Paul Johnson

Coming into his senior season, Geneva receiver Talyn Taylor had a list of things he wanted to accomplish before heading to Georgia. Some were personal statistics, some were based on national recognition, and some were based on team goals. “My […]

Growing up in Oswego, junior running back Dekker Zelensek is well aware of how football is played here on the varsity level. It’s a bruising style, and he’s a bruising ball carrier. The Panthers have long been a no-nonsense, hard-nosed

When Danny Perez arrived at Elgin as a freshman, he had yet to hit his growth spurt. And that made things difficult for him. “Freshman year was rough,” said Perez, who’s now a sturdy midfielder. “The kids were four years

Senior defender Jackson Carey actually had a crystal-clear vision that he would be in position to make the big play Saturday afternoon for Hampshire against Streamwood. In talking with senior forward Charlie Terriquez, his close teammate, they spoke it into

With the way senior quarterback Ethan Plumb was playing during the second half Friday night against Geneva, St. Charles North coach Rob Pomazak let something be known. With the game on the line, he wanted the ball in the hands

Senior quarterback Jackson Alcorn wasn’t about to let Burlington Central come up short again. After guiding the Rockets to a win shy of the playoffs in each of his first two varsity seasons, Alcorn came back even more determined to

As a starting safety, Oswego’s Donovan Williams is more than happy to perform his duties. There are times, however, when he needs to pull in resources from some of his other talents for the Panthers. It’s particularly the case when

You might not know this, but having established himself as one of the area’s most dominant defenders, Adan Rueda is still a Swiss Army knife of sorts for Bartlett coach Anthony Glorioso. So, when the Hawks’ regular and only goalkeeper

Senior receiver Finnegan Weppner understands that as the games go on for Geneva, opposing teams are going to start to give even more attention to Georgia-bound receiver Talyn Taylor. It means that, eventually, Weppner is going to be open. “On

Knowing that she wasn’t blessed with the ideal height for an outside hitter, Waubonsie Valley senior Naomi Dowd had to get to work on her vertical leap early in life. Like, try third-grade early for the 5-foot-9 Dowd at her