This is the ‘‘Year of the Quarterback’’ in the Chicago area and nobody has flown under the radar with less celebrity than 5-7, 150-pound Michael Pullano of Glenbrook South.
‘‘He executes our offense as good as anyone,’’ coach Mike Noll said. ‘‘He makes great decisions. He takes care of the ball. When a play breaks down, he has the ability to scramble and turn nothing into something.’’
Pullano will face his biggest test of the season today when Glenbrook South (9-2) meets Central Suburban South rival and top-ranked Maine South (11-0) in a Class 8A quarterfinal in Park Ridge.
In their first meeting in Week 8, Pullano threw for three touchdowns and ran for one as Glenbrook South built a 34-24 lead with 2:38 left in the third quarter only to see Maine South rally behind Matt Perez to win 45-34.
Pullano has completed 80 of 120 passes for 1,379 yards and 24 touchdowns — and he hasn’t thrown a single interception. He is ably supported by fullback Michael Hirsch, who has rushed 252 times for 1,478 yards and 24 touchdowns.
What must Glenbrook South do to win the rematch?
‘‘In the fourth quarter, we have to make plays. There is no magic potion. We haven’t been able to beat them in the fourth quarter, not since 1991,’’ Noll said.
BOUNCING BACK: Woodstock coach Steve Beard compares his current squad to Bob Bradshaw’s 1983 state championship team. Both teams were 2-2 at one point and relied on quarterbacks to bounce back. The 1983 team had Greg Bradshaw, who played at Northwestern. This year’s QB is Logan Kunzie.
Kunzie, a 6-3, 160-pound senior, has completed 164 of 284 passes for 2,546 yards and 30 touchdowns. His primary receivers are Mike Kremske, who has caught 55 passes for 930 yards and 16 touchdowns, and Scott Rausch, who has accounted for nearly 600 yards and eight touchdowns. Running back Mike Liedke, a 6-4, 240-pounder who is committed to Western Michigan, has rushed for 671 yards.
‘‘Things turned around for us in Week 4 [after losing to Cary-Grove 60-6] when we beat Huntley in double overtime,’’ Beard said of his 8-3 squad. ‘‘And again in Week 9 when we beat Crystal Lake Central 37-36 to win the conference title when they failed to make a two-point conversion at the end of the game. We got a lot of confidence.’’
RECORD-SETTER? Johnsburg tight end C.J. Fiedorowicz, who committed to Illinois, is three TDs away from surpassing the career pass-catching record of 43 set by Wheaton Warrenville South’s Jon Schweighardt in 1997-98 and Newton’s Levi Richards in 2004-06. The 6-7, 245-pounder has caught 42 passes for 880 yards and 14 TDs. He averages 21 yards per catch.
Barry Creviston, Johnsburg’s first-year coach, credits his team’s late-season success on a defense that has allowed only seven points in its last three games. The leaders are linebackers Mike Silvestri and Tony Vicicondi and Fiedorowicz, who also plays safety. On offense, Justin Peete has rushed 136 times for 795 yards and 11 touchdowns.
FOR THE DEFENSE: Glenbard West’s defense, led by linebackers Connor Loftus and Tim Hollowed, cornerback Jack Marston (seven interceptions) and 6-3, 280-pound sophomore lineman Tommy Schutt, hasn’t permitted a point in the last 10 quarters.
Coach Chad Hetlet predicts future stardom for Schutt, who has 13 sacks. As a freshman, he weighed 240 pounds and played wide receiver and running back. A superb athlete, he also starts on the varsity basketball team.
Schutt’s cousin Anthony Jahns, a 6-2, 220-pound senior defensive end/outside linebacker at Notre Dame, was an all-East Suburban Catholic selection this season.
SURPRISE: Prairie Ridge coach Chris Schremp is pleasantly surprised that his 8-3 team, which started 2-2 and tied for third in the Fox Valley Fox race, has advanced to the state quarterfinals.
‘‘We play a lot of young kids on defense but they’ve come together in the last few weeks. Next year was when I thought we would advance,’’ said Schremp, who starts four sophomores and three juniors on defense.
Defensive leaders are 6-5, 260-pound lineman Greg Drain, free safety Devon Vance and cornerback Kyle Peterson. On offense, fullback Tim Deering has rushed for 1,000 yards and quarterback Jon Williams has rushed for 700 in the triple option.
FEARSOME FOURSOME: Glenbard South has qualified for the state quarterfinals for the second year in a row but coach Dan Starkey's current 9-2 squad could be the best in school history. It is led by QB Trace Wanless, WR/LB Nick Slezak, FB/DL Austin Teitsma and WR/DB Connor Douglas.
Wanless, who is 16-2 as a starter in two years, has passed for 1,392 yards and 13 TDs and rushed for 1,084 yards and 16 TDs. Slezak has made 105 tackles, Douglas has amassed nearly 800 yards rushing and receiving and Teitsma, a 6-2, 235-pounder, has been offered by Illinois State and Ball State as a defensive end and by Northern Illinois and Buffalo as a fullback.
EXPECTATIONS: Richmond-Burton coach Pat Elder isn’t surprised that his 10-1 team has advanced to the quarterfinals. He returned 16 starters from last year’s semifinalist. His senior-dominated squad is led by tight end/defensive end Kyle Wismer (6-3, 205); fullback Kenny Riordian (6-2, 205), who has rushed for 1,200 yards in Elder’s Delaware wing-T; running backs Chad O’Kane and Justin Russell, who each have rushed for 950 yards; and offensive tackles Tyler Olker (6-2, 290) and Brad Jacobs (6-4, 225).
FINAL STATS: Miles Osei, Prospect’s multi-dimensional quarterback, finished his season by rushing 210 times for 1,365 yards and 21 touchdowns while completing 131 of 201 passes for 2,301 yards and 18 touchdowns for an 8-3 team.
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