NFL News NFL News, Reports and Updates
Nov. 27—FRANKFORT — The Lincoln-Way East football team hasn’t anointed many juniors as captains through the years.
Coach Rob Zvonar can only recall a handful of examples from his 24 years leading the Griffins. And each of those players had prior experience within the program.
Enter Jonas Williams, who instantly gained the respect of his coaches and teammates after transferring from Bolingbrook ahead of his junior season.
“We never have junior captains, and you wouldn’t think a kid who had been here for less than six months would be a captain,” Zvonar said. “And he wasn’t named captain because he was the best football player on the team. It didn’t hurt, right? But he was named captain for his work ethic.”
Williams — who headlines The News-Gazette’s 89th All-State team as its Player of the Year — will continue his playing career at Oregon after his time in high school ends.
Fortunately for Zvonar and Lincoln-Way East’s coaching staff, Williams still has his senior season ahead of him.
The 6-foot-1, 200-pound Williams flashed his play-making and his poise en route to 2,926 passing yards and 42 touchdowns to go with 395 rushing yards and another seven rushing touchdowns during Lincoln-Way East’s 12-1 campaign in 2024, which ended with a 27-24 loss to Loyola Academy in a Class 8A state semifinal game this past Saturday.
“All the success that we’ve had as a team, it’s not solely just me making the plays as a quarterback,” Williams said. “It’s a team goal. I can’t be successful without my (offensive line) not playing well, if my receivers aren’t playing well and if my coaches don’t call good plays.”
Hitching a ride
Williams established fast connections with his Lincoln-Way East teammates, including fellow News-Gazette All-State first-team selections in defensive end Caden O’Rourke and tight end Trey Zvonar.
Trey Zvonar, in…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/news-gazettes-89th-state-high-154900032.html
Author : The News-Gazette, Champaign-Urbana, Ill.
Publish date : 2024-11-27 15:49:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
