High school football special section 2024: Georgetown-Ridge Farm/Chrisman

What to know about Georgetown-Ridge Farm/Chrisman before the Buffaloes kick off their season Friday night at Watseka:

Their quarterback is ...yet another sophomore signal caller, Deven Vice, who may have shown the most confidence of any player to come through The News-Gazette’s office during preseason media days. “I’ve always been a leader,” Vice said. “I know what I’m doing, my coach knows what he’s doing and my players know what they’re doing.”

Although, his path to becoming the starting quarterback wasn’t a straight one. Vice played football through his seventh-grade year before deciding to step away from the sport for a couple years.

Seventh grade was also when he met Ryan Dieu, now the Buffaloes’ football coach, who was his junior high basketball coach at the time.

“I just knew he was an athlete and needed to be playing multiple sports,” Dieu said. “He’s a good kid to have under center. He’s going to be athletic. He’ll be able to do something if a play breaks down, and I can depend on him to do what I ask. He’s going to be able to lead the guys.”

Their quarterback of the defense is ...Jacob Jones, a sophomore defensive lineman who’s a good complement to Vice on the other side of the ball.

Where Vice is outspoken, Jones is quiet. That is, until he gets on the football field.

“When we get on the field, he’s going to do his part and let the guys know where they need to be,” Dieu said. “He’s going to call our defense and be the guy who wants to set the tone.” E

ven though Jones said he’d rather get a pancake block on offense than sack the quarterback on defense, his defensive teammates trust him to lead the way, which “means a lot” to him.

He’s looking forward to the opportunity, especially with how important football is in his family.

“My family has always been really into sports, and football is just the big one,” Jones said. “A lot of my family has played, and I’ve played it my whole life. It’s my favorite part, and I love playing football.”

A successful season means …

getting in the win column. Georgetown-Ridge Farm/Chrisman hasn’t won a game since 2019, a far cry from its Class 2A state runner-up finish in 1994 and the various playoff campaigns that followed for the next couple decades.

Dieu took the head coaching job ahead of this season in hopes of giving his players a taste of that winning feeling.

“I wanted to help get the program back to where it was,” Dieu said. “When I was there, I had some of the best times when we were winning games and competing in games. I wanted to give them the opportunity to have that chance. It’s fun and something they can look back on with their teammates and be like ‘We did this.’”

The Buffaloes have watched film of their teams of old and seen hints of those teams in themselves. It’s motivated them to make this season something special to build off of moving forward.

“I just want to see a smile on my upperclassmen’s faces when they win a game,” Vice said. “I want to set them up for success and happiness. For my younger guys, I want to be on a winning team so we can pass it down.”

Follow the Buffaloes

Georgetown-Ridge Farm/Chrisman’s 2024 schedule

DATE TIME OPPONENT

Aug. 30 at Watseka 7 p.m.

Sept. 7 vs. Oakwood Noon

Sept. 14 vs. Clifton Central 1 p.m.

Sept. 20 at Westville 7 p.m.

Sept. 27 vs. Hoopeston Area/A-P 7 p.m.

Oct. 4 vs. Iroquois West 7 p.m.

Oct. 12 at Salt Fork Noon

Oct. 18 at BHRA 7 p.m.

Oct. 25 at Momence 7 p.m.

Meet the staff

➜ Head coach: Ryan Dieu

➜ Defensive coordinator: Jeff Willaman

➜ Assistant offensive coordinator: Colton Murray

➜ Assistant offensive coordinator: Andrew Nicholson

➜ Assistant offensive coordinator: Bryce Herrin

➜ Assistant defensive coordinator: Steve Sliva

➜ Assistant defensive coordinator: Travis Tate

Zach Piatt