Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

Four in the Your Prep Sports area made debuts with their new teams on Friday night.

Adding to the intrigue and perhaps the opening-night nerves for three of those new coaches was the element of breaking in a new quarterback.

Thanks to strong first career starts from their quarterbacks it was happy coaching debuts for Lance Pedersen at Clear Creek Amana, Scott Chandler at Liberty High and Dustin Elsbury at Regina.

Liberty High junior Reece Rettig sparkled in his first career start at Liberty High completing 8-of-10 passes for 150 yard and two touchdowns as Chandler won his first game as head coach 56-45 over West High.

The 5-foot-10, 175-pound Rettig also rushed 10 times for 65 yards as Liberty High rolled up 565 yards of total offense.

Elsbury earned career victory number one as Regina used a strong game from junior first-year quarterback Kyle Tracy to hold off West Liberty led by former Regal head coach Jason Dumont.

The 5-foot-10, 175-pound Tracy completed 12-of-17 passes for 263 yards and three touchdowns and also rushed for 54 yards and a touchdown in the win.

Pedersen employed a two-quarterback approach on his way to earning a win in his Clear Creek Amana coaching debut.

Juniors Conlan Poynton and Wyatt Key split the quarterbacking duties for the Clippers in a 28-3 win over Marion and the duo combined to accumulate 197 yards of total offense.

News and Notes

Historic Win For Pedersen: Lance Pedersen picked up win number one at Clear Creek Amana on Friday with a 28-3 victory over Marion. Win number one at CCA was career win number 150 for Pedersen who won 149 games in previous stops at Mount Vernon and Wilton.

Miller’s Big Night: Dallas Miller was among the most productive pass catchers in the state last season ranking in the top 10 in Class 5A in nearly every major receiving category. In Friday’s opener against West High Miller did a lot more than just catch passes. Miller threw a 50-yard touchdown pass, had an interception, returned a punt 10 yards and had a 24-yard kickoff return. The senior also caught four passes for 92 yards and a touchdown in a 56-45 win over West High.

Strong Debut for Sheldon: City High freshman linebacker Marshall Sheldon showed he more than belongs at the varsity level on Friday posting a stellar debut against one of the top programs in the state of Illinois. The 6-foot, 173-pound Sheldon had a team-high 9.5 tackles including seven solo stops and a tackle for loss in a 50-22 loss to Joliet Catholic.

Do it all Dom: City High senior Dom Salibi is one of the best overall athletes on the roster for the Little Hawks. In Friday’s opener at Joliet Catholic Salibi showed off his entire skill set. Salibi had four receptions for 84 yards, rushed seven times for 66 yards, returned a kickoff 35 yards and made two tackles in a 50-22 loss to the Hilltoppers.

Players of the Week

Offensive player of the week: Liberty High senior running back Owen Drapeaux was a beast in a season-opening win over rival West High. The 6-foot-1, 210-pound Drapeaux rushed for 171 yards and three touchdowns on 24 carries in a 56-45 win over West High.

Defensive player of the week: Clear Creek Amana senior defensive back Owen Rosenberg had two interceptions, returning on 90 yards for a touchdown, and 2.5 tackles  in a 28-3 win over Marion.

Special teams player of the week: West High senior returner Mason Woods brought back a kick off 87 yards for a touchdown in a 56-45 loss to Liberty High.

Helmet Stickers

Offense: West High junior Julian Manson caught seven passes for 96 yards and a touchdown and also had a team-high nine tackles in a 56-45 loss at Liberty High.

Offense: Regina sophomore Tate Wallace caught six passes for 139 yards and a touchdown in a 42-28 win over West Liberty.

Offense: Clear Creek Amana junior quarterback Conlan Poynton rushed for 105 yards and a touchdown and passed for 45 yards and a score in a 28-3 win at Marion.

Offense: West High senior running back Butali Butali rushed for 119 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries and caught two passes for 21 yards in a 56-45 loss to Liberty High.

Defense: Liberty High junior linebacker Landon Bell had 12 tackles, including eight solo stops and half a tackle for loss in a 56-45 win over West High.

Defense: Regina senior defensive lineman Noah Clark had two tackles for loss including a sack among his 3.5 tackles in a 42-28 win at West Liberty.

Defense: Liberty High senior linebacker Nathan Burnett had 8.5 tackles, half a tackle for loss and picked off a pass in a win over West High.

Defense: Solon senior linebacker Oliver Owens had 5.5 tackles including 1.5 tackles for loss in a 33-7 win over Davenport Assumption.

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