Preseason football Top 10: Monticello working to get back to championship success

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MONTICELLO — Carter Foran remembers talking about Monticello’s 2018 postseason football run with his older brother, Triston Foran, in real time.

Triston was just a freshman and didn’t dress varsity, but he was on the sidelines for the entire playoff ride.

“He would come home each week in the playoffs and say how he thinks this team could be really special,” Carter Foran said. “It was definitely awesome to see him achieve their goal that they worked so hard for all season. To hear it from him makes me want to achieve similar success in my high school career.”

Mason High remembers watching the 2018 Class 3A state championship game, a 24-20 win by Monticello against Byron the day after Thanksgiving at Memorial Stadium that capped off a perfect 14-0 season, from the stands in Champaign while holding a tarp over his head to stay out of the pouring rain.

“They weren’t the biggest team at all,” High said, “but they just got the job done and did what they were supposed to do.”

And Ike Young remembers how that group of Sages acted. They were a talented bunch that was just as connected on the field, a combination that brought home the first state championship in program history.

“That team was very talented,” Young said. “They all worked well together. Just watching them play was really fun.”

Those three were in sixth grade at the time. Six years later, now seniors, they’re the ones tasked with leading the Sages back to glory.

Cully Welter is entering his 16th season coaching at Monticello, and he sees some similarities between the upcoming 2024 squad and the 2018 championship team. Led by 18 seniors, this year’s Sages are “really close-knit,” and many of them are multi-sport athletes.

“I said it when they were freshmen, and it’s carried on all the way to their senior year, that this is a group I really like,” Welter said. “They know how to compete, and they’re just good, quality kids. They’ve got a lot of intangibles. If they can come together and bring some kids along, I think they have a chance to do something good.”

Monticello checks in at No. 9 in The News-Gazette’s preseason football Top 10. A little low by the Sages’ standards. Then again, admittedly so, their last couple seasons have been below the standard, as well.

The last two seasons have seen the Sages finish with a record of 5-5, squeaking their way into the 3A playoffs and falling in the first round.

“We could have had more and seen more success, but we didn’t,” Foran said. “That’s what was so frustrating and why we’re all working extra hard. We definitely want to make sure that doesn’t happen this year.”

It’s all about the expectations, which come from the winning culture that has developed throughout Piatt County’s premier football team. Welter has a 15-year record of 119-43, never finishing a season with a losing record and never missing the playoffs in his Monticello tenure that started in 2009.

“The expectations are really high, and that’s what challenges us and pushes us to get better,” Young said. “We’ve had success in past years with the state championship, and we want to get back up there. It’s only motivation.”

The biggest question coming into this season, as it seems to be every season for the Sages lately, is who starts at quarterback. For the last handful of years, Monticello has had a rotating door of senior quarterbacks who are only able to start for one year, with the latest being 2024 graduate Luke Teschke.

Welter said he’d like to get a little more stability at that position with a multi-year starter to make the entire offense flow more comfortably. It doesn’t look like this is the year it’ll happen, though, as Young appears to be the one who will take over under center.

“He can do a lot, and we trust him to play wherever,” Welter said of the recent Illinois baseball commit. “Right now, I’d say he’s the lead candidate, and we’re very comfortable with that. I feel pretty confident with quarterback in his hands.”

Young was the Sages’ lead running back last season, who tallied more than 1,000 yards of total offense en route to All-Illini Prairie Conference Second-Team honors. He was also one of the team’s top defensive backs, which he said will help him at his new position because he’s used to reading opposing quarterbacks.

“It’s definitely a challenge,” Young said. “As a quarterback, you’ve got to be able to do pretty much everything. It’s going to be a challenge, but I’m ready for it.”

Welter said many other offensive skill positions are “up for grabs,” too, making most of the offense a question mark heading into the new season.

What appears to be in good shape are the defense, along with the line play on both sides of the ball. The Sages are returning nine starters from a defense that allowed an average of 22.1 points in a rugged Illini Prairie Conference. While it wasn’t the stoutest defense in the area, it kept the Sages in games, certainly enough to be competitive with their offense averaging 32.3 points.

“We work well together. As (defensive coordinator Steve) Kirk says pretty much every day, ‘One hand grenade blows up the whole unit,’” Young said. “If we all do our job — come to the weight room each day, put in our full effort and work together as one — I think we’ll be pretty good.”

And with High leading the line on both sides of the ball, Monticello’s offense will have plenty of opportunities to keep putting up points.

“I’m trying to get back out there,” High said. “I don’t want to take a huge break from this. I love this game. I’m trying to get on the field and get as prepared as possible for that first game.”

That first game is now eight weeks away, with St. Joseph-Ogden coming to town on Aug. 30.

Welter isn’t getting too discouraged by his team’s recent struggles, if you can even call them struggles. He knows all about the ups and downs of high school football and how a 9-0 team can lose in the first round of the playoffs just as easily as a 5-4 team can make a run to the state final.

“At the end of the day, you want to win,” Welter said. “Certainly, we work hard to achieve that, but if you become outcome-based, it’s hard to really feel gratified. You do things the right way and let the chips fall where they may. Ultimately, you just hope the kids have the best experience possible. That’s success to me.”

Four-down territory

Four items to know about the Monticello football team — The News-Gazette’s No. 9 team in our preseason Top 10 poll — before the 2024 season kicks off for the Sages on Aug. 30:

2024 Schedule

DATE OPPONENT TIME

Aug. 30 vs. St. Joseph-Ogden 7 p.m.

Sept. 6 at Chillicothe IVC 7 p.m.

Sept. 13 vs. Mattoon 7 p.m.

Sept. 20 at Bloomington CC 7 p.m.

Sept. 27 vs. Pontiac 7 p.m.

Oct. 4 at Rantoul 7 p.m.

Oct. 11 vs. Paxton-Buckley-Loda 7 p.m.

Oct. 18 vs. Prairie Central 7 p.m.

Oct. 25 at Unity 7 p.m.

2023 Recap

The Sages clinched the program’s 16th playoff appearance in the 21st century and 14th under coach Cully Welter, but finished tied for fourth in the Illini Prairie Conference and only secured one win (Prairie Central) against a team that finished last season with a winning record. Monticello nearly pulled a Class 3A first-round upset at unbeaten DuQuoin, but saw its season end with a 28-21 loss.

Sages' postseason history

Plentiful. Monticello has consistently played into November during Welter’s tenure, highlighted by the 2018 team that finished 14-0 and won the program’s only state championship. Going back farther, though, in the program’s record book, the Sages have reached the state quarterfinals 10 different times since 1980 under four different coaches: Welter, John Beccue, Hud Venerable and Fred Erickson.

Three sages to watch

➜ 1. Ike Young. Multi-sport standout and Illinois baseball commit poised to lead the Monticello offense at quarterback. An adept runner with a strong arm.

➜ 2. Carter Foran. Senior hauled in seven touchdowns last season and could emerge as Monticello’s top wideout.

➜ 3. Nolan Buehnerkemper. Junior safety had more than 80 tackles last season and is a playmaker on defense.