'Make it count': How a father-son duo has Princeville headed to the IHSA football playoffs

PRINCEVILLE — Logan Carruthers sent the Princeville Princes a message on their game film system that read, "Who's gonna block No. 21?"

He was in fourth grade.

"Even at that young age, he would tag game film for me on the Hudl film system," said Logan's father, Princeville coach Jon Carruthers. "I think that was in 2017, when we were playing Forreston in the third round of the playoffs and we got to breaking down film.

"All of a sudden here pops up a (digital) balloon on the film asking 'Who's gonna block 21?' He had been sitting there watching film by himself and writing strategy notes to the team. He just loves football, has always watched film and bugged us about concepts."

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Princeville (5-3, 5-2) heads into Week 9 tied for third in the Lincoln Trail-Prairieland (Small) Conference standings. The Princes just defeated Rushville-Industry on Friday, likely clinching a playoff berth — with the season finale on the road against Annawan/Wethersfield (7-1, 6-1) serving as a way to improve their seed in Class 1A.

Now a senior and the starting quarterback, Logan Carruthers again has a message for the Princes:

"Make it count," he said. "I expect us to be in that playoff field."

A father-son duo and a goodbye

Friday was the final regular-season home game for the Carruthers father-son duo.

"It's been neat to see him grow as a player for four years, and as a person," Jon Carruthers said. "Every kid I watch on this team, I feel that way.

"That's hard for me to do, to look at Logan as dad during a football season. I'm always critiquing and coaching him and seeing what he can do better. Honestly, I always look at all my players that way."

Logan is one of four Carruthers boys, including freshman Collin, sixth-grader Dylan and third-grader Mason.

The two youngest boys are not playing football right now because Princeville doesn't have a JFL program. That's been the fact of life in the small town for years.

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"That's one of the things people don't realize about our high school team," Carruthers said. "These kids don't play football until they are freshmen in high school.

"We start out in our first day of practice teaching them a three-point stance. About 95% of our kids coming in as freshmen have never played football. They learn our system, our coaching, it's just something I'm used to now."

Quarterback, hunter, farmer

Carruthers missed two games earlier this season with a separated throwing shoulder.

He is back in action now and is ramping up, going 24 of 40 for 325 yards, a touchdown and three INTs in a 48-28 loss to South Fulton in Week 7. He added 119 yards and four total TDs against Rushville-Industry.

For the season, the quarterback is 63 of 115 passing for 1,098 yards, 13 TDs, four interceptions, a 55% completion rate, and a 17.4 yards-per-completion average.

He's also scored five rushing TDs. So he's had a hand in 18 of the Princes' 34 offensive touchdowns this season.

"We've thrown the ball a lot this year," Logan Carruthers said. "I've been around football my whole life and I know how to read defenses. I can see what is happening before the snap and it gives us an advantage.

"I love playing for him (his dad). I know the game plan, get to see what happens as coaches formulate it. Listening and talking to him makes me a better player."

When he was in second grade, his dad took him hunting. "I shot my first deer," Carruthers said. "I thought it was awesome. We dressed it together in the field.

"I still hunt, love it. My dad taught me football. He taught me how to hunt. He's who I look up to."

Away from football, the quarterback is zeroed in on agriculture. He works for R&N Trucking in Princeville, helping with mowing, harvesting, grain bins and lately, learning how to rip fields. He's been working on farms since he was a sophomore. He gets up at 8 a.m. on Saturday, after a Friday night football game, and works until 9:30 p.m. on the farm.

"It's going to be hard to step away from football, I would love to keep playing but with this (shoulder) injury, I don't know," Carruthers said. "But I could see myself as a farmer. I haven't decided that yet."

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He's heard from Aurora University, Monmouth College, Millikin University and Illinois College football programs.

Carruthers is an excellent athlete, competing in track and playing basketball on occasion for Princeville. He played baseball in junior high.

The 6-foot, 160-pound quarterback also studies football on TV.

"I like the QBs who can't always run," he said. "The pocket passers, Cousins, Brady, I've been watching a lot of Brock Purdy.

"They do it with their eyes."

And for Carruthers, it's been under the watchful eye of his head coach. And father. As his senior season winds down, Jon Carruthers knows this time with his son is running out.

"It's been neat to see him, watch him grow and get better at football and in life," he said. "I think maybe when the season is over there will be time to reflect back on all of it."

Dave Eminian is the Journal Star sports columnist, and covers Bradley men's basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @icetimecleve.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Princeville football's father-son duo at QB, coach head to playoffs