Woodstock North’s Parker Halihan settles in at quarterback, set to lead team coming off historic season

Woodstock North’s Parker Halihan was not immediately sold on the pitch to play quarterback.

Seeds were planted when Halihan was a sophomore for a switch from wingback to QB.

Halihan took reps in practice. He started one game at quarterback at the end of the season.

His coaches wanted Halihan to take more reps at quarterback before his junior year.

“I didn’t like the sound of it,” Halihan said. “I felt like it was really new. I had never thought about playing quarterback back then. But I got the hang of it. Now I like it.”

It is indeed hard not to like the noise Halihan and the Thunder made last fall.

With Halihan at the controls, Woodstock North made a six-win jump to 8-3, the most wins in the 17-year history of the program.

Now a senior, Halihan is one of 19 returning starters for first-year head coach Jeremiah Homuth. Homuth, a long-time assistant and previously defensive coordinator, was hired as head coach when Matthew Polnow stepped down after three seasons.

“It’s been a little different, but I feel like I’m going to trust it and hope for the best,” Halihan said. “I have a lot of trust in coach Homuth. I have a feeling good things are going to happen.”

Good things happen with Woodstock North’s option offense in Halihan’s hands.

Teaming up with fast, powerful all-stater David Randecker, who rushed for 1,345 yards and 10 touchdowns last year – and yes, also returns this season – Halihan and the Thunder offense averaged more than 30 points a game.

“Parker, first and foremost, is a great leader. He is a natural leader,” Homuth said. “He is not the most vocal kid, but he leads by example. Everything he does, he does the right way. First one in, last one out, he exemplifies what a leader is supposed to be.

“He’s got size, strength and athleticism. He’s got everything you’d want in an option quarterback.”

He needed smarts, too, the adjustment to running an option offense as mental as it was physical.

“It was tough. It was a lot of memorizing all the jobs each person had, how each person translates to the main purpose of the play and memorizing all that,” Halihan said. “It was a lot of practice and a lot of paying attention so I could get a hold of playing quarterback and just remember.

“Now I feel a lot more comfortable and honestly a little more confident now that I know a lot more.”

The anticipation all along was that Halihan would grow into the position by his senior year. Homuth noted that Halihan’s footwork has gotten better, and he’s making cleaner reads running the option.

“You have to be incredibly intelligent in terms of football knowledge and knowledge of the entire offense,” Homuth said. “You have at least one read on every play, you are reading constantly and have to make the right reads. On top of that, you are a running back that plays quarterback, so you have to read pass coverages.”

Halihan, who also sees time at outside linebacker, prefers to run as a quarterback more than pass. His only real experience throwing before his position switch came in baseball, where Halihan has played third base.

“Every once in a while I will try to get it to someone on a route,” Halihan said. “For passing, the coaches have tried to tweak little things with my hips, trying not to use my arm as much, putting my hips into the throws.”

Woodstock North’s preference to run the football showed against bigger schools such as Geneva in a 7-on-7 on July 15 at Kaneland.

“We are a run-heavy team, it helps us with our passing since we don’t practice it as much,” Halihan said. “Personally, I’ve been trying to work on my passing since it was not that good last year, working on passing and picking up reads.”

Humble, and a hard worker, Halihan has been a natural fit at quarterback in Homuth’s estimation.

“It doesn’t matter what offense you run – your offense runs through your quarterback," Homuth said. “He is the leader on the team, the field general.”

With Homuth’s experience on the staff, and experience on the roster, it’s been a seamless transition.

The Thunder open the season Aug. 29 against Elmwood Park, then get a big test at IC Catholic Prep in Week 2.

“The kids have worked hard. They know they had a lot of success last year, but they are not resting on their laurels,” Homuth said. “They are looking to competing, and they are hungry for more.”