Wes Lunt now holds the Illinois single-game passing record after racking up 590 yards.
File photo by Greg Behrens
Records often are spawned by necessity and that was the case Friday night when
Rochester (Ill.) was pushed hard to defeat Springfield (Ill.), 49-35, in an offensive shootout.
When the smoke had cleared, Rochester quarterback
Wes Lunt had completed 47 of 61 passes for a state-record 590 yards. Four completions wound up as touchdowns for the 6-foot-5, 200-pound senior who will attend Oklahoma State University.
The previous state yardage record was 589 by Tim Brasic.
Rochester, a Division 4 school with 645 students in grades 9-12, has produced three outstanding quarterbacks since Derek Leonard was hired as head coach seven years ago. Wes Lunt was preceded by his brother, Wil, a junior at Western Illinois University, and Sean Robinson, a sophomore at Purdue.
"We've been blessed," Leonard said. "I played quarterback – it's kind of my love. We like to spread it out and throw."
He learned his trade under his father, legendary Ken Leonard, at Sacred Heart Griffin (Springfield, Ill.) and Illinois College.
Leonard expects great things from Wes Lunt.
"He's about as good as he can possibly be," Leonard said. "He can play in the NFL some day. He's that special. He has the height, arm strength and is a good athlete. He starts in basketball and led in scoring the last two years.
"I knew he had potential to do something like that (the state record), but throwing like that was crazy. You never imagine that much. It was one of those special games."
Lunt has a 3.9 GPA and had scholarship offers from many Division I colleges, Leonard said.
He also benefits from an excellent receiver in
Zach Grant, who caught 20 passes for a state-record 345 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The 6-1, 190-pound senior runs 40 yards in 4.6 seconds and leads the team in interceptions from his safety position.
