By FRED KRONER
I usually don’t speak in hyperbole.
Philosophically, I simply don’t believe there is a performance in sports or a record set during an athletic competition that can not eventually be bettered.
Logically, this statement has to be true: whatever the current record is exists because someone set it. Therefore, that level of achievement is clearly possible.
Why shouldn’t we believe that if the mark was reached once, it couldn’t be reached or improved upon a second or third – or fourth – time? Or more?
About the time I convince myself that I am right, something comes along to shatter my belief.
Mahomet-Seymour’s Jack Gallier is that person.
What he did during his four years with the M-S football program had never been done prior to his arrival in high school.
For starters, he earned a varsity position as a ninth-grader on the defensive line.
There have been – and will be – other four-year starters in football, so that feat in and of itself is not particularly extraordinary.
Generally, players promoted to the varsity as freshmen attend smaller schools where there are fewer candidates and thus a greater need for athletes.
The enrollment at M-S was knocking on the door of 1,000 students throughout Gallier’s tenure, which ended after the football season of 2023.
A truism about football is that experience and strength go hand-in-hand. Gallier was a varsity novice in his first high school game, which took place (thanks to COVID-19) in March of 2021.
He wasn’t playing a position where he could be used as a decoy. Gallier was a defensive lineman, meaning that he was part of the action every time the ball was snapped.
He more than held his own and earned all-conference first-team recognition as a freshman and then the three subsequent seasons, proving that he was not only one of the best at his school, but also one of the elite in the six-school conference in which he played.
To be able to handle the rough-and-tumble nature of the play in the trenches as a ninth-grader showed a skillset and toughness past his chronological age.
At 6-foot-1, 210 pounds, his size as a freshman was not outstanding for a player on the defensive line.
Gallier’s abilities went far beyond the Apollo Conference, however. When The News-Gazette selected its All-Area team, he was a first-team choice four consecutive seasons.
He was a four-time Illinois High School Football Coaches Association All-Stater, once for his play on the field and three years in a row for his academic prowess.
I’m not sure I will again see that level of overall excellence and achievement in high school football at a school the size of Mahomet-Seymour at that position.
Without further ado, Mahomet-Seymour’s Quarter-Century team.
OFFENSE
WYATT BOHM, Class of 2023, QB. Two-time News-Gazette All-Area first-teamer holds school records for season passing (3,171 yards), season completions (184) and season TD passes (32). Coaches Association first-team all-stater as a junior and an honorable mention all-stater as a senior. Was an Academic all-state first-teamer as both a senior and a junior. Also, first for career touchdown passes (59) and stands second for career passing yardage (5,683), second for single-game passing (390 yards) and third for passing yards in a season (2,512).
ANDREW BREWER, 2009, RB. Two-time All-Area first-teamer holds school records for career rushing (4,088 yards), season rushing (2,365 yards as a senior) and single-game rushing (363 yards on a school-record 40 carries). Coaches Association two-time all-stater as a senior and as a junior. Gained 1,723 yards on the ground as a junior, a total which ranks second on the all-time M-S single-season charts. Rushed for 32 touchdowns as a senior and 28 as a junior, ranking first and second, respectively, on the all-time leaders’ list. Set school-record for all-purpose yards as a senior (430, which included 363 rushing, four on a pass reception, 25 on kickoff returns and 38 on punt returns) against Normal University High.
MICHAEL BURNER, 2007, OL. All-Area first-teamer as a senior anchored a line which featured an 1,110-yard rusher individually and 2,000-plus yards rushing as a team.
CULLY DAY, 2014, WR. All-Area second-teamer as a senior ranks second at school for TD catches in a season (14) and fifth for season receiving (862 yards). Ranks third for career pass receptions (17). Caught 42 passes for 862 yards as a senior and had 20 catches for 279 yards as a junior.
CHASE DIEDRICH, 2012, RB. All-Area first-teamer as a senior ranks third at the school for season rushing (1,445 yards) and third for rushing TDs in a season (20). Coaches Association all-stater as a senior.
LUKE DYER, 2025, QB. All-Area first-teamer as a senior holds school record for single-game passing (593 yards) and single-game TD passes (eight). Coaches Association academic all-stater as a junior. Set a school mark for single-game completions (26) as well as TD passes in a game (eight). Also had a 350-yard passing game, which ranks third all-time. Ranks second for TD passes in a season (30).
STEVEN FETZER, 2006, PK. All-Area first-teamer as a senior holds school records for points by a kicker in a season (74) and field goals in season (eight). Also had five interceptions as a senior.
JOE KENNEY, 2015. QB. Two-time All-Area second-teamer ranks second for career TD passes (58), third for career passing yards (5,611) and third for career completions (327). Coaches Association all-stater as a senior. Threw for 2,292 yards as a junior (sixth all-time) and 2,330 as a senior (fifth all-time).
ETHAN KING, 2009, OL. All-Area first-teamer as a senior earned all-state honors and helped clear a path for the school’s record-setting single-season rushing leader (Andrew Brewer).
KOLTON METCALF-POULOS, 2025, OL. Two-time All-Area first-teamer and two-time unanimous All-Apollo Conference selection anchored a line as a senior that helped M-S produce its highest-ever offensive average (426.1 yards per game).
RYAN OHL, 2010, WR. All-Area first-teamer as a senior averaged more than 20 yards per catch (38 receptions for 772 yards). Thirteen of his catches went for TDs.
JAKE PATTERSON, 2011, WR. All-Area first-teamer as a senior hauled in 30 passes for 530 yards and seven TDs.
JON REED, 2013, OL. All-Area first-teamer as a senior. The center was a three-year starter and helped the Bulldogs average 5.4 yards per running play in his final season.
BODIE REEDER, 2005, QB. All-Area first-teamer as a senior. Four-year starter holds record for career passing (6,295 yards) and career completions (412). Coaches Association all-stater as a senior. Passed for 2,342 yards as a senior (fourth all-time) and 1,957 as a junior. Threw 47 touchdown passes in his career (fourth all-time).
QUENTON ROGERS, 2023, WR. Two-time All-Area first-teamer holds school record for career receptions (117), career TD receptions (29) and season TD catches (18). Coaches Association all-stater as a senior. Had a four-touchdown game as a senior. Ranks second (59 catches) and third (58 catches) for season pass receptions.
BEN STAHL, 2018, OL. All-Area first-teamer as a senior was a two-way standout who anchored the offensive line and posted 66 tackles on defense.
JACK TENNANT, 2006, OL. All-Area first-teamer as a senior was the catalyst on a line that helped the team register more than 40 rushing TDs. Coaches Association all-stater as a senior.
KYLE WALMER, 2023. Holds school records for career points by a kicker (144), career extra-point conversions (132), season extra-point conversions (59) and is tied for first for extra points in a game (nine). Ranks second for season points by a kicker (68).
DEFENSE
JARED BOSCH, 2006, P. All-Area first-teamer as a senior, averaged 35 yards per punt, totaled 90 tackles on defense and added 700 total yards and 10 TDs on offense. Two-way starter for three years.
KYLE DOLLAHON, 2012, LB. All-Area second-teamer as a senior. Ranks sixth for tackles in a season (123), which led the team that year and ranked sixth in the area.
GRANT FARCHMIN, 2014, LB. All-Area first-teamer as a senior ranks fifth for tackles in a season (128). Team’s top tackler two consecutive years. Coaches Association all-stater as a senior.
ANDREW FRANKLIN, 2015, DL. All-Area first-teamer as a senior had 80 total tackles, five tackles for loss and four sacks.
BRADY GREENE, 2004, DB. All-Area first-teamer as a senior, holds school record for career interceptions (14). Had nine interceptions and 77 tackles as a senior, when he also caught 28 passes for 649 yards.
JACK GALLIER, 2024, DL. Four-time All-Area first-teamer ranks fourth for career tackles (195). Coaches Association all-stater as a senior. Was an Academic all-stater as a senior, as a junior and as a sophomore.
NICK GOLDEN, 2023, LB. All-Area first-teamer as a junior holds school records for career sacks (21), season sacks (13), career tackles for loss (51) and season tackles for loss (33). Coaches Association honorable mention all-stater as a junior.
ZAK KAESBERG, 2012, DL. All-Area first-teamer as a senior, registered 47 tackles and five tackles for loss.
TOM KENNEY, 2016, DB. All-Area first-teamer as a junior holds school records for season interceptions (11) and season pass receptions (71). As a junior had 71 catches for 1,176 yards. Had a game-high total of 17 receptions (first all-time) for 230 yards (second all-time). Ranks second all-time (102) for career receptions and career receiving yards (1,568).
BRANNON KWIATKOWSKI, 2010, LB. All-Area first-teamer as a senior, holds school record for career tackles (225), including 121 in his final season, which ranks seventh all-time. Versatile threat also had four interceptions as a junior and two field goals and 29 extra points as a senior.
DONOVAN LEWIS, 2024, DB. All-Area first-teamer as a senior holds school-record for single-game interceptions (three) and picked off seven passes in his final season.
JOE SAPP, 2003, DL. Two-time All-Area first-teamer recorded 98 tackles as a junior.
BOB SCHROEDER, 2009, LB. All-Area first-teamer as a senior finished the year with 100 tackles. Two-way starter rushed for seven TDs as a fullback.
KYLE SCHUTTE, 2005, DB. All-Area first-teamer as a senior is tied for second at school (with Brady Greene) for single-season interceptions (nine). Also caught 44 passes for 899 yards as a senior. Had 12 tackles for loss as a senior.
JASON SEAMAN, 2007, DL. All-Area first-teamer as a senior and a two-way all-Corn Belt Conference selection in his final season.
CONNOR THOMASON, 2019, DB. All-Area first-teamer as a senior ranks fourth for interceptions in a season (eight). Had 31 tackles as a senior.
BROCK VANDEVEER, 2025, LB. Two-time All-Area first-teamer after transferring from Champaign Central as a junior is tied for second (with Jack Gallier) for career tackles for loss (27). Coaches Association Academic all-stater as a junior.
GUY WILLIAMSON, 2005, DL. All-Area first-teamer as a senior who had 74 total tackles, 10 tackles for loss and five sacks as a senior. Coaches Association all-stater as a senior.
