Sophomore quarterback Mike Preuss figured he would spend this season as Lemont’s backup, learning from senior starter Nick Brace and maybe getting some time on the junior varsity level.
That all changed very quickly when Brace suffered a season-ending injury in the second quarter of the first game. Suddenly, the varsity rookie became the guy the whole team was counting on.
“I just knew I had to step up, make some plays,” Preuss said. “A lot of guys believed in me, and that’s all I could ask for.”
Preuss has pushed through all the ups and downs this season. Thursday night was a major up.
He completed 18 of 27 passes for 209 yards and two touchdowns, leading visiting Lemont to a wild 43-42 South Suburban Blue win over Hillcrest in Country Club Hills.
Cole Johnson made six catches for 84 yards and a TD and returned a kickoff 65 yards for another TD for Lemont (6-3, 6-0), which clinched the conference championship outright. Zac Piskule ran for 52 yards and two TDs on seven carries, while Cody Lutz had a sack and a tackle for loss.
Aiden Rudman tied the game with a 1-yard TD run with 5:32 to play and Michael Patino booted the decisive extra point for Lemont.
Anthony Bradley completed 13 of 20 passes for 191 yards and a TD for Hillcrest (5-4, 4-2), while his brother, Gary, threw a 58-yard TD pass to Erimus Wright and a 76-yard TD pass to Cameron Williams.
Wright, a South Dakota State recruit, also ran for 116 yards and a TD on 16 carries. Christian Finley had a fumble recovery.
Preuss, meanwhile, has impressed his older teammates. That includes Johnson, a senior receiver.
“Mike’s an interesting guy because I feel like the more you encourage him, he doesn’t really care about it,” Johnson said. “He’s just full of confidence, and that’s why we love him.
“We call it a ‘Preuss pass’ around here. He slings the ball, and we’re happy to have him.”
Preuss, who also plays baseball, tried football when he was much younger but gave it up for a few years before returning to the sport in eighth grade.
“I missed football and I wanted to play again,” he said.
Just two years after his comeback, he’s the varsity starting quarterback for Lemont. That’s quite a challenge but one he’s embraced.
“The toughest part was adapting to the speed and physicality of the varsity level,” Preuss said. “I played for the freshman team last season, and freshman to varsity is a lot different.
“I’m kind of a quiet guy, too, so I have to change that on the field.”
Lemont coach Willie Hayes is thrilled with how Preuss has handled it all.
“He’s done a phenomenal job of just continuing to focus on the little details, getting better each week and realizing he just needs to do his job and doesn’t need to do anything major,” Hayes said. “He relies on the guys around him, and I think the guys have really rallied around him the last couple weeks.”
Piskule also was injured in the opener and just returned last week. He was happy to see how far Preuss has progressed.
“There are still a couple mishaps because he’s still young and still developing, but he’s a solid quarterback,” Piskule said. “He gets the balls to us — he just makes good reads.
“He’s going to be a really good quarterback.”
Preuss threw a 49-yard TD pass to Johnson in the second quarter and an 18-yard TD strike to Donovan Moleski with 8:32 left in the game.
The latter helped force a 36-36 tie, but Hillcrest needed just 52 seconds to retake the lead on a 67-yard TD run by Wright.
That didn’t rattle Preuss, though. He drove his team 60 yards for the game-winning score.
“We just had to believe,” Preuss said.
