For well over a decade, Hononegah contended for NIC-10 football titles without passing much.
Hono went 14 years between 1,000-yard passers from 2003 to 2016. When Ryan VanSchelven threw for 1,318 yards in 2017, it was only two years after their leading passer had a scant 207 yards.
Hononegah has been in the top two in the conference in passing every year but one since that transformation in 2013. They’ve won six of the last eight full-season league titles (not counting the abbreviated COVID year). Twice they’ve had a QB set the league record with 28 TD passes, including last year when three-year starter Cole Warren only had three interceptions.
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Hononegah still looks like the best team in the NIC-10 this year, but the Indians no longer pass much. They might have to Friday when the league’s best rivalry resumes with Boylan (5-1) playing at Hononegah (5-1), whose only loss was a forfeit to Harlem (5-1). The two teams are 4-4 against each other in the last eight years and Hononegah (six) and Boylan (two) have won the last eight NIC-10 full-season titles, not counting the abbreviated COVID year.
We look at what’s coming in, what we’ve got and what will play in our favor,” Hononegah coach Brian Zimmerman said. “This year we’ve got some pretty good running backs and a quarterback that had not made a start. We’re trying to mix in as much pass as we can, but it depends on what the defense will give us."
Last year's narrow 24-21 win was highlighted by Cole Schmall catching seven passes for 156 yards, outleaping Boylan defensive backs for several big catches. This year, Schmall has been quiet. So far. But he will be ready Friday if Hononegah needs him.
“Boylan’s defense is pretty stout," Zimmerman said. "I don’t want to say we anticipate having to throw the ball more, but if that is what we have to do, we are willing to do that. We’re making strides. We look great in practice. I certainly think we have that ability if we need to.”
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Hononegah starter Dominic Kelly has 139 yards passing in six games. But he is the team’s second-leading rusher, including his first 100-yard game last week.
Boylan, which also graduated a three-year starting quarterback in Connor Dennis, started out playing three QBs but has settled on Dominic Cacciatore, coach John Cacciatore’s son, and Rockford Christian transfer Jaden Williams. Cacciatore (51-for-85 for 553 yards) leads the league in TD passes with 10, while Williams has been an RPO type, throwing short but accurately (13-for-15 for 125 yards) and averaging 8 yards a carry (234 yards on 29 rushes).
“Cacciatore is more of a thrower and Williams is going to run the ball more, but both have the ability to do both,” Zimmerman said. “It’s interesting with them rotating their quarterbacks. It gives them an advantage sometimes. It also gives us an opportunity to expect one thing over another, the run or the pass.”
Matt Trowbridge is a Rockford Register Star sports reporter. Email him at mtrowbridge@rrstar.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @MattTrowbridge.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Hononegah might need to rely on passing game to stay in NIC-10 football race vs. Boylan
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