. “I wanted to be better, and make better men.”

Becker and his teammates hope to flip the script after a challenging 2022 season.

“We weren’t happy about what happened last year, and we definitely used that as motivation for this year,” he said.

This year, the offense will be led by sophomore quarterback Winter Harrington.

Last year’s starter, A.J. Boardman, transferred to Fulton. Bicksler and Becker are expecting good things from the young passer.

“He’s going to command the offense, and I expect him to have a big impact this year,” Becker said.

Added Bicksler: “He’s been making a big impact with his leadership and how he’s running the offense for us.”

With only four or five returning starters on each side of the ball, the Thunder will be counting on a lot of new players to step up. Fortunately, they have a big senior class they can turn to.

Bicksler expects the sophomore Harrington, and senior offensive linemen Durlin Richardson and Iggy Baragan to be team leaders this season.

Becker and Lahre agreed that a successful season would be making the playoffs, and nothing less. The Thunder last made the playoffs in 2019, finishing 5-5 that year.

“A successful season would definitely be a playoff berth,” Becker said. “Anything less is a failure.”

Bicksler is focusing more on the micro than macro this season as West Carroll tries to rebuild.

“I’d like to win a few ballgames, but what I’ve really been focusing on coming off the season we have is concentrating on the small battles,” he said. “Trying to be fundamentally strong, improve every game. I know those are cliches, but when you’ve lost like we have, you’ve gotta start somewhere.”

Earleen Hinton – ehinton@shawmedia.com

West Carroll’s Austin Lahre (right) defends a pass against Eastland-Pearl City during the spring 2021 season.

2023 Master Schedule

When and where to see your favorite team each week

WEEK 1

Friday, Aug. 25

• Decatur LSA at Amboy, 6 p.m.

• Dixon at Stillman Valley, 7 p.m.

• Rock Falls at Byron, 7 p.m.

• North Boone at Oregon, 7 p.m.

• Newman at Rockridge, 7 p.m.

• Bureau Valley at Erie-Prophetstown, 7 p.m.

• Mendota at Morrison, 7 p.m.

• Galena at Eastland-Pearl City, 7 p.m.

• Fulton at Forreston, 7 p.m.

• West Carroll at Lena-Winslow, 7 p.m.

• River Ridge at Milledgeville, 7 p.m.

• Peoria Heights at Polo, 7 p.m.

• Sterling at Metamora, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Aug. 26

• AFC at Orangeville, 1 p.m.

WEEK 4

Friday, Sept. 15

• Galesburg at Sterling, 7 p.m.

• Genoa-Kingston at Dixon, 7 p.m.

• Rock Falls at Rockford Lutheran, 7 p.m.

• Oregon at Winnebago, 7 p.m.

• Newman at Rock Island, 7 p.m.

• Kewanee at Bureau Valley, 7 p.m.

• Morrison at Erie-Prophetstown, 7 p.m.

• Eastland-Pearl City at Forreston, 7 p.m.

• Fulton at Stockton, 7 p.m.

• Durand-Pecatonica at West Carroll, 7 p.m.

• Peoria Quest at Amboy, 7 p.m.

• Orangeville at Milledgeville, 7 p.m.

• Polo at Ridgewood, 7 p.m.

• AFC at South Beloit, 7 p.m.

WEEK 7

Friday, Oct. 6

• Quincy at Sterling, 7 p.m.

• Rockford Christian at Dixon, 7 p.m.

• Rock Falls at Oregon, 7 p.m.

• Princeton at Bureau Valley, 7 p.m.

• Rockridge at Morrison, 7 p.m.

• Erie-Prophetstown at Riverdale, 7 p.m.

• Eastland-Pearl City at Lena-Winslow, 7 p.m.

• Durand-Pecatonica at Fulton, 7 p.m.

• Stockton at West Carroll, 7 p.m.

• Amboy at AFC, 7 p.m.

• Blue Ridge at Polo, 7 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 7

• Hall at Newman, 1 p.m.

• Milledgeville at Pawnee, 1 p.m.

• Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley at Forreston, 2 p.m.

WEEK 2

Friday, Sept. 1

• Wheaton St. Francis at Sterling, 7 p.m.

• Dixon at Oregon, 7 p.m.

• Monmouth-Roseville at Bureau Valley, 7 p.m.

• Morrison at Princeton, 7 p.m.

• Erie-Prophetstown at Kewanee, 7 p.m.

• Durand-Pecatonica at Eastland-Pearl City, 7

• Lena-Winslow at Fulton, 7 p.m.

• Forreston at Dakota, 7 p.m.

• Galena at West Carroll, 7 p.m.

• Amboy at River Ridge, 7 p.m.

• Peoria Quest at Milledgeville, 7 p.m.

• Alden-Hebron at AFC, 7 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 2

• Stillman Valley at Rock Falls, 1 p.m.

• Polo at Orangeville, 1 p.m.

• Sherrard at Newman, 6 p.m.

WEEK 5

Friday, Sept. 22

• Sterling at Princeton, 7 p.m.

• Dixon at Rockford Lutheran, 7 p.m.

• Rockford Christian at Rock Falls, 7 p.m.

• Byron at Oregon, 7 p.m.

• Newman at Erie-Prophetstown, 7 p.m.

• Mendota at Bureau Valley, 7 p.m.

• Morrison at Monmouth-Roseville, 7 p.m.

• Stockton at Eastland-Pearl City, 7 p.m.

• Fulton at Dakota, 7 p.m.

• West Carroll at Forreston, 7 p.m.

• Amboy at Ridgewood, 7 p.m.

• Kirkland Hiawatha at Milledgeville, 7 p.m.

• Polo at River Ridge, 7 p.m.

• Rockford Christian Life at AFC, 7 p.m.

WEEK 8

Friday, Oct. 13

• Sterling at Rock Island, 7 p.m.

• Dixon at Byron, 7 p.m.

• Rock Falls at Genoa-Kingston, 7 p.m.

• Rockford Lutheran at Oregon, 7 p.m.

• Newman at Kewanee, 7 p.m.

• Aurora Central Catholic at Bureau Valley, 7

• Morrison at Riverdale, 7 p.m.

• Sherrard at Erie-Prophetstown, 7 p.m.

• West Carroll at Eastland-Pearl City, 7 p.m.

• Fulton at Knoxville, 7 p.m.

• Forreston at Durand-Pecatonica, 7 p.m.

• Orangeville at Amboy, 7 p.m.

• Peoria Quest at Polo, 7 p.m.

• AFC at Kirkland Hiawatha, 7 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 14

• Milledgeville at Decatur LSA, 2 p.m.

WEEK 3

Friday, Sept. 8

• Sterling at United Township, 7 p.m.

• Rock Falls at Dixon, 7 p.m.

• Oregon at Genoa-Kingston, 7 p.m.

• Princeton at Newman, 7 p.m.

• Bureau Valley at Hall, 7 p.m.

• Orion at Morrison, 7 p.m.

• Erie-Prophetstown at Monmouth-Roseville, 7

• Eastland-Pearl City at Fulton, 7 p.m.

• Forreston at Galena, 7 p.m.

• West Carroll at Aurora Central Catholic, 7 p.m.

• Milledgeville at Polo, 7 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 9

• Amboy at Martinsville, 2 p.m.

• AFC at Pawnee, 2 p.m.

WEEK 6

Friday, Sept. 29

• Sterling at Geneseo, 7 p.m.

• Dixon at Winnebago, 7 p.m.

• North Boone at Rock Falls, 7 p.m.

• Oregon at Stillman Valley, 7 p.m.

• Bureau Valley at Newman, 7 p.m.

• Sherrard at Morrison, 7 p.m.

• Erie-Prophetstown at Orion, 7 p.m.

• Eastland-Pearl City at Aurora Central Catholic, 7

• Galena at Fulton, 7 p.m.

• Forreston at Stockton, 7 p.m.

• West Carroll at Dakota, 7 p.m.

• Amboy at Milledgeville, 7 p.m.

• Decatur LSA at Polo, 7 p.m.

• River Ridge at AFC, 7 p.m.

WEEK 9

Friday, Oct. 20

• St. Anne at AFC, 6 p.m.

• Moline at Sterling, 7 p.m.

• North Boone at Dixon, 7 p.m.

• Winnebago at Rock Falls, 7 p.m.

• Oregon at Rockford Christian, 7 p.m.

• Newman at Mendota, 7 p.m.

• Bureau Valley at Morrison, 7 p.m.

• Erie-Prophetstown at Rockridge, 7 p.m.

• Eastland-Pearl City at Dakota, 7 p.m.

• Fulton at West Carroll, 7 p.m.

• Lena-Winslow at Forreston, 7 p.m.

• Polo at Amboy, 7 p.m.

• Bushnell-Prairie City at Milledgeville, 7 p.m.

READY CARE

When you’re ready for care, we’re ready for you!

The all-new CGH Ready Care offers WALK-IN care with expanded hours and services!

• X-ray Services On-Site!

Allows us to provide accurate diagnoses and efficient treatment plans as an alternative to an Emergency Room visit.

• Workers’ Compensation, initial injury visit

• Stitches, Strain/Sprain/Fracture Evaluation

• Prescription Medications On-Site

A limited number of common medications such as antibiotics, eye and ear drops, and inhalers may be dispensed on-site, if needed (for a flat fee).

• Follow-Up Appointments with appropriate specialists, if needed.

• Additional Services for...

Allergies, cold, influenza, ear infections, bladder infections, strep throat, pneumonia, COVID, rashes, camp & sports physicals, insect bites, minor burns and more!

Monday - Friday • 8 am to 8 pm (OPEN THROUGH THE LUNCH HOUR!) Saturday - Sunday • 8 am to 1:30 pm 15 W. 3rd Street (Lower Level) Sterling, IL 61081

www.cghmc.com/readycare