On the first day of fall practice, coach Adam Cruz deemed this season the “Year of the Billiken” on his Twitter account, anticipating an exciting breakthrough season for the Jr. Bills on the gridiron. 

“We have a really strong senior class … they’ve kind of been through it all together,” remarked Cruz. 

The four-year seniors on this team have been here for the highs and lows. The last three years, though, have seemingly yielded more lows than highs. They had to endure a 1-9 freshman season which featured five losses by four touchdowns or more and ended with a 63-0 blowout loss to CBC in the first round of the district playoffs. 

The following year, the team vastly improved to finish the year 5-5, but again were knocked out in the first round by CBC. 

Despite some tough times, second-year starting quarterback Luke Johnston sees the team’s past three years in a different light. 

“The chemistry has been great,” he said. “I’ve known these guys for four years now so not only do I know how they move on the field but we know each other on a personal level, which is really important. We trust each other.” 

SLUH will look to couple this comraderie and chemistry with a plethora of skilled playmakers to make a deep run this year, in what is the 50th anniversary of the last State Championship team at SLUH.

“The goal is always state,” starting safety Philip Bone said simply.

The Jr. Bills see this goal as more than attainable not only due to their team rapport, but also because of their talent and playmaking abilities on both sides of the ball, especially on offense.

“We’ve got a really strong backfield and a really strong receiving corps, really just a lot of offensive weapons in general,” Cruz recalled. 

For the second straight season, senior captain Luke Johnston will be at the helm of the Jr. Bill offense, looking to build off of his Second Team All Conference campaign last year, in which he threw for 11 touchdowns in just four games. Johnston will have a plethora of options at his disposal to set him up for a career best season.

The backfield will be primarily manned by senior running back Derrik Baker, who transferred to SLUH last year from Affton after rushing for 1300 yards as a sophomore. Sophomore Kodi Cade and junior Kam Bailey provide good positional depth for the Jr. Bills, but Baker’s speed and strength makes him the team’s ideal three down back.

Johnston believes that what makes the Jr. Bills dangerous is their assortment of options and balance in their offensive unit. 

“We are a well-rounded team this year. I wouldn’t say anybody stands out more than anyone else,” said Johnston.

The team’s wide receiver corps is, arguably, the most talented and deepest in the state, led by their three-headed monster of four-year starting seniors Isaac Thompson and Chris Brooks, and sophomore phenom Ryan Wingo. 

Thompson, a Mizzou commit who came in at 7th on the St. Louis Post Dispatch’s Super 30 ranking, racked up 796 all purpose yards his sophomore year, and will look to improve upon those numbers after being out for the majority of his junior season due to Covid. 

Brooks, a Yale commit who came in at 17th for the Post Dispatch’s Super 30, will be the team’s second option after recording 400 yards on 20 catches in only four games of his junior season. 

Wingo, the No. 6 player in the nation for the class of 2024, rounds out SLUH’s top three options. He boasts a 4.37 second 40-yard dash and will use that speed and athleticism to capitalize on his first full season for the Jr. Bills. 

              Behind this behemoth of a top three, Jacoby Oliphant, a 6’ 4” sophomore transfer from Trinity, will look to break onto the scene and make a name for himself. Other pass catchers, like seniors Tommy Etling and Craig Ortwerth, and sophomores Joe Harris and Nathan Gunn, will add remarkable depth as they vie for targets. The Jr. Bill offense also boasts junior Zach Ortwerth, an underrated 6’ 5” tight end with both blocking and pass catching abilities. 

Throughout the offseason, the offensive line, led by senior captain Kylend Watson-Brown, was the biggest question mark for the Jr. Bills. As practice has progressed though, it has since proven to be the most consistent positional group on the team. The starting line is rounded out with sophomores Gus Dames and Vince Chappuis, and juniors Matt Barnes and Alex Fowler. 

On the other side of the ball, the Jr. Bills will line up two-way player and four-star DB Isaac Thompson at strong safety, alongside All-District senior captain Philip Bone at free safety.

Two-way players Oliphant and Wingo will man the sidelines at cornerback with seniors Tommy Etling and Andre Tucker Jr., and junior Trey Smith-Crowe mixing into the equation as well. 

For the third consecutive season, senior captain linebacker Dontavion Sullivan will man the middle of the field, and he will reside alongside Louis Kertz, who will look to build on a solid sophomore campaign as the Sam linebacker. 

The defensive line remains a strong suit for the Jr. Bills with senior noseguard Pierston Sanders, two way player Watson-Brown, senior Cayden Owens, with sophomores Archie Carruthers and Kyle Wright eating up some minutes as well. 

Despite losing All State specialist Tyler Ridgeway, the Jr. Bills look to be set up well on special teams with seniors Thomas Ziegler and Connor Greninger manning the kicking duties, and Ziegler and senior Owen Rittemhouse splitting the team’s punting duties. 

This goal of winning a state championship has been etched into the back of all 109 Junior Bills in the 2021 football program, starters or not, since before the first day of summer workouts. They clearly have the necessary pieces to accomplish that feat, but there’s a reason you show up and play every single week. 

Bone iterated how, “this year, we are putting a lot more emphasis on winning each week instead of dwelling on what’s coming down the road, which has helped a lot of guys with their mentality.”

Yet, the strongest piece of mantra for the team has been the phrase, “burn the boats.” 

In 1519, Spanish Conquistador Hernán Cortés arrived in the New World with 600 men and proceeded to burn all the ships once they had come ashore. This sent a clear message to his men: there is no turning back. We commit in full to win each outing. Two years later, Cortés conquered the Aztec empire. The football team will attack this season with this same driving mindset. 

“We’re all willing to go out there and fight for each other. It makes it easier to play in the game knowing your brother has got your back,” said Brooks.