'He's a special talent': Elite Dunlap football recruit puts on show in Week 1 blowout

DUNLAP — Forget the hype — Mack Sutter is for real.

The Dunlap junior showed off his abilities on both sides of the ball as he helped the Eagles cruise to a Week 1 home victory over Galesburg, 48-0. Sutter, the 6-foot-6, 225-pound tight end/linebacker, caught a touchdown pass, then returned an interception for a score as Dunlap (1-0) snapped a four-game losing streak.

“He’s just a special talent,” Dunlap coach Brett Cazalet said. “… He has every tool you could hope for in a football player.”

IHSA Week 1: All the scores | Live recap | Top performers | Takeaways

Following an offseason where Sutter collected 33 scholarship offers from some of the country’s premier college football programs, the four-star prospect lined up all over the field on defense. He recorded a tackle for a loss on Silver Streaks quarterback Caden Riley, dropped back into coverage and was a part a run defense that allowed 62 rushing yards.

Plus, Sutter played on special teams, booming a pair of punts for an average of 37 yards.

“It’s awesome,” Sutter said of finally getting to play football after a whirlwind offseason. "I worked with (my teammates) every day, so you just kind of block out the real world and just go have fun with your guys.

“… Last night, I had hard time sleeping. I just love doing this with all my friends. It’s just great.”

But offensively is where the top-100 talent is going to make a name for himself. Colleges have been recruiting the son of former Richwoods star and NFL veteran Ed Sutter for his prowess as a pass catcher. He posted five receptions for 77 yards, including a 16-yard, first-quarter TD pass on a fade-route from QB John Bargen.

“It was an RPO,” Sutter said of the run-pass option play, “so it was 50-50 it was coming to me, but I knew I had to run my route 100 percent either way, so that’s what I did and Johnny delivered me a great ball.”

Added Bargen, “I looked out there and I knew he was one-on-one and I’m like, ‘I’d be dumb not to take that.’ ”

The pick-6 from Sutter showed off his athleticism and speed to beat several Galesburg players in pursuit.

“I dropped back in coverage,” he said, “but I kind of saw (the ball) out of the corner of my eye. A (Galesburg) guy coming on a slant inside, so I came in and the ball was right there, and I had to make a play and score.”

And Sutter’s football weekend is just beginning. He’ll take a gameday visit to Auburn on Saturday , making his way to the campus of one of the 12 finalists vying for his services. That list also includes Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio State, Ole Miss, Penn State and Tennessee.

“After the first quarter, the first-game jitters were kind of out,” Sutter said. “I was just feeling myself and I was back in my game and just having fun and doing what I love with all my guys, but yeah, we all played great.”

'Amazing opportunity': Ex-NFL kicker makes Illinois high school coaching debut against Pekin

As for the rest of the Dunlap offense, Bargen was efficient as ever. The 6-foot-4, 175-pound junior signal caller finished 13-for-18 with 206 yards and three touchdowns. He found Jackson Oldham for a 49-yard scoring strike, then added a 13-yard TD to Dawson Marmion.

“We kind of just got back to what our gameplan was,” Bargen said of his team performance after a first quarter that featured just six points, “which was ‘Just do your job’. Just do what you can control and that’s really all we worry about.”

“Honestly, this is what we expect from him,” Cazalet added.

Five Dunlap running backs — Oldham (28 yards), Joey Weeks (65 yards, TD), Anthony Unes (25 yards), John Feldman (23 yards, TD) and Jayden Schmick (40 yards, TD) — combined for 181 rushing yards on 21 carries. Bargen added a 6-yard scramble. Blake Dietz had an interception for Dunlap and Marmion also recovered a fumble.

Galesburg (0-1) managed just 182 total yards paced by running back Jamar Range (51 rushing yards) and Riley (120 yards on 12-for-33 passing and two interceptions).

“In the second half, we kind of showed, I think, what we can be,” Cazalet said. “… There are some things to fix, but we played really well. We played sound. We missed some tackles, some sacks. We missed some opportunities for big plays but any time you keep a high school team out of the endzone, it’s a good thing.”

Adam Duvall is a Journal Star sports reporter. Email him at aduvall@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @AdamDuvall.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: 'He's a special talent': Elite Dunlap football recruit puts on show in Week 1 blowout