It
is a defensive coordinator's nightmare. A 4,000-yard
passer, two 2,000-yard rushers, two receivers with more
than 1,250 yards.
And that's just a few of the offensive weapons on
this year's Pantagraph All-Area Football Team.
The trigger man is strong-armed Prairie Central High
School quarterback Dylan Ward, who led the Hawks to
second place in the Class 4A playoffs with 46 touchdown
passes and 4,186 yards, fourth-best in state history.
The Southern Illinois baseball recruit is joined on
the 18th annual squad by two of his favorite targets --
area receiving leader Dustin Stephens (82 catches, 1,300
yards, 12 TD) and repeat choice Will Barsema (71, 1,253,
16 TD).
Add in speedy flanker Brandon Hughes of Class 6A
runner-up Bloomington (20, 668, 11 TD), and Ward would
have plenty of options.
Still, loading up against the pass would be a
mistake.
The All-Area backfield has speed as well with
Bloomington's James Wade (2,287 yards, 18 TD), a
repeater from last year, and Justin Hubbart of Class 1A
runner-up LeRoy (2,209, 27 TD). They are joined by
Gridley workhorse Joel Campbell, the area's
regular-season rushing leader with 1,645 yards in nine
games.
Finding holes would not be a problem.
The All-Area line has plenty of muscle in 6-foot,
300-pound Brock Weigelmann of Normal Community and 6-2,
280-pounder Brady Wrezinski of University High. They
head a unit which also includes 245-pound Graham
Nechkash of LeRoy, Isaac Schmidt of El Paso (214) and
Corey Marron of Tremont (220).
The squad has a capable kicker in Ridgeview's Jeremy
Ayers, who was 46 of 52 on extra points and pinned
Mustangs' opponents an average of 15 yards deeper on
kickoffs than last year.
Return threats include Streator standout Walter Moton
and Flanagan's Jac Jones, who had kickoff and punt
returns for touchdowns. He averaged 27 yards per kick
return and 18 yards per punt return.
Yet, as loaded as the offense is, the All-Area
defense is formidable as well.
Heading the list is Bloomington linebacker Justin
Harrison, a University of Illinois recruit who will play
strong safety in college.
A ferocious hitter, Harrison had a team-high 113
tackles and 20 sacks. He also returned two blocked punts
for touchdowns and rushed for 1,077 yards and 19 TD as a
fullback on offense.
Harrison is among four linebackers on the squad,
joining Pontiac's Ryan Benning, Deer Creek-Mackinaw's
Cody Frietsch and Normal Community junior Matt Lynch.
Each led his team in tackles, with Benning and Frietsch
also starring as running backs on offense.
The secondary has the area interceptions leaders in
Mahomet-Seymour's Brady Greene and LeRoy's Tom Marcum.
Each picked off nine passes.
They are joined by NCHS' Eric Scott, Nick Chiodo of
University High and Kyle Tutt of Class 2A champion
Iroquois West. Tutt, also a star quarterback,
intercepted eight passes.
The defensive line includes key players from state
runners-up LeRoy, Bloomington and Prairie Central.
LeRoy end Tim Jackson, the Panthers' leading tackler,
disrupted opposing offenses all year, finishing with 12
sacks, six tackles for loss and four fumble recoveries.
BHS end Dan Pettie was a force up front and also blocked
two punts in the postseason.
Curtis Bunch spearheaded Prairie Central's defensive
front with nine sacks, four fumble recoveries and 120
tackles.
The punter is Eureka's Jordan Thompson, whose
39.1-yard average led the area. The 6-4, 192-pound
Thompson also averaged 45 yards on kickoffs and booted
19 extra points and one field goal.
However, when it comes to versatility, no one rivals
El Paso's Jesse Smith, who was named to the team as an
all-purpose pick.
Smith rushed for 1,137 yards and 22 TD, passed for
922 yards and six scores, kicked 45 extra points,
averaged 37.0 yards per punt, led the Comets in tackles
and intercepted four passes. He was the area scoring
leader with 181 points.
