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After a 14-44 loss to Quincy in the playoffs, the 2023 season comes to an end for West Chicago Community High School’s football team.
The game started at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 28 at Quincy High School’s Flinn Memorial Stadium, four hours southwest of West Chicago in Adams County. Quincy was 10-0 in the 2023 season, a No. 3 seed, and ranked 42 in the state this year.
Just two minutes into the game, Quincy’s starting quarterback, junior Bradyn Little, threw a pass to wide receiver Jack Mettemeyer, a senior, who scored the team’s first touchdown.
Then Tykell Hammers took over: the junior wide receiver scored four touchdowns during the first half of the game, and assisted running back Jeraius Rice in scoring a fifth just before halftime.
“I thought they played hard, tackled well. Just our offense I felt gave them a lot to think about, and because of that I think we were too much for them to handle,” Coach Little said to the Herald-Whig.
The Quincy team’s defense was also strong from the start, and despite the Wildcats’ best efforts, they took some hard hits.
At one point, junior Angelo Jimenez sustained a debilitating ankle injury, later revealed to be a broken bone, preventing him from playing for the rest of the game.
However, despite these setbacks, the team was determined to fight to the very end. This season – a historic one with many pivotal moments – the Wildcats demonstrated repeatedly they are not willing to give up, and that loss nothing but a motivator to continue improving. Senior Vincent Muci scored a touchdown in the third quarter, bringing the score to 6-44 after a failed kick.
Then, Muci scored again with just 1:32 remaining on the clock, bringing the score to 14-44, where it would stand stagnant for the remainder of the game.
“I believe you have lots to learn from every win and loss. There are some things we did really well this year, and things we need to work on or change. The coaching staff will sit down and analyze all aspects of the program and choose the best path forward,” said head coach Adam Chavez.
Although the loss against Quincy was hard, this season has been a landmark one for the Wildcats, and Chavez, who was named the Coach of the Week by the Chicago Bears in September, has been credited with leading the team to a season finish of 5-4.
“Coach Chavez has been the key for this change in the program with instilling the mindset of “being tough, being physical, and having no excuses.” He has constantly pushed the players and the other coaches, because he believes that we can succeed. The amount of time and effort he has put into changing this program is unrivaled,” said Conor Zaputil, interim PE division head and assistant football coach.
Under the leadership of coach Chavez, the team secured victories against five of the nine teams they faced in the regular season, notably beating the Bartlett Hawks for the first time in school history, and of course, securing a playoff bid for the first time in over 20 years.
“The team, overall, did stupendous, from the line, to the wings, to the tight ends, it was all amazing and the progress was phenomenal,” senior Krystian Roldan said.
This season also saw the return and improvement of players like Muci and Roldan, junior Louis Zeitler, senior Nazarii “Naz” Krailiuk, junior Tommy Doyle, and many others, as well as the debut Varsity season for sophomore Carter Naranjo. It was a year of growth and achievement for the Wildcats, a trend that fans hope will continue in future years. Those sentiments were echoed in the emotional post-game huddle at Quincy.
“After the game, it felt like we got a lot accomplished this season, and took a huge step forward as a team. But, at the same time, it was also sad to see the seniors that I’ve played three years with leave,” junior Frankie Ziberna said.
Still, the team will regroup over the next few months, and return to the field in 2024 with optimism and determination.
“My hopes for the team are that they take this playoff loss and use it as motivation going into the off-season. We will take a break from a long season, and then get back in the weightroom and build on the foundation we laid this year,” Chavez said.