Pana is still the one to catch
Despite graduation loses, the Panthers look to repeat; Hillsboro could be the sleeper team
North Mac, Southwestern also in the hunt; Staunton looks improved

08/26/2022
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARBONDALE - The season that Max Lynch and his Pana Panthers put together last season was special as the club reached the 2A quarterfinals, which included a 10-game winning streak during the season.

The 39-12 loss to the Bulldogs, who were the eventual champs, didn't dampen the career of Lynch and his teammates who made went a combined 21-3 in two seasons.

Although much of the statistics from the past two campaigns will need replacing, don't look for the Panthers to fall off of the charts.

Coach Trevor Higgins will have them in another playoff run this fall.

The list of the top challengers for the South Central Conference crown will include teams that were in the playoffs a year ago and will return key elements.

Hillsboro has some skilled position players for head coach Joe Reed as they look to get past the first round of the playoffs and make an extended 3A run.

Carlinville took lumps early last fall before rallying to make it into the postseason for head coach Chad Easterly.

North Mac started the season strong last fall but stumbled late, losing a heart-breaker to Fairfield in the first round of the 2A tournament.

Southwestern and Coach Pat Keith narrowly missed the playoffs a year ago and would like to get back in the conversation.

Greenville also fell short of the mark last fall.

Staunton head coach Austin Sherfy and his team are still trying to find the right formula as are Litchfield and Gillespie.

Those three ended up 1-8, with wins against each other.

Like Pana, the Vandalia Vandals lost a prolific quarterback to graduation and those numbers will also need to be replaced if a repeat playoff appearance will happen in 2023-24.

Until someone takes them out, the Panthers are still the “Cat's Meow” in the SCC.

When you start talking about the high school football season in any of the conference in the ASV/ABV area in which there is a big set of shoes to fill, look no further than the Pana Panthers.

Head coach Trevor Higgins will look down his sidelines this season and there will be a player missing that will be very difficult to replace.

All-state quarterback Max Lynch has left his mark on the Panthers' program,

Lynch threw for 15 touchdowns as a senior last fall and was 90-of-165 for 1,430-yards.

Those numbers appear small compared to what the 6-0 senior did running the ball.

He averaged 11.5 yards every time he took off, netting an astounding 2,501-yards on 217 attempts.

He scored 30 touchdowns in 12 games for the Panthers, meaning he had a part of 45 of the 65 TD's Pana tallied last fall.

Perhaps his best performance last season came in a second round game at Fairfield where he put on an offensive show.

Lynch passed for 202-yards (on 14-of-15 attempts) and five touchdowns while rushing for 267-yards and two TD's in a 68-50 victory.

The Panthers lost their first game of the season to Vandalia last August and didn't lose again until the 2A semifinals at eventual champion Decatur St. Teresa.

There were other seniors who were important from the 10-2 club.

Five-eight senior running back Monte Weddle (301-yards/nine TD's), 5-10 senior Carter Beyers (319-yards, two TD's) and 6-0 senior Evan Swisher (395-yards, five TD's) represent most of the yardage and scoring from the Pana 2022-23 campaign.

All will need to be replaced if the Panthers are going to make their eighth consecutive playoff appearance.

Coach Higgins will turn to some returning letter-winners and underclassmen to tackle another tough SCC slate.

Wyatt Kyle, a 5-11 junior, takes over the signal calling duties this fall for Pana.

Kyle got into seven varsity games last season so he isn't without experience.

The Panthers' line has the most experience returning with 5-11 senior Blayne Pope, 6-2 senior Brandon Lehman and 6-0 junior Kamden Brown returning.

Coach Higgins mentioned Isaiah Harbert, a 5-7 juinor, as a running back/defensive back who added to the offensive onslaught of numbers last fall (21-carries, 109-yards and three TD's).

“With only four seniors this Panther team will be young and inexperienced, but not to be counted out. The junior and sophomore classes are loaded with tough nosed football players. The way their season ends will depend on how soon these young players catch up to speed on the offensive and defensive systems,” said Coach Higgins, who is 62-12 in his seven seasons at Pana.

Although the Hillsboro Hiltoppers will be missing four key players from last season's playoff run, head coach Joe Reed continues to build on to this team in his third season at the helm.

Hillsboro went 6-3 during the regular season and hosted Roxana in a first round game that was a physical battle won by the Shells, 13-7.

The four key players quarterback 5-10 senior Zane Duff, running back 6-2 senior Blaze Helton, running back 6-0 senior Jaben Compton and 5-11 senior lineman Reese Morford.

They represented a bunch of stats from last season.

Duff combined for over 1K total yards (548 passing, 551 rushing) in 2022-23 while Helton pounded out 482-yards rushing.

Compton was second on the team in rushing, with 842-yards on the ground while Morford added 15 solo tackles on defense last fall.

Nevertheless there are some good athletes ready to continue the recent success for the program.

The quarterback position will be filled by 6-2 senior Jace Stewart, who as a tailback last season gained 474-yards on the ground.

He actually threw a few passes last fall (4-of-10, 98-yards) and should transition smoothly into the QB slot.

Top running back 6-0 senior Dylan Lessman returns for Hillsboro as the senior topped all 'Toppers rushing the ball last season with 903-yards on 90-attempts.

Another offensive threats that returns is Zander Wells, a 5-10 senior wide receiver/defensive back.

Wells was the top target last season for Duff, catching 28 passes for 416-yards and five TD's.

Also offensively Coach Reed mentioned some newcomers to varsity action that should set into more playing time.

Five-nine junior running back/defensive back Seth Hubbart got a few carries a season ago for Hillsboro.

The lines on both sides will be important, as always.

The top returning linemen are Elliott Lentz, a 6-2 senior, 6-0 senior Cole Lencyzicki, 6-2 senior Chase Knetzer and 6-0 senior Landon Reincke.

All of whom were part of the team that ended up 6-4 overall.

Coach Reed will turn to some fresh faces to fill out the rest of the PT.

Five-nine sophomore running back Drake McSperrit, 6-0 junior lineman Jesse Ringhausen, 6-3 senior Alec Leetham, 5-10 junior defensive back Jackson Tuetken, 5-11 junior Caleb Page and 6-0 sophomore lineman Matthew Currie and senior Ketch Mills and are expected to make an immediate impact.

“I feel like we have a blue collar grind it out kind of team this year up front. Our speed at skill positions is something we are looking forward to seeing as well. I feel like the mix of returning experience with impact newcomers is something we can build off all year. I’m looking forward to see our upper-classmen get comfortable in our system and improve on little things now that they are familiar with our schemes,” said Coach Reed, a former player at then small school powerhouse Carthage.
New head coach Robbi Howard at North Mac will have a lot of new players on the varsity.

That's because there are 17 senior uniforms that will need kids to put on this fall for the Panthers.

We're talking about a boat load of statistics from last season's 8-2 team missing.

North Mac utilized two different quarterbacks last season and senior Kaden Brown has graduated.

Kaden Brown, a 5-11 senior, threw for 569-yards and seven TD's last fall while rushing for 1,040-yards and eight touchdowns.

That being said, Dane Vance, a 5-7 junior last year, returns for his junior season.

He will be the full-time signal caller in 2023.

Running and passing, Vance added over 500-yards of offensive for the Panthers last fall.

If there was ever a perfect football name it could be Payne McClean.

The 6-0 junior played a lot of minutes last season and is one of the returning players that Coach Howard will need.

Jonah Bearden, a 5-9 junior lineman/linebacker, is another one with some time spent in varsity.

The rest of the new-look Panthers will come from kids moving up.

Six-foot sophomore lineman Braden Turner and 6-0 sophomore Wyatt Raymond were mentioned along with 6-0 sophomore running back James Graves.

Wide receivers include 5-9 junior Cade McReady and 5-11 junior Roark Lewis, who will be targets from Vance.

Defensively the Panthers will look to be a mostly underclassmen group.

Coach Howard will call on Turner, Graves, McClean, 6-0 sophomore Ozzie Maddox, 5-10 junior Taylor Hampton, 6-0 sophomore James Nolting along with junior Xander Richardson and sophomore Kevin Bricker.

"We have had a good summer establishing a culture of speed/weight training being of emphasis. We will be very junior/sophomore heavy on Friday nights but having Dane leading us under center will be something we lean on, especially early on." said Coach Howard.

Although the Staunton Bulldogs went through a tough 1-8 season, there were some bright spots.

Senior quarterback Cody Ury passed for 1,029-yards last fall on 74-of-162 attempts with eight TD's.

According to head coach Austin Sherfy, Ury is only the fourth quarterback to do this in Staunton history.

Four other seniors; defensive end Zach Painter, linebacker Andrew Dustman, along with senior wide receiver Jacob Dillon and linebacker Ryan Gaines.

However some of the best news for the program is that the lower levels, the future kids of the program, have been successful against some of the kids they will face soon.

Six-three senior Braden Buffington was second team all-SCC player last fall and heads into his third straight campaign starting for the Bulldogs.

Sean Fleming, a 6-2 senior lineman, is also returning as three-year starter.

Third time is the charm apparently for the Bulldogs as there are some others who will suit up for Year #3.

Reece Girth, a 5-11 senior lineman, 6-2 senior tight end Daniel Blotevogel, 6-0 senior Cole Sternickle return.

Sternickle was a linebacker/fullback but will take over the quarterback role.

Three others mention by Coach Sherfy have played a lot of minutes the past two seasons.

Five-nine senior Jordan Snider, 6-0 senior Greg Knop, 5-10 senior Drake Rose and 5-8 senior Trace Trettenero are important.

Trettenero is a running back for the Bulldogs.

Dylan Jarden, a 6-0 junior, moves up into more minutes as a top defender for Staunton.

Thomas Campbell, a 5-10 junior lineman, 6-2 junior tight end and defender Thomas Scroggins and 6-2 junior defensive back/running back Christian Haas will all step up from the successful JV squad.

“We have 61 kids - including a 6-2 JV team and an 8-1 freshmen team eager to earn their role this season. Staunton was at 90 percent attendance in all 20 contact days this summer and are hungry to strive towards their goal of playoffs. The atmosphere and culture has really shifted this off-season,” said Coach Sherfy.

The Southwestern Birds were another of the bubble teams heading into the final weeks of the season, hoping for a fifth victory to secure a playoff berth.

However a loss to Hillsboro on the road in Week 8 eliminated the Birds from contention.

Coach Pat Keith's club picked a season-ending win over Gillespie to finish 4-5 but out of the postseason.

Many of the Birds on the varsity left the nest last spring.

Two of the seniors gone are quarterback Quinten Strohbeck and running back Jacob Fisher.

Strohbeck combined passing and rushing for over 700-yards while Fisher netted 577-yards on the ground.

Senior Collin Robinson departed after catching 11 passes for 152-yards for a team that passed infrequently.

Lane Gage gained 97-yards rushing his senior season.

All will be missed as the Birds head into 2023-24.

The top ground gainer for Southwestern returns for Coach Keith.

Grayson Brewer, a 6-0 junior tailback, took 134-carries for 828-yards and seven touchdowns last fall as a sophomore.

Six-three senior Logan Keith will be starting at tight end for the Birds and will be available as a backup quarterback.

Blake Rimbey, a 6-0 sophomore, will open the season at quarterback.

Brewer and Rimbey will be joined by Ryan Lowis, a 6-0 junior, in the backfield.

Seniors Rocky Darr, Hunter Newell and Ian Brantley will be wide outs that will help out the offense.

Sophomore Remi Malone will get some touches in the backfield.

Seven other seniors, all linemen and linebackers, graduated and will need to be replaced.

Carlinville, Litchfield and Vandalia didn't respond to any correspondence.