Dream Eagle invited to play in annual Shrine All-Star game
By FRED KRONER
The fall football season for the Mahomet-Seymour program in 2021 was truly a dream.
Eleven consecutive wins to start the season.
A state ranking among the top four in Class 5A.
Two receivers who became the most prolific duo in school history.
The accolades and honors didn’t come to an end with the final game of the season.
For receiver Dream Eagle, there was an invitation to play in the annual Shrine All-Star game, which will be held on June 18, 2022 at Illinois Wesleyan University, in Bloomington.
It’s a game for seniors only and the 6-foot-2, 185-pound Eagle will be the lone M-S representative.
“It’s something special they get to be a part of and one more chance to play a high school game,” said Bulldog coach Jon Adkins, who also had a player selected last year (Clay Hubble).
Eagle became a receiver due to a series of family moves, which also resulted in him moving around on the gridiron.
“I’ve been playing football since I was 4 years old,” Eagle said. “I’ve played quarterback since I was a little guy.”
He grew up in Montana, spent his freshman year in Texas at San Antonio and transferred to St. Joseph-Ogden as a sophomore. He spent his final two years in an M-S jersey.
“My dad is in the military and we’ve moved around,” Eagle said.
“When you move to different schools, it’s hard to transition and get playing time as a quarterback.”
He decided if he wasn’t going to be the one throwing the passes, he would be on the receiving end of the passes.
“I knew I could catch,” Eagle said. “I put my head down and worked on my craft.”
He made a favorable impression on Adkins before the Bulldog coach ever saw him perform on the football field.
“From the moment I met Dream, I knew he was a special person,” Adkins said. “He asked for the playbook right away, so he could dive into it.
“I saw his work ethic and how he wanted to be successful.”
Eagle absorbed the patterns, and then made certain he was in the correct location during practices and games.
“On the field, he was always in the right spot,” Adkins said. “He had a great spring and an incredible fall.”
Before getting into a football game, he arrived at M-S in the fall of 2020 at a time when school was a combination of in-person education and remote learning.
“It was definitely tough,” Eagle said. “I’m an approachable guy, but with two days (a week) at school, it was hard to socialize.
“We had some fall workouts and I got in the mix and got to know some people.”
Due to repercussions of COVID-19, high school football teams in Illinois played an abbreviated six-game schedule in the spring of 2021, which served as preparation for a full schedule of games in the fall of 2021.
“There were pros and cons to spring football,” Eagle said. “You finished, and a couple months later, you were in the fall season.
“It definitely kept us all in shape and we were able to see what the next year would look like.”
For the Bulldogs, it looked like The Year of Records.
The passing game this fall, spearheaded by a veteran offensive line blocking for first-year varsity quarterback Wyatt Bohm, was the headliner.
Eagle hauled in 54 passes for the season, the third-best total in M-S history. Teammate Quenton Rogers had 58 receptions, the second-best single-season total.
Eagle’s 833 receiving yards rank sixth on the all-time school chart. But, when combined with Rogers’ school-record 1,255 receiving yards, they shattered the school mark for most yards by two players in the same year, with 2,088.
Eagle averaged 15.4 yards per catch and scored eight touchdowns.
In reflecting on the season, Eagle said, “I had the best time of my life.”
His value, Adkins said, goes beyond the numbers.
“He was a great teammate,” Adkins said. “He won our character award (voted on by the players).
“When the ball wasn’t coming to him, he would be the first to get excited and cheer for his teammate.”
Though Rogers is a junior and will return, Eagle won’t be back in a Bulldog uniform.
“We will have to replace him,” Adkins said, “but it won’t be an easy task. I’m excited to see what comes from here for him.”
In his two-year career at M-S, Eagle totaled 1,104 receiving yards. He flashed his potential in his second game at the school, catching 10 passes at 10th-ranked Mount Zion last March.
He ended his junior year – in April of 2021 – having more than half of the team’s receiving yards (271 of 528).
There is respect – not animosity – between Eagle and Rogers.
“Q is my guy,” Eagle said. “Me and him are good friends on and off the field.
“If I were a team playing Mahomet, I’d be pretty worried (trying to defend both players).”
Eagle had an eight-catch game, the best one-game performance this season by a Bulldog.
A three-sport athlete – who also plays basketball and runs track – Eagle is in no rush to commit.
“I’m letting my opportunities open up,” he said.
Adkins is confident that Eagle can play at the next level.
“If someone takes a chance on him, they won’t regret it,” Adkins said. “He’s starting to peak some coaches’ interest.
“I’ve told him to keep being patient.”
If someone were to ask Dream Eagle about his Dream school, he said it would be a college which also sports the Orange and Blue.
“My Dream school is Illinois,” said Eagle, who hopes to get a shot with the Illini as a preferred walk-on.
Wherever he winds up, he plans to major in business, with an eye to the future when he wants to “go into real estate,” Eagle said.
As for his selection to play in the Shrine game, Eagle said it truly is a dream come true.
“I set a goal back in the spring and it means a lot to achieve it,” Eagle said. “I’m very honored.”
