Hunter Janeczko carries on Yorkville’s tradition of standout linebackers who wrestle, set for showdown with Brother Rice

It’s the type of play Hunter Janeczko undoubtedly has made many times this season, in less pressurized spots.

A takedown. Or tackle, in football parlance.

As Plainfield Central running back Aaron Larkins was eating up chunks of yardage at a time last Friday, a seemingly immovable force, Janeczko shot through the line on third and one and dropped him short of the sticks.

“He stopped the bleeding a little bit,” Yorkville coach Dan McGuire said. “He’s had a lot of situations like that. He comes up with big plays to get us off the field.”

On a Yorkville defense teeming with young talent – more than half of the starters are juniors or sophomores – Janeczko has been the rock in the middle. He’s also carrying a recent tradition in the program, linebackers who also happen to be standout wrestlers.

Janeczko, a junior inside linebacker, went 23-2 during the spring wrestling season at 182 pounds, was all-conference, and qualified for the Illinois Wrestling Officials and Coaches Association state meet.

The leading tackler on Yorkville’s sophomore team in the spring, Janeczko is now the latest in the line of Foxes’ wrestlers/linebackers in a group that included Ben Stemmet, Cale Reeder and Will Schumacher.

“We have had a great tradition of really good wrestlers play linebacker for us, and Hunter is carrying on that tradition,” McGuire said. “He uses his wrestling skills on the football field. He is a very good tackler, gets great leverage and has one speed – that is 100%.”

Janeczko, who started football when he was four years old and joined wrestling at age nine, said the Stemmet twins, Ben and Nick, inspired him when he was younger. Janeczko was a freshman when the Stemmets were seniors.

The Stemmets were foundational players in a Class of 2020 that brought Yorkville back to the playoffs in 2018 after a three-year absence.

Now the Foxes are in the second round for the third straight time, hosting Chicago Catholic League/East Suburban Catholic Conference powerhouse Brother Rice at 4 p.m. Saturday.

“We’re feeling pretty good, glad it’s at home,” Janeczko said. “We like the energy that the fans bring. We’re working on communicating, playing faster, playing physical.”

That is the kind of football Janeczko has played all year.

Janeczko is second on Yorkville in tackles with 73, three behind fellow junior Blake Kersting with eight tackles for loss and two sacks.

Pretty good for a kid who almost didn’t play football this season to focus on wrestling.

“The season’s been pretty good; I really didn’t know what to expect on varsity, my goal was around 60 tackles,” Janeczko said. “Everyone just does their job on this team. My job, it depends on the team, but it’s mostly to stop the run.”

Janeczko in doing so has ably filled the huge shoes left by graduated inside linebackers Schumacher and Christian Aquino. McGuire said that he’s traditionally found that his defense’s best tacklers tend to also be wrestlers.

“Leverage is a huge thing, and just understanding how to prevent yourself from falling down and being top heavy, which is the opposite of me. I’d be a terrible wrestler,” McGuire said. “Hunter has the ability to get off the block and be in position to make a tackle and be not off balance. Our best tacklers are wrestlers because they use their legs, like a double leg takedown. They use their legs to sink their hips instead of just using their arms. the two biggest carryovers is leverage and tackling safely by lowering their hips, like a double leg takedown.”

Janeczko said that his background in wrestling helps him in football physically the most in bringing guys down.

“It’s like a double leg with ever tackle,” Janeczko said. “Get low, and hit them hard.”

The Foxes’ technique will need to be razor-sharp this Saturday with a high-powered Brother Rice offense coming to town.

The Crusaders, led by senior quarterback Jack Lausch – a Notre Dame baseball recruit who is also planning to play football in South Bend as a preferred walk-on – are averaging over 42 points per game.

“They have big-play ability on offense,” McGuire said. “Their quarterback has an arm strong enough to throw the ball on a dime any distance on the field, I saw him throw balls in the air 40-50 yards that are very accurate. That’s something we have to be on alert for. Unfortunately, a weakness of ours has been giving up the one big play a game. A big challenge for us is to prevent them from making those big plays and making them go 10-12 plays to score.”

While Brother Rice is considered one of the favorites in the Class 7A bracket, a Class 8A semifinalist in 2018 and 8A runner-up in 2018, likes the mindset his team is carrying into this one.

The Foxes have carried a healthy chip on their shoulder all year from some preseason predictions, and also welcome their first second-round home game in the recent string of postseasons.

“Definitely we’re excited to be here, but I do think these kids have believed in themselves,” McGuire said. “I don’t feel like there’s a lot of surprise in these kids. They really felt like they were good enough to make it where we’re at. Sometimes when teams make the playoffs you start changing things, and don’t act like you’ve been there before. I don’t sense that from these kids. Our kids are approaching this game like it’s business as usual.”