The Friday Night Drive Team of the Year for the 2021 spring season is here with 44 of Illinois’ best players comprising our first and second teams.
Offensive Player of the Year: Loyola senior Vaughn Pemberton
Defensive Player of the Year: St. Rita senior Michael Gaughan
FIRST TEAM
Quarterback
James Cooper Jr., Harlem: The Iowa Western commit capped a prolific high school career with 1,833 yards passing and 23 touchdowns in six games. Cooper added another 130 yards and seven TDs on the ground as the Huskies put together an impressive undefeated spring season.
Tommy Rittenhouse, St. Francis: The Kane County Chronicle and Suburban Life Player of the Year, Rittenhouse led the Spartans to a perfect 6-0 record. The Illinois State recruit completed 70-of-120 passes for 1,278 yards, 20 touchdowns and just two interceptions. Rittenhouse had 282 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns.
Running back
Jordan Anderson, Joliet Catholic: Anderson didn’t have the heaviest workload but did an awful lot with what he got, averaging 11.4 yards a carry, on his way to a 1,074 yard, 16-touchdown season. Anderson, who recently gave a verbal to the University of Illinois, appears primed for a gigantic senior season with the Hilltoppers.
Josh Brown, Willowbrook: A starting defensive end as a sophomore, Brown this spring ran for 1,750 yards and 23 TDs in six games, with a school record 12 yards a carry. Brown set the single-game program rushing record with 351 yards against Hinsdale South. Defensively, he had 20 tackles, nine tackles for loss and two sacks.
Vaughn Pemberton, Loyola: Friday Night Drive’s Offensive Player of the Year, Pemberton was a do-it-all back for the Ramblers, frequently taking snaps from the wildcat formation. The Ball State commit ran for 916 yards with 15 touchdowns, including five touchdowns in a win over Marist to clinch an undefeated season.
Wide receiver
Jacob Bostick, Palatine: Bostick’s college recruitment really heated up this spring and it comes as no surprise given his production. The 6-foot-3 junior hauled in 31 catches for 416 yards and seven touchdowns. More college offers are sure to come in this summer and fall.
Luther Burden III, East St. Louis: The Oklahoma commit played at Cardinal Ritter College Prep in St. Louis during the fall and then transferred to East St. Louis for the spring season. Burden grabbed 32 catches with the Flyers
Ben Clawson, Hersey: You could expect big things to happen pretty much anywhere Clawson lined up on the field this spring. The junior had 53 receptions to go along with 66 carries. In total Clawson compiled nearly 1,400 total yards and 19 touchdowns.
Offensive line
Pat Coogan, Marist: A Notre Dame commit, Coogan was one of the top offensive linemen in the state. With Coogan leading the charge, Marist ran for 946 yards on the season and threw for just over 1,000.
Enrique Cruz, Willowbrook: A Syracuse recruit, the 6-foot-6, 250-pound left tackle is Willowbrook’s first Division I recruit in more than a decade. Cruz led the Warriors’ offense to a school-record 40 points a game and 417 rushing yards a game.
Miles McVay, East St. Louis: Only a sophomore, McVay (6-7, 340) already holds a dozen Division I offers, including from Georgia, Florida, Tennessee and Michigan State, and is certain to draw additional interest after an impressive spring season.
Defensive line
Matt Egly, Oswego: Three-year varsity player, two-year starter had 51 tackles, 24 of them solos, with seven tackles for loss, three sacks and one forced fumble.
Jacob Petersen, Richmond-Burton: Petersen had 46 tackles, eight sacks, 12 tackles for losses and two forced fumbles. On offense, he caught 12 passes for 290 yards and six touchdowns. The senior will play tight end at Holy Cross next season.
Brandon Svets, Loyola: Svets was a disruptor up front for the Ramblers, totaling eight sacks and 13 tackles for loss. When he wasn’t completing a sack himself, he was almost always making life hard on quarterbacks. Svets will play at Harvard.
Brad Walker, Huntley: Walker once again disrupted offenses up front in Huntley’s terrific defense. He also played center and was voted by FVC coaches as the Lineman of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. Walker will play at NCAA Division II St. Paul-Concordia next season.
Linebacker
Michael Gaughan, St. Rita: Friday Night Drive’s Defensive Player of the Year, Gaughan’s 90 total tackles in six games comes out to 15 tackles per game. He was everywhere on the field with five tackles for loss, three sacks and one interception. He will play D-I lacrosse at Saint Joseph’s in Philadelphia.
Kenenna Odeluga, Mount Carmel: A strong running back as well, Odeluga led the charge defensively for the Caravan. He will play linebacker at Illinois next season.
Evan Roper, Barrington: An absolute tackling machine all spring, the senior finished with 93 tackles and four sacks for the undefeated Broncos. Roper will play at Carnegie Mellon University this coming fall.
Matt Weerts, Batavia: The Arizona recruit led Batavia’s defense with 58 tackles, seven tackles for loss, nine quarterback hurries and two sacks.
Ronde Worrels, Princeton: Worrels made his name as a running back, finishing as Bureau County’s all-time leading rusher with 4,387 yards and all-time leader in touchdowns (74). He rushed for 620 yards (6.2 ypc) and 11 touchdowns this spring. His future, however, is at linebacker for Northern Illinois. He led the Tigers’ defense with 67 tackles, including three for losses with one fumble recover in six games.
Defensive back
Matt Kordas, Lincoln-Way East: One of the few defensive holdovers from Lincoln-Way East’s 2019 Class 8A state championship squad, the Griffins defense didn’t really miss a beat with Kordas leading the way. The Bowling Green recruit was a lynch pin in a secondary that dared opponents to throw into it and they achieved little success when they did. Kordas could also step up and help against the run when needed.
Jabril Williams, Joliet Catholic: West Point will be making an excellent addition to its secondary group by bringing in Williams. Teams rarely dared throw against him and when they did things didn’t go particularly well for them. Despite teams not attacking his area, Williams still managed to finish second on the team in total tackles with 31, chipped in two sacks, two interceptions and four pass breakups.
SECOND TEAM
Quarterback
Peter Anderson, Barrington: Anderson, a senior, didn’t step into the starting QB role for the Broncos until this spring, but he wasted no time settling in. He helped his team to the Mid-Suburban League title, going 84-of-124. passing for 1,325 yards and 14 TDs along with 84 rushing yards and five scores.
Michael Brescia, Hinsdale Central: Two-year starter completed 64-of-111 passes for 955 yards with nine touchdowns and one interception this spring for 6-0 West Suburban Silver champions. The Colgate commit also had 63 carries for 490 yards (7.78 per yard average) with 12 rushing TDs.
Running back
Kyle Franklin, IC Catholic: Indiana State recruit and four-year starter finished off outstanding career by rushing for 519 yards on 81 carries with 10 TDs in five games. For his career, Franklin ran for 5,400 yards (9.3 yards a carry) and 84 TDs in 42 games.
Justin Johnson, Edwardsville: The West Virginia-bound senior racked up at least 118 yards in every game this spring, finishing with 1,084 yards rushing with 20 touchdowns on 145 carries.
Cayne Smith, United Township: Smith turned in an incredible senior season, averaging 218 rushing yards per game over the six-game season. He finished with 1,428 yards and 21 TDs as the Panthers enjoyed their best season in recent memory.
Wide receiver
Tyreke Fortney, St. Bede: The speedster was a constant big-play threat for the 5-1 Bruins. He caught 20 passes for 437 yards and five touchdowns and had 30 carries for 202 yards and five scores. He was voted First-Team All-Three Rivers Conference Mississippi Division.
Eli Reed, Downers Grove South: Reed, who recently committed to Northern Illinois, was a second-year varsity starter and had 29 catches for 572 yards and five TDs, a 19.7 yard per catch average. Also ran for 52 yards and three TDs and had a return TD. Defensively, Reed had two pass breakups and an interception.
Toriano Tate, DeKalb: Tate ran for 595 yards this season and averaged more than 7 yards a carry. He scored 11 times – five through the air, five on the ground and a 100-yard kickoff return. He was the co-offensive player of the year in the DuPage Valley Conference.
Offensive line
Ryan Heffelfinger, Sterling: Offensive line continued to be a source of strength for the Golden Warriors with ball carriers gaining 1,931 yards on 342 carries, an average of 5.6 yards per rushing attempt. A lot of that came down to Heffelfinger, a two-year starter on the line who will be off in the fall to play at Illinois State. The 6-0, 270-pound guard was a first-team all-conference pick in the Western Big 6.
Otto Hess, Oswego: Boston College recruit and mammoth 6-foot-7, 310-pound left tackle was anchor of Oswego’s offensive line for SPC West champs.
Sam Pryor, Kaneland: A true two-way standout, Pryor played center and starred on the defensive line. Pryor had 29 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, one fumble recovery, two sacks and two quarterback hurries.
Defensive line
Carmine Bastone, St. Charles North: A terrific two-way standout, Bastone started at both offensive and defensive tackle. Defensively, Bastone had 27 tackles, five tackles for loss, eight quarterback hurries and one sack. Bastone will play at Northwestern.
Levi Reed, LaSalle-Peru: Reed was a disruptive force at defensive end for a unit that allowed 10.4 points, 60 rushing yards and 113.4 passing yards per game. The NewsTribune Defensive Football Player of the Year and All-Interstate Eight Conference pick had 33 tackles, 12 tackles for loss and four sacks for the 5-0 Cavaliers.
Dylan Shuman, Sycamore: For the second year in a row, Shuman, who played both ways, was selected as a unanimous all-conference selection in the Interstate 8. Defensively, he had 33 tackles, six for a loss, with two sacks.
Tommy Matheson, Warren: Matheson will play at Princeton this upcoming fall after receiving offers from nearly two dozen schools. The senior was a key cog in Warren’s vaunted defense.
Linebacker
Carson Boggs, Hinsdale Central: Outside linebacker had 56 tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack, one interception and a TD for the 6-0 West Suburban Silver champs. The Red Devils’ starting defense gave up just 17 points in six games.
Evan Brown, Oswego: Two-year starter made team-high 60 tackles, 21 of them solos, forced one fumble and had three fumble recoveries and one blocked punt. Offensively, ran for 129 yards at 9.2 yard-per-carry average with three TDs, including game-winning score against Minooka.
Carter Evans, Prairie Ridge: Defensively, Evans had 71 tackles, one sack, six tackles for losses and one forced fumble. The senior also led the McHenry County area with 651 yards rushing. He will play at Eastern Michigan next season.
Tyler McLaurin, Bolingbrook: McLaurin, a Michigan recruit, anchored the Bolingbrook defense after a number of Division I recruited teammates elected to graduate early. He filled the void admirably, excelling not only as a playmaker but serving as “another coach on the field” to his younger, less experienced teammates, according to his head coach John Ivlow.
Malachi McNeal, Warren: The Blue Devils’ defensive success belongs to more than one player, but McNeal deserves a large portion of credit for Warren’s success in recent seasons. The senior will play college football for North Dakota.
Defensive back
Jaxon Cusac-McKay, Fieldcrest: An explosive play waiting to happen, the Fieldcrest senior led the Knights to an undefeated, 4-0 season including a pair of impressive wins over state-ranked Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley and Eureka. Cusac-McKay had an interception and 13 solo tackles on the defensive end, while on offense posting 278 rushing yards and 256 more on 24 receptions.
Jaden McGill, Naperville Central: A transfer from Oak Park-River Forest, McGill made an immediate impact at Naperville Central. A standout in the secondary, McGill also excelled in the Redhawks’ offensive backfield this spring.