April 23, 2024
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Yorkville’s Stevens excited to be a team leader

The Foxes’ senior quarterback hopes to lead the team deep into the playoffs

By Rob Oesterle
Yorkville's Kyle Stevens delivers a pass during the Morris High School 7 on 7. July 12, 2022.

Morris High School 7 on 7 Yorkville's Kyle Stevens delivers a pass during the Morris High School 7 on 7. July 12, 2022. (Gary E Duncan Sr for Shaw Local)

MORRIS — Yorkville senior quarterback Kyle Stevens did not play a lot last season, when the Foxes went 6-5 and lost in the second round of the Class 7A playoffs to Brother Rice.

That fact doesn’t prevent Stevens from wanting to take over at the game’s most important position.

“I think I just got to play in one game last year,” Stevens said. “I was able to learn a lot by watching. I am very excited to get a leadership role with this team. I have been waiting for it.”

The 6-foot-3, 190 pound senior-to-be displayed an arm that was both powerful and accurate Tuesday when the Foxes visited Morris for a 7-on-7 event, along with Reed-Custer and Romeoville.

“We have a lot of good receivers,” Stevens said. “They are pretty young as a group, but I think they will do well. We definitely improved today, and it will be exciting to see how much we can improve before the season starts and as the season goes on.”

While there are some question marks at the skill positions, Yorkville coach Dan McGuire said that the offensive and defensive lines will return some quality players from last year, including Colorado State commit Andrew Laurich (6-5, 250), who will primarily play defensive end.

Morris High School 7 on 7 Yorkville's Kyle Stevens delivers a short pass during the Morris High School 7 on 7. July 12, 2022. (Gary E Duncan Sr for Shaw Local)

“The summer has gone all right,” McGuire said. “It’s basically a tale of two groups. We have a lot of experience coming back at defensive line and linebacker as well as on the offensive line. But, when we are playing 7 on 7, those guys aren’t playing, so it’s a lot of young guys. That’s good, because those are the ones that need to work together and get that experience.

“We really like coming down to Morris. [Morris] Coach [Alan] Thorson runs a good program and they play with a lot of intensity. I like to see how our kids respond to that type of intensity. I thought our kids answered that challenge and we got better today.

“Kyle didn’t play a lot for us last year, but we like what we’ve seen out of him. He is a pitcher in baseball, so he has that strong arm. He is also pretty accurate and hits the receivers in stride. With the experience we have on the offensive line, if we are throwing more than we are running, we are in trouble.