Johnsburg quarterback Carter Block, well-studied, builds up for final season

Johnsburg coach Sam Lesniak raves about Carter Block’s high IQ and mature ability to read defenses and make the right throw with pinpoint accuracy, but something else stood out to Lesniak about Block’s first year at quarterback.

“He’s unflappable,” Lesniak said. “He doesn’t get bothered. When a bad play happens or there’s an unfortunate situation, he bounces back well. That’s where he grew the most.”

Block’s breakout at QB coincided with a bounce-back season for the Skyhawks, which went from 3-6 in 2023 to 6-4 in 2024, with the offense averaging 28.4 points a game.

In his first season as starting quarterback, Block completed 146 of 252 passes (57.9% completion percentage) for 1,979 yards in 10 games with 22 touchdowns and eight interceptions.

Block and top target Ryan Franze had a special connection a year ago, with Franze leading Northwest Herald-area receivers in catches (66), receiving yards (849) and touchdowns (13), which led all class of 2027 wideouts in Illinois.

Franze and Block hooked up for big plays all year.

It’s only going to get better, Franze said.

“His accuracy is crazy,” Franze said of Block, who led all Kishwaukee River Conference players in passing yardage. “He’s very good at reading the field. He finds the open guy every time. What he’s gotten a lot better at this year is his deep ball. His deep ball’s been crazy. He’s put on 15 yards and hits all of us in stride.

“He takes a lot more shots now, which is nice for me.”

“It’s his turn to go out, make the team his and make some big-time plays.”

—  Sam Lesniak, Johnsburg coach on QB Carter Block

Lesniak said Block (5-foot-11) dedicated himself to the weight room in the offseason and enters his senior season at 150 pounds. Naturally on the small side, Block said it has taken a lot of discipline, tracking how much he’s eating daily, to put on 15 pounds since last year.

His ability to get better in multiple ways is no surprise to Lesniak.

“He’s a very high IQ-type kid,” Lesniak said. “Looking at a defense, he understands where there are soft spots and soft zones. Most high school quarterbacks don’t do this, but he can identify man coverage compared to zone coverage. He watches football all the time. He lives and breathes football. When you get a kid that’s so passionate, you get to have some higher-level conversations, which as a coach is awesome.”

Block’s abilities aren’t a total surprise.

Block’s dad, Eric, played quarterback at Lake Zurich, when the Bears were a part of the Fox Valley Conference with current KRC member Woodstock, and later at Carroll University in Waukesha, Wisconsin, where he is the school-record holder in passing yards (6,830) and second in touchdown passes (55).

Carter Block said having a quarterback dad is a blessing.

“Growing up, I always had a football in my hand,” Carter Block said. “I started playing flag, and I think he started finding the love of the game again through me. He started coaching me, showing me the three-step drop, five-step drop. It’s just great to have a dad like that. Him being that mentor helped a lot.”

In the eighth grade, Block got passing lessons from Riley Buchanan, Johnsburg’s quarterback on the 2016 Class 4A state runner-up team. Block learned about different coverages from Buchanan, and Block said that is when he started to take being a QB more seriously.

He regularly dives into quarterback videos, wherever he can find them.

“I would always watch NFL films, videos, Mic’d-up videos, whatever I could to make me better,” said Block, who has also been coached by 2017 Johnsburg grad Adam Jayko. “I’ll watch different high school quarterbacks, stuff like that. Growing up, I was always asking questions when I didn’t know something.”

Franze said his QB is always lending advice.

“We talk all the time. After practice, we’ll sit down and go over different types of motions, different plays, just what each other is seeing,” Franze said of Block. “We’re basically trying to read each other’s minds, so we know the best outcome of every type of route, every type of play.”

With a year under his belt, Lesniak sees big things coming from Block.

“The first year as the starter is always tough. You want to be a leader, but you also have to prove yourself essentially, and he’s checked that box,” Lesniak said. “It’s his turn to go out, make the team his and make some big-time plays.”