Kendall County notes: Speedy Plano tandem of Ray Jones, Waleed Johnson enjoy spectacular season debut

Ray Jones was playing a different position in the spring. Waleed Johnson was in his first year of organized football.

They appear to be quite the combo this fall.

The two Plano skill position players made a spectacular season debut last Friday. Jones and Johnson combined for 392 yards of total offense and each scored three touchdowns in the Reapers’ 44-0 win over Aurora Central Catholic.

“I feel like we’re a perfect 1-2 punch,” said Jones, a senior. “You can’t really key on one of us. It’s going to be hard to stop us.”

Plano showcased a particular skill set – speed – that should be a strength this fall in breaking off several big plays for scores. Johnson, a sophomore, caught a 45-yard TD pass from Carson Gill on what basically was a jet sweep, scored on a 59-yard run and added a 57-yard punt return for a score. Jones had TD runs of 38 and 78 yards and caught a 60-yard TD pass.

“Our speed showed up. We’re fast,” Plano coach Rick Ponx said. “Between Waleed, Ray, Kam [Williams], our receivers were running past people. We got the ball into their hands and let them do the rest.”

Jones played running back up through sophomore year, but switched to quarterback in the spring, where he basically ran the Wildcat as part of a three-quarterback rotation.

With the emergence of junior Samuel Sifuentes and sophomore quarterback Armando Martinez, along with Gill, Ponx felt like he had the luxury of making Jones a tailback.

“We thought don’t make him do double duty. Let’s let Ray just focus on being a running back, because that’s what he was,” Ponx said. “He’s just not under center anymore, a little deeper in the backfield.”

Jones realized he’d have a bigger role in the offense this season, and worked to ready himself. He went to Texas over the summer where he trained with his cousin in Houston doing hills, resistance, speed work and work on hand/eye coordination. He also credits his Plano coaches for improving his footwork.

“I feel like I’m a lot more smooth. Sophomore year, I was a little more stiff,” said Jones, who ran for 131 yards on five carries and caught one pass Friday. “I feel like I’m an all-around back. Can run up the middle, run routes, I can do everything.”

It appears Jones also can make something out of nothing, like his last TD, when he scooped up a fumbled snap and took it 78 yards.

“He can be an outside runner but he’s also a thick enough kid and strong enough to run between the tackles,” Ponx said. “He’s really a downhill vertical runner. Ray runs hard.”

Johnson, meanwhile, appears to be a revelation.

Johnson transferred in to Plano as a freshman, came in known as a wrestler and was introduced to Ponx midway through last school year.

“We said let’s see what you can do with football, he came out and the rest is history,” Ponx said. “He is a wonderful kid, respectful, polite.”

Johnson appeared to make quite an impression in the spring, his first season of organized football. Johnson caught three passes for 73 yards Friday, with one carry.

“Those five games were critical to get experience,” Ponx said. “Once we saw his speed in those games we knew he would be playing for us as a sophomore. He is a dynamic kid who has to touch the ball. What he did Friday, he is everything we thought he would be.”

Bigger, stronger Andrew Laurich off to big start

The spring season, while abbreviated, proved a huge benefit to Yorkville defensive end Andrew Laurich. A sophomore playing up on varsity, Laurich got to see how he stacked up against bigger, older offensive linemen.

“It taught me a lot about where I’m weak and where I’m strong,” Laurich said. “The biggest thing was just improving my overall strength. Going against guys, getting beat all the time, I was trying to put weight on during the offseason, get stronger while maintaining my speed.”

He’s indeed bigger, and made quite an impact in the Foxes’ first game.

Laurich had six tackles, two tackles for loss and two sacks in Yorkville’s 44-14 win over Romeoville.

“That stat line, some of the impact plays that he had, to have four tackles for loss is pretty amazing,” Yorkville coach Dan McGuire said. “I was afraid with the short offseason we wouldn’t see a whole lot of growth from kids. His growth over the summer has been amazing. It’s really crazy to see after just five months.”

Laurich, indeed, made the most of a short offseason.

He went from 210 pounds as a sophomore to 250 now, improving his overall strength while not losing any speed by “eating a lot and going to the gym every single day.” He worked with Dr. Jeff Schutt on speed training twice a week at Yorkville Christian. Laurich went to camps at Grand Valley State, Saginaw Valley State, North Central, Miami (Ohio) and Illinois.

“Also, I just worked out as much as I could,” Laurich said. “I knew if I wanted to be better than last year I had to put the work in. I feel bad if I don’t work out, even during the season.”

That’s the kind of attitude and desire McGuire appreciates from a leader on a strong defensive line that also includes juniors Jake Davies and Andrew Zook.

“The combination of size and athleticism, his height and speed off the ball, the agility and quickness, it’s a combination that makes him very difficult to block,” McGuire said. “And his heart, too. Sometimes when you are a bigger kid you’re used to getting by with size and don’t work as hard. He’s kind of a smaller kid attitude with a big kid body. That sets him apart.”