Here are the new QBs to follow in the Springfield area for the 2023 football season
A rash of new quarterbacks will assume command in the Springfield area on Friday and Saturday — especially among the area’s perennial top teams.
Here are some of the new QBs to know for Week 1, listed in no particular order.
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Rochester
Head coach Derek Leonard may summon not just two but three quarterbacks at the start of the season.
That includes juniors Elijah Carlson and Bryan Zulauf, and sophomore Tanner Beal, following a knee injury to expected starting QB Parker Gillespie.
Gillespie, a senior, primarily starred the past two seasons as a receiver. He not only led the Central State Eight Conference last season in receiving yards (1,129) and catches (61) with nine TDs but also generated 206 rushing yards and another TD and completed 9 of 10 passing attempts for 148 yards and two TDs to comfortably land on The State Journal-Register’s all-area offensive football team.
Gillespie is expected to return at some point during the regular season.
A multiple-QB system certainly isn’t new under Leonard such as the COVID 2021 spring season with Jack Friedewald and Hank Beatty and 2016 with Josh Grant and Nic Baker as a couple of examples.
It opens the playbook and brings a element of creativity, Leonard said.
“They each bring you something different and they've both done a great job in the summer,” Leonard said of the incoming QBs.
The Rockets, who have reached as far as the Class 4A state semifinals the previous two seasons, open Week 1 at Class 5A runner-up Peoria High on Friday at 7 p.m.
Williamsville
Senior Joshua Cates replaces Illinois High School Football Coaches Association all-stater Jake Seman as the starting QB after the latter set a number of school records en route to second place in Class 3A.
Cates has mustered key defensive plays the past two seasons but now primarily shifts over to the offense.
A third-year starter on defense, Cates cemented the 12-7 win over Tolono Unity in the state semifinals with the pass breakup in the end zone with just over one minute remaining.
Head coach Aaron Kunz said Cates has been a great leader.
“We graduated so many kids, but he’s been a huge part of our football team the last two years, so he has a good handle on what it takes to win and what it takes to succeed and what it takes to lead,” Kunz said. “He’s definitely been doing those things with the offense.”
The Bullets open Week 1 at Paul Jenkins Field against Petersburg PORTA on Friday at 7 p.m.
Pana
Two-time IHSFCA all-state QB Max Lynch wound up at NAIA Judson University after toppling numerous school records en route to the program’s third straight Class 2A quarterfinal appearance.
Junior Wyatt Kile now takes charge.
“Basically my biggest thing to him was, ‘I don't need you to be Max Lynch,’” coach Trevor Higgins said. “’I just need you to be able to manage the offense and win the turnovers,’ and do what he can do. I don't want any comparisons, so he's going to do well. He's an athletic kid and he's a hard worker, so I think he's ready.”
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Higgins emphasized the overall strength of the offense around Kile which includes running backs Isaiah Harbert, a junior, and Jamarion Cobbins, a senior. An experienced offensive line, dubbed the Legion of Doom, will also help ease the transition, led by seniors Brandon Lehman, Blayne Pope and junior Kamden Brown.
Pana welcomes South Central Conference rival Vandalia on Friday at 7 p.m.
Jacksonville Routt
Kellen Creviston, the son of head coach Barry Creviston, will orchestrate the offense after Kohen Hoots set multiple school records en route to the second round of the Class 1A playoffs.
The junior QB isn’t exactly a novice.
He not only appeared intermittently in mop-up duty last season but also started three games the preceding fall after Hoots went down with an injury.
“He got to sit behind a good one last year and he's really taking control of the offense,” Barry said. “It's the same system as last year. They went undefeated in JV, so hopefully we're just expecting him to move over and take the reins and be off and running.”
The Rockets begin the season at Hardin Calhoun on Friday at 7 p.m.. Both are excited for the future ahead, Barry said.
“He put a lot of time in over the summer at camps and had a quarterback coach up in the Chicago area, so we took about 8-10 trips up there to do individual workouts,” Barry said. “He's been waiting a while for this opportunity, so he's very excited, along with myself.”
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Chatham Glenwood
Jack Knudson graduated with IHSFCA all-state honorable mention honors after doling out 2,080 passing yards and 29 TDs en route to the first round of the Class 6A playoffs.
Coach David Hay said sophomore Colten Knoedler and junior Brady Dwyer will share the post this season. Both QBs bring limitless options to the table.
Glenwood welcomes nonconference opponent Danville on Friday at 7 p.m.
“They've both got a set of skills that can help the football team win, so that's what we're looking for out of them,” Hay said.
Springfield
The 6-foot-5 senior Paul Hartman was employed as a QB last year but will slide over to his more preferred niche as a tight end and receiver.
Sophomore QB Brody Scheffler will now handle the snaps after starting a number of freshman and JV games last fall.
Coach Jon Hebb said Scheffler turned out to be further ahead than anticipated over the summer.
The Senators debut on 7 p.m. Saturday at Memorial Stadium against Normal University.
“He did a great job last year as a freshman,” Hebb said. “We just said, let's let him do his thing and we can get the ball in Paul's hands and let him do his thing in space.
“That was the best thing for our team as a whole, and both of those guys understood that and bought into that, and they've done a great job.”
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Sacred Heart-Griffin
Senior Levi Hanauer succeeds IHSFCA all-state QB Ty Lott on the heels of the program’s sixth state title in Ken Leonard’s final season at the helm.
He will work with a bevy of other newcomers as well as new head coach John Allison. The program, otherwise, retains a similar feel under Allison, who was previously the offensive coordinator.
The Cyclones debut at Normal Community in a nonconference opener on Friday at 7 p.m.
Jacksonville
Senior Mani Moore will make the switch from running back to QB after the departure of IHSFCA all-stater Elijah Owens to Indiana State University.
Moore totaled 28 carries for 413 yards and six TDs out of the flexbone offense. Returning senior tailback Cam’Ron Mitchell was second in the CS8 with 844 rushing yards and eight TDs.
Jacksonville visits Decatur Eisenhower on Friday at 7 p.m.
Contact Bill Welt: 788-1545, bill.welt@sj-r.com, Twitter.com/BillWelt
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: IHSA football: New QBs to watch in Springfield area for 2023
