By FRED KRONER
Many high school football seasons produce the same basic elements: Wins, losses, spectacular plays and blah plays.
Mahomet-Seymour’s 2025 football team checked the boxes in each area as well as in one other unexpected and unappreciated category.
Injuries. And more injuries.
“It’s the craziest thing I’ve seen in 17 years of coaching,” M-S head coach Jon Adkins said. “I’ve never seen a group go through this many injuries and ups and downs.
“It’s like, ‘Who’s in this week?’ It was kind of plug and play.”
Nearly half of the starters on both the offensive and defensive platoons were sidelined for varying lengths of time at some point during the 11-game season.
Six players were out for the season following their injuries.
The injuries can’t be planned for, or even avoided, but senior captain Noah Daniels credited those who were out with still making a vital contribution.
“Yeah, there were guys missing games due to injury, but that never stopped or slowed down the grind,” Daniels said. “The guys stepped up and did what they had to do because at the end of the day, we all had one goal in mind.
“Even the guys that were injured were still talking with the players, coaching them up and making sure that they knew what was supposed to be done. So, props to the injured guys because it could have been so easy to just not be there mentally or even quit, but these guys showed up every day and still did what they could to make us better. They were a huge part of our success this year.”
The injuries ran the gamut, from knees to ankles, shoulders to hips and liver to hamstring and “I feel like everything else in between,” Adkins said.
The silver lining is that when starters were missing, the next player up stepped into the role effectively.
“When Phil Daniels was out, Eli Dyer (junior) was ready at right tackle,” Adkins said. “Hughey Allen (senior) met the challenge when Jayvon Tompkins (noseguard) was out. When Jackson Golden was out, we brought up (freshman) Jaxson Tiefenthaler to bolster the offense.”
Tiefenthaler wound up averaging more than 10 yards for his 12 varsity carries.
That the lineup change transition went smoothly was a tribute to the Bulldogs’ veterans.
“Our senior-led group enabled us to battle through that,” Adkins said. “Our seniors did a great job leading the younger kids.”
Senior quarterback Ryan Pruitt, another of the team’s captains, made it a point to not get discouraged.
“Coach Adkins would always emphasize to ‘weather the storm,’” Pruitt said. “We knew bad things were gonna happen, but we made it a big emphasis this year on our response.
“A couple of key offensive players went down with injuries, but I knew as a leader that how I responded would bleed into others’ attitude. I stayed optimistic and we kept the wheels turning and a five-game winning streak was the result of it.”
M-S finished the season with a 7-4 overall record and the school’s first postseason triumph since 2022.
The Bulldogs dropped a 38-14 second-round decision to Washington in a Class 5A game on Saturday (Nov. 8) against an opponent that had been state-ranked in 6A throughout the season, but wound up in a lower class for the postseason.
Pruitt believed the team was prepared for the road encounter and a game they trailed, 14-7, at halftime.
“Our offense had their best week of preparation and practices of the year,” he said. “I think we played a good game against a great team, but it wasn’t good enough.
“We had a few mistakes in big moments, which maybe led to the score looking more lopsided than it truly was. Overall, we gave great effort and I had a blast playing with those guys one last time.”
After starting the season with back-to-back losses (including a one-point setback) to consecutive state-ranked teams, the optimism outside the program was not high.
“The doubt everyone gave us is what really pushed us,” senior captain Noah Frank said. “Nobody gave us a shot. Nobody really even thought we were going to make the playoffs.
“We all used that as motivation after starting 0-2 and went from there.”
The comeback started in Week 3, with a convincing 42-16 win against seventh-ranked Sycamore on the road.
Truly the naysayers were providing the inspiration that the team needed to turn the season around.
“Based on everyone else’s expectations, we overachieved,” Adkins said. “I knew we were young and the strength of schedule was tough.
“It was a tough start, but I knew it would come down to our seniors getting us through the rough patch. I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
The Bulldogs started the 2025 season needing to replace a two-year starter at quarterback (Luke Dyer) and the nucleus of the receiving corps from the previous season (a senior group which collectively had more than 1,550 yards).
Adkins was confident in Pruitt, last year’s understudy but a person who had attempted just two passes in a varsity game before August.
“I felt good with him being the guy in charge,” Adkins said. “As far as varsity reps, he didn’t have that experience, but any time you can put the ball in the hands of a senior, it means more to them.
“He embraced the role.”
Pruitt’s effectiveness during the season belied his feelings heading into the opener.
“I was very nervous on the bus headed to Morton for Week 1,” Pruittt said. “I remember being in class on that Friday with the butterflies in my stomach and not being able to eat anything because of the nerves.
“As the year went on, I got more comfortable in the offense and that helped me settle down a bit before games. I was never nervous because I was scared of performing bad, but overly excited to see all of my hard work pay off.
“No matter the opponent, I would always have a few nerves, but as soon as I started my cadence and got the ball in my hands, the nerves had left.”
In 10 of his 11 games this season, Pruitt completed at least half of his passes. Even though Adkins employed an offense that featured more running plays than passing plays (by a 2-to-1 margin), Pruitt still moved into the school’s all-time top 10 for passing yardage in a season (1,589 yards).
He had just four of his 201 passes intercepted and completed 62.2 percent of his throws.
For the fifth time since M-S resumed playing 11-man football in 1955, the Bulldogs had a 1,000-yard passer and a 1,000-yard rusher in the same year.
Sophomore Marco Casillas emerged as the go-to back, averaging 6.1 yards per carry while rushing for 1,065 yards.
“We (coaches) talked about bringing him up last year as a freshman, but wanted to let him have success at the freshman level so when he was a sophomore, he was ready to go,” Adkins said. “Early in the year, he was splitting reps with Cody (Moen), but when Cody got hurt, then it became the Marco Show and he was ready for the moment.”
Casillas had six 100-yard rushing performances, including a career high 232 yards in Week 8 against Charleston.
“It’s an honor to share the backfield with Marco Casillas,” Pruitt said. “His ability to run the ball for big gains consistently is what freed up the passing game so much.
“He was a workhorse for us this year (averaging 17.6 carries per game) and took a lot of the pressure off my shoulders knowing if I didn’t have my best game, Marco could pick up the slack.”
With his sophomore performance, Casillas moved into the No. 10 position at M-S for rushing yards in a single season. He also scored 20 touchdowns, and his 120 total points rank in a tie for seventh all-time for a season.
He was also the team’s No. 3 receiver this year, trailing senior Owen Seymour (312 yards) and junior Bryson Tiefenthaler (296 yards). Casillas gained 252 receiving yards and against Washington had the team’s only 100-yard receiving game of the year.
Pruitt, Casillas and Cade Ashby (who scored 16 total touchdowns this year and moved into fourth place on the M-S career scoring list with 216 points) were operating behind a veteran offensive line that featured third-year varsity regulars Noah Daniels (left tackle), Phil Daniels (right tackle) and Ollie Smith (left guard).
Senior center Josh Craig had some playing time a year ago and the newcomer to the line this fall was sophomore right guard Lane Schulze.
“As a line, I think we all feed off of each other,” Noah Daniels said. “We all mess up, but we have all seen a lot of things, so we can give feedback when it is needed and I think that is extremely helpful.
“There is always room for improvement, but I believe that we have done an incredible job this year as a group to do what is needed from us and be the ‘backbone’ for this team.”
The players in the backfield helped relieve pressure, Noah Daniels said.
“It’s awesome to know that we have that kind of skill behind us the whole time,” Noah Daniels said. “It just makes our jobs easier, so props to Ryan Pruitt, Marco Casillas and Cade Ashby.
“We talk a lot on how the team is riding on our backs because we are more of a run team than we have been, but honestly it isn’t just on us. It’s the wide receivers knowing their assignments, making the right blocks, and also the running backs making the right reads and also getting their nose in there and blocking.”
It is the true definition of a team effort consisting of athletes who are not just teammates, but also friends.
“It’s something special,” Noah Daniels said. “All of us have been playing together for most of our lives, and so it builds that trust that we know what we are going to do and what we are supposed to do.
“We take great pride in what we do and make sure that we are continuing to do what we are expected to do and go above that line.”
The M-S offense averaged 37 points per game, a tally that ranks in a tie for sixth on the all-time school single-season list.
This year’s playoff bid was the school’s fifth in a row. During those seasons, Adkins’ teams have earned 43 wins, the most ever by the same head football coach in any five-year period.
While the coaches lavish praise on the players for their performances throughout the season, the senior captains return the plaudits to the staff.
“Huge props to the coaching staff because they would work countless hours to make sure that we were all prepared for the battle at hand,” Noah Daniels said. “I know Coach Adkins doesn’t sleep at night so he’s always on film and watching to see what they are doing so we can take advantage of their mistakes.
“We wouldn’t be able to do half the things we do without them. We are fortunate to have a coaching staff who cares about the game, cares about us, and this program and wants nothing but to see us succeed. It’s a blessing.”
Sharing the captaincy duties this year were Noah Daniels, Noah Frank, Wade Manuel and Ryan Pruitt. They were among the team’s 19 seniors.
Besides Adkins, the coaching staff includes Michael Burner, Keith Pogue, Henry Turek, Nathan Sievers, Blake Begner, Jason Murphy, Clayton Murphy, Rob Gallier, Brad Anderson, Kyle Clapper, J.T. Murphy, Alex Georgiou, Nathan Watson, Ashton Heiser, Josh Barnes, Clark Roberts and Carrick Macdonald.
“I couldn’t ask for a better coaching staff to develop me these past four years,” Pruitt said. “They constantly believed in me and gave me the confidence to succeed.
“It is also very evident how hard they work. I always hear about how long their Sunday meetings are, when they are there for eight to nine hours at a time.”
The staff formulates a weekly plan that is presented to the squad in time for the Monday practice.
“They put us in the best position to succeed and make sure we become better people while we do it,” Pruitt said. “The scouting reports are detailed and easy to comprehend for high school kids who are still learning the game more and more each week.
“By game time, we know what to expect. It’s just up to us to execute the game plan.”
The coaches never wavered in their approach.
“For the three years I played for them (on varsity), they never let me down,” Frank said. “They’re consistently consistent.”
M-S reached the end zone 58 times this season. After 55 of those TDs, Adkins sent the kicking unit onto the field.
Senior Jackson Davis concluded his record-setting three-year stint as the placekicker by converting his final 54 extra-point attempts. The streak places him in a tie for 16th on the all-time IHSA list for consecutive conversions.
In his last 18 prep games, covering most of his junior and senior seasons, Davis connected on 96 of his final 97 attempts, making him the most accurate kicker in M-S history.
As a senior, he was working with long-snapper Josh Craig and holder Ryan Pruitt.
“Automatic Jackson,” Adkins said. “He worked so hard at it and was awesome. And credit Ryan, he had some great holds when the ball was slippery or the snaps were not perfect.”
Davis will graduate with school records for total career points by a kicker (157, including three field goals) and career extra points (148). He also has the third- and fourth-best single-season totals for extra points (55 as a junior and 54 as a senior).
In his final high school game, he moved into ninth place on the all-time list for career points scored by an M-S football player.
Casillas, Noah Daniels and Davis were all recognized by the Apollo coaches as first-team all-conference picks. From the school’s offensive unit, Ashby, Smith and receiver Wade Manuel were chosen for the all-Apollo second team.
Defensively, the Bulldogs had three first-team all-league picks: middle linebacker Beau Back, cornerback Chase Dockham and defensive end Noah Frank.
All-Apollo second-team defenders were junior safety Talon Decker and sophomore noseguard Jayvon Tompkins.
The nucleus of the defense consisted of underclassmen.
“Coming from a tough loss (28-27) against Morton and a lot of question marks for our defense, I couldn’t be more proud of our younger guys stepping up and playing how we did each week,” Frank said.
Five of M-S’ top seven tacklers were underclassmen, led by juniors Talon Decker (84 tackles) and Beau Back (82 tackles).
They were followed by senior Chase Dockham (42 tackles), senior Noah Frank (41 tackles), junior outside linebacker Pierce Douglas (41 tackles), junior defensive back Paxson O’Malley (38 tackles) and sophomore outside linebacker Colin Hammerschmidt (38 tackles).
Back (14), Frank (12) and Douglas (10) were the team-leaders in tackles for loss. Frank and Douglas both had four quarterback sacks.
Decker and O’Malley shared the lead in interceptions with two apiece.
“We’ve done a lot of great things,” Adkins said. “They were tremendous kids to be around. That made the season fun.
“I expect to keep things rolling.”
There is one playoff streak which the Bulldogs would not like to continue. Each of Mahomet-Seymour’s last nine postseason wins have happened in home games.
It is closing in on the 20th anniversary of the school’s last playoff road victory, a 35-0 win at Bethalto Civic Memorial in the quarterfinals on Nov. 12, 2005.
The M-S junior varsity team had a 4-3 record with one shutout and the freshmen squad ended with an 8-1 record and three shutouts.
