Here are 10 Peoria-area high school football running backs to watch for 2023 season
High school football is so close to being back.
In a little more than a month, Peoria-area teams will take the field to kick off the 2023 campaign. This is the first of a multi-part series highlighting running backs, lineman, quarterbacks, wide receivers and defensive players to watch — plus much more ahead of the 2023 high school football season.
Here are 10 running backs to watch with players listed alphabetically.
Izaiaz Aguilar-Nunez, Limestone
The Limestone senior will be one of the premiere backs for the offense under second-year coach Jeff Schmider, who will also get carries from Connor Pilgrim. He rushed for 139 yards with one TD on 39 carries for the Rockets, who open the season at Mount Zion in Week 1. Nunez is back on offense with QB Caleb Bieneman, TE Henry Pardieck and WR Chase Harper.
IHSA football: Here are the Peoria-area schedules for the 2023 season
Mason Boles, Eureka
Despite missing four games to injury last season, Boles was named an all-Heart of Illinois Conference second-team running back. The 5-foot-11, 180-pound senior rushed for 460 yards with five touchdowns and averaged 5.5 yards a carry. He also played defense and recorded 37 tackles with a sack and four tackles for loss.
Brent Denniston, Deer Creek-Mackinaw
Denniston will take over as the primary back with the graduation of all-HOI second-team RB Lucas Blumeyer (760 rushing yards, 12 TDs). The 6-foot-1, 175-pound senior rushed for 442 yards with 6 TDs for the Chiefs, who open the season on the road at Chicago Academy. The all-HOI second-team RB played defense, recording 50 tackles.
Mark Frederick, Metamora
Frederick (371 yards, 3 TDs) along with Jaiduan Cranford (125 yards, TD) will become the new 1-2 punch in the Redbirds backfield. This duo will get a tough test in Week 1 by hosting Sterling. This will be a tall task to replace Kaden Hartnett (1,033 yards) and Kam Davis (750 yards), who combined for 23 rushing TDs.
Jack Hanley, Peoria Notre Dame
Hanley had a breakout sophomore season, rushing for 555 yards on 88 carries — a 6.3-yard average. His eight rushing TDs were a team-high for the Irish, who play Manual in Week 1. Now, the 5-foot-10, 175-pound junior will factor even more into coach Pat Armstrong's offense. Hanley was an all-Big 12 Conference honorable mention pick.
Peoria football: Peoria has a new high school football team. Quest joins the growing 8-player game
Kainon McQueary, Washington
McQueary was one of three juniors on the 2022 all-Mid-Illini Conference first team. The honor, though, was very well-deserved as he rushed for a team-high 1,189 yards and 16 TDs, while averaging 8.3 yards a carry. The 5-foot-9, 175-pound senior — who is coming off a standout lacrosse season this spring — also showed off his hands, catching nine passes for 70 yards.
Maliek Ross, Peoria High
Ross has a tall task of filling the shoes of reigning Journal Star player of the year Malachi Washington. The 5-foot-9, 187-pound senior now gets his shot at becoming the latest big-time back to come out out of Peoria High. “He’s a kid that if we had him as a starter (last season)," Lions coach Tim Thornton said, "he’d a been a 2,000-yard rusher too."
Namolos Thompson, Manual
As a sophomore, the 5-foot-10, 224-pounder grabbed all-Big 12 Conference second-team honors in just five games, rushing for 435 yards with two TDs on 5.3 yards a carry. He improved his body in the offseason, dropping 20 pounds and adding strength. Look for Thompson to have a breakout junior campaign, facing PND at Richwoods in Week 1.
Jack Wheelwright, Farmington
Wheelwright will help take over the backfield load from Rese Shymansky, who had 900 rushing yards and 16 TDs last season. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound senior got some time last season, carrying it 14 times for 107 yards and a TD. He'll be tested early in back-to-back road games against Tuscola and Aledo Mercer County in Weeks 3 and 4.
IHSA football: 5 Peoria-area Week 1 games that caught our attention
Blake Youngren, Olympia
The senior transfer should fit right into the flexbone offense of the Olympia program, which last season made the quarterfinals for the first time in 37 years. He rushed for 290 yards and three TDs for Pekin. Youngren got the third-most carries behind Tanner Sprecher and Kanye Tyler during the Dragons' historic Class 7A playoff run last season.
Adam Duvall is a Journal Star sports reporter. Email him at aduvall@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @AdamDuvall.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: IHSA football: 10 Peoria-area high school running backs to watch in 2023
