Co-captain profile: Dillon Weckerly, Rock Island defensive lineman

Stats

The senior led the Rocks with 79 tackles, the best effort the school had out of a nose guard.

Team

Rock Island won its second straight

Western Big Six title and finished with an

8-2 record.

Honors

Weckerly was a first-team all-conference selection for the first time.

Biggest surprise

Getting no respect before the season. "Everybody was playing us down. Everybody was picking Alleman, Moline and even Quincy because we were losing everybody from the offense. But we had all our defense coming back, and we started with a good nucleus. Once the season started rolling, we were like, ‘Yeah, we got it.' "

Adaptablility

Rocky's outlook appeared grim after a

42-0 drubbing by Oak Park Fenwick to open the season. But the Rocks responded by winning eight straight games. "It was back to the drawing board, pretty much. We weren't physical at all. We all thought, ‘Oh, our defensive five is coming back. We're fine. We're fine.' After that first game, we were like, ‘Hey, we need to start playing.' "

Biggest accomplishment

Nothing could top back-to-back Big Six titles. "We wanted to show everybody what Rock Island football was about. That was big for me, being one of the first nose guards to ever lead the team in tackles."

Small but determined

Weckerly is listed at 5-foot-8, 183 pounds on the Rocks roster. "I don't feel like I have to go harder, but I know that I gotta stay low, use my technique, because if I don't, then I'm whipped. I know I am. So if I don't stay with every play, every time, I'm done for."

Future

He wants to keep playing football and is looking at Rockford, Monmouth and Augustana as options. The plan is to major in criminal justice, return to Rock Island and join the police force.

Co-captain profile: David Johnson, Clinton

Stats

The senior amassed 1,864 yards of offense and 42 total touchdowns.

Team

The River Kings won their first outright Mississippi Athletic Conference title since the league's inception in 1986. Clinton won the second and third postseason games in the school's history before a quarterfinal loss to Cedar Rapids Xavier.

Honors

Johnson earned recognition as the MAC Player of the Year and was an all-state pick by the Iowa Newspaper Association.

Biggest highlight

"Making it as far as we did. Just playing good together." Individually, no one touchdown burst stands out among the dozens. "Just running the best that I can, scoring for our team, helping our team out."

Biggest disappointment

"Not making it to the (UNI) Dome. We were really fired up to go to the dome. Our fans already had hotels rented out."

Filling the void

Basketball has started, and track will be along soon enough. Expectations are high for Clinton in both sports, particularly after the football success.

Future

He will play college football somewhere, but no decision will be made until after a few more visits. Thus far, he has

visited Illinois State and gone to a Northern Iowa game. Those two schools have extended scholarship offers, as has Western Illinois. Visits to Iowa and Iowa State will be planned soon, and perhaps more. "A lot of other coaches are interested in me, but they really aren't looking at the game film yet."

Position switch?

There's been talk of a move to receiver for the 6-foot-2, 205-pounder at the college level. No word on that, but Johnson is open to suggestions. "I've been approached about playing corner. I've only played it one year, but I'm open to anything, just playing football, having fun."

First team: offense

QB, Jake Mangler, Clinton, 6-0, 185, Sr.

Scored 20 TDs and collected

1,577 yards of offense

RB, David Johnson, Clinton, 6-2, 205, Sr.

Compiled more than 1,800 yards

of offense and 39 TDs

RB, Chris Glover, Rock Island, 5-9, 165, Jr.

Totaled 1,066 rushing yards,

averaging 9.8 a carry

WR, Keyvan Rudd, Central, 6-3, 180, Sr.

Averaged 20 yards a catch, finished with 732 receiving yards

WR, Travis Anderson, North Scott,

6-2, 180, Jr.

Made 29 catches for 373 yards and five TDs

TE, Joe Daniel, Assumption, 6-5, 235, Sr.

Big blocker caught 28 passes for

413 yards and 6 TDs

OL, Ryan Ricketts, Galesburg,

6-4, 265, Jr.

Division I talent set up Streaks'

run-based attack

OL, Sam Gervase, Assumption, 6-3, 215, Sr.

Contained defensive lines for Ryan Byrne to run for nearly 1,000 yards

OL, Josh Behrendt, Central, 5-11, 200, Sr.

Paced revitalized offense that

averaged 342 yards

OL, Larry Harris, Rock Island, 6-1, 228, Jr.

Carved holes for a backfield that amassed more than 2,600 yards

OL, Mitch Kramer, Moline, 6-1, 215, Jr.

Best blocker for a Maroons offense that underwent a major overhaul

K, Sam Jurgena, Central, 6-0, 165, Sr.

Connected on 89 percent of extra points and hit a 47-yard field goal

First team: Defense

DL, Austin Krick, Clinton, 6-2, 220, Sr.

Led MAC players with 120 tackles, including 26 for loss

DL, Oliver Vanderlinden, Rock Island,

6-6, 230, Sr.

All-stater recorded 54 tackles,

nine for loss

DL, Brody Berrie, Bettendorf 6-0, 280 Jr.

Six of his 55 tackles were for loss

DL, Dillon Weckerly, Rock Island,

5-8, 183, Sr.

Led stingy defense with 79 tackles

LB, Trent Moorehead, Bettendorf,

6-3, 215, Sr.

Had a fumble recovery and

interception to go with 67 tackles

LB, Sam Depoorter, Alleman,

6-0, 190, Sr.

Tenacious tackler had a pair of

interceptions, one for a TD

LB, Daniel Byrne, Bettendorf,

6-3, 215, Sr.

Made 70 tackles (10 for loss) and three interceptions

DB, Tim Martinez, Pleasant Valley,

6-0, 180, Sr.

Picked off two passes and made

20 tackles

DB, Alex Rankin, North Scott,

6-2, 155, Sr.

His six interceptions led MAC

defenders

DB, Nathan Gray, Rock Island,

5-10, 160, Jr.

Recorded 79 tackles and

four interceptions

DB, Ryan Byrne, Assumption,

5-11, 195, Sr.

Made 55 tackles, including five for lost yardage

P, Jon Meersman, Alleman, 6-2, 190, Sr.

Averaged 35 yards a punt with hang time to pin opponents deep

Second team: Offense

Pos. Player School Ht. Wt. Class

QB Cody Manthe North Scott 6-1 190 Sr.

RB Cody Lambert Central 5-11 200 Sr.

RB Nikko Watson Rock Island 6-0 240 Jr.

WR Nick Echols Central 6-0 180 Sr.

WR Bryce Ewan Bettendorf 6-0 175 Sr.

TE Jake Mirfield North Scott 6-4 218 Sr.

OL Jacob Davis Rock Island 6-2 275 Jr.

OL Sean Muholland Clinton 6-3 225 Sr.

OL Steve Ralston Clinton 6-1 240 Sr.

OL Jeremy Jacobsen Bettendorf 6-4 280 Sr.

OL Nick Hubner North Scott 6-2 230 Sr.

K Alex Garbin Pleasant Valley 6-0 180 Sr.

Second team: defense

Pos. Player School Ht. Wt. Class

DL Isaac Ales Muscatine 6-3 253 Jr.

DL Travis Plambeck Central 5-10 220 Sr.

DL Jared Hauer Alleman 6-2 230 Sr.

DL Kevin Heard Galesburg 6-2 240 Jr.

LB Seth Davis United Township 5-11 165 Jr.

LB D.J. Steffen Pleasant Valley 5-11 210 Sr.

LB Blake Pennock Clinton 6-2 230 Jr.

DB Louis Kranovich Bettendorf 6-0 180 Sr.

DB Aaron Meredith Galesburg 5-9 170 Sr.

DB Matt Noe Alleman 5-10 190 Sr.

DB Emmanuel Hamilton Rock Island 5-8 152 Sr.

P Mitch Michaelis Pleasant Valley 6-0 185 Sr.

Honorable mention

Quarterback - Mikel Wismer, Moline; Chris Suhr, Rock Island

Running backs - Aaron Huber, North Scott; Chris Sanders, Bettendorf;

Ty Hatheway, Clinton; Caleb Ollman, Galesburg; Matt Johnson, Rock Island; Nick Krantz, Moline; Logan Corrigan, West.

Wide receivers - Gage Ridenour, Bettendorf; Drew Lakin, Clinton; Austin Schwarz, North Scott.

Tight ends - Wade Klooster, Clinton; Josh Clifton, Pleasant Valley.

Offensive linemen - Brian Khoury, Bettendorf; Ben Reinartz, Assumption; Colton Bartholomew, Pleasant Valley; Zach Freudenberg, Clinton.

Defensive linemen - Jose Vasquez, Moline; Tyler Swope, Assumption; Eric Pruitt, Clinton; Paul Skovronski, Alleman.

Linebackers - Ryan Langford, Assumption; Tyler Blondell, North Scott; Brad Frick, Davenport North; Joe Kern, Davenport North; Ryan Cassidy, Clinton; Jacob Sharp, Alleman; D.J. Steffen, Pleasant Valley; Ryan Steckel, Davenport Central.

Defensive backs -Sean McGuire, Alleman; Tom Carroll, Assumption;

Garrett Hass, West; Matt Bettenhausen, Bettendorf; Tyler Morehead, Clinton.

Kickers - Dan Tomsha, Assumption; Ozzie Carrillo, Muscatine.

Punter - Austin Miller, North Scott.