New cast of characters in Polo hope to keep special run going

The past few seasons have been special in Polo. State championships in 2019 and 2021 were followed by trips to the Illinois 8-Man Football Association semifinals in each of the last two years.

The Marcos have been in the Final Four each of the past four seasons when playoffs were held. To get back there this fall, though, it’s going to take some new faces stepping up and leading the way.

“We’ve got a lot of starters to replace,” longtime coach Ted Alston said. “We’ve only got one or two guys returning on each side of the ball that saw any significant time last year.”

The biggest loss is do-everything quarterback/running back/linebacker Brock Soltow. The three-time first-team All-State pick ended his career last fall as the I8FA’s all-time leader in rushing touchdowns (83) and total offensive yards (6,670), and ranked second in rushing yards (5,424) and total touchdowns (104).

Also gone is running back Delo Fernandez, a speedy complement to Soltow’s power who won a Class 1A state track championship in the 4x100 as a junior in 2023. Tight ends Landen Brooks and Nathaniel Yingling have graduated, as have linemen Jacob Monaco and Alex Albano.

Essentially, it’s almost a full rebuild on the offensive side of the ball, but Alston remains optimistic about the new crew coming in.

“We lost one of the best players that I’ve ever coached; we lost the entire backfield, both tight ends, our center and our guard. It’s a lot to replace,” Alston said. “But the thing is, the kids we have coming back, it’s not like they’ve never seen varsity time. They’re kids that we could have put in games as juniors last year, quality kids who were just behind other kids that were good, experienced players.

“We’ve got a nice-sized senior class, a good number of juniors, a lot of quality players, and I hope those kids can mature and step up and take those spots.”

A couple of familiar names returning are senior speedster Noah Dewey – also a member of that 2022 state-title 4x100 team with Fernandez – senior receiver and defensive back Billy Lowry, senior defensive stalwart Gus Mumford, senior Jeffrey Donaldson and junior Wyatt Plachno on the line.

“Noah was a great receiver last year, and we’re going to try and get him the ball in as many different ways as possible,” Alston said. “Billy was a good receiver and defender in the secondary. Gus played a lot of defense for us last year and will be one of the kids trying to take over the quarterback spot this year. And on the line of scrimmage, Jeffrey saw a lot of time in different spots; we plugged him in wherever we needed him week to week, and he saw a lot of time at a lot of spots. Wyatt saw a lot of time too, especially at the end of the year.

“We’ve got a lot of guys coming back who weren’t full-time players but got quality time, and then we’ve got other kids who have worked pretty hard this summer. We’re hoping they’re going to step up for us this year.”

One thing that’s been ever-present for the Marcos the last several seasons is a hunger to prove themselves. After a senior-heavy group won the state title in Polo’s first year in I8FA in 2019, another group was eager to prove themselves in 2021 after COVID-19 wiped out the playoffs in 2020. Then after that second state title, leaders like Soltow and Avery Grenoble made sure the team kept playing with that chip on their shoulders to prove again that they were contenders.

Now, a new group of Marcos are ready to make their mark.

“You can really tell with the older kids that they know it’s their chance to step up. They’re definitely wanting to take the reins and prove what they can do,” Alston said. “A lot of them weren’t far off from being starters last year, and now that they have the chance to be in there, you can tell they want to be on the field all the time.”

While it will be impossible for one player to step in and replace a 5,000-yard rusher, Polo has a stable of backs looking to share the load this season. There’s a lot of trust between the backfield and the line, but Alston warns that any injuries will be tougher to overcome this year than in the last couple because of the Marcos don’t have the depth that they’ve been blessed with in recent years.

“Offensively, we’ve got to have kids step up and want to be playmakers,” Alston said. “We won’t have that one go-to guy to give the ball to 25 or 30 times in a game – but we have maybe four or five guys to spread it out to for five or 10 carries a game. I think we’ll have a more diverse offense, and if the kids understand and accept those roles, I think we’ll be good.

“And defensively, we’ve got some good kids, but we’ve got to get better at tackling. That’s going to be a point of emphasis for us all season.”

Schedule: Aug. 30 South Beloit; Sept. 6 at River Ridge; Sept. 13 Hiawatha; Sept. 20 at Ashton-Franklin Center; Sept. 27 Alden Hebron; Oct. 4 at Milledgeville; Oct. 11 Rockford Christian Life; Oct. 18 at West Carroll; Oct. 26 at Orangeville.