A perennial state contender in the Illinois 8-Man Football Association, the Polo Marcos look to continue their winning ways behind new senior leaders.

Following the graduation of all-state quarterback/defensive back Gus Mumford, Polo will turn to JT Stephenson, who was also in the mix behind center last season.

“We’re hoping he can step up and fill that void,” Polo coach Ted Alston said. “He’s a little bit different kind of player, but I think he can do a lot of the same things that Gus was able to do.

“He’s got a nice arm and has looked pretty good so far throwing the ball as well.”

Despite coming into the season with little varsity experience at QB, Mumford accounted for over 1,200 yards rushing and 800 passing last season.

“JT has had some experience and played in pretty much every game we played last year at some point at quarterback,” Alston said. “We feel good about that. He’s been out there and it won’t be a big surprise for him.”

Alston said the receiving depth is not as prominent this season, but the tight end group is solid.

All-state senior two-way lineman Wyatt Plachno looks to anchor the trenches and classmate Damon Rowe is another returning all-conference player at defensive end/tight end. Alston also listed Korbin Cavanaugh (TE/DE) and Quinton Hart (RB/LB) as top players to watch.

“I think both sides, the offensive and defensive lines are pretty solid,” Alston said. “And we have some good depth there. That’s probably going to be our strength; our depth and skill.”

Alston said the team can’t afford to make many mistakes this season.

“We’ve got to be sharp to win games this year,” he said. “So hopefully we are disciplined and we do those things well.”

Winning 8-man state titles in 2019 and 2021, Polo has reached the semifinals the past two years. Milledgeville broke through last season to reach the championship game against Amboy after beating Polo 28-14.

A history of success in the league, which started in 2019, has helped the Marcos keep a high standard for new players.

“Success breeds success,” Alston said. “The kids don’t want to disappoint, so they’ve worked hard to be the next team up and try to fill the shoes of those guys before them that did really well.

“I think they’ve embraced that role as well so I’m pretty happy about that.”

Alston said Plachno, Rowe, Stephenson and the other seniors will need to step up as leaders this season. Polo opens the season at home against Bushnell-Prairie City on Aug. 29.

“Those kids, they’ve put in their time and they’ve worked hard,” Alston said. “They’ve got to not just be good football players, but they’ve got to be the leaders of the team.

“At some point, bad things happen to a football team. And if you don’t have those leaders on the team, it makes it a little bit harder to recover.”