Prep football: Kyler's POY season helps Barbs reach semifinal

DeKALB – Since Matt Weckler took over as coach of the DeKalb football team four seasons ago, the Barbs have been big believers in the campground rule: Leave the team in better shape that you found it.

Senior quarterback Derek Kyler has done his part.

Kyler passed for 2,615 yards and 35 touchdowns and ran for another 1,003 yards as the Barbs reached the state semifinals (in Class 6A) for the first time since 1980, earning the 2016 Daily Chronicle Football Offensive Player of the Year.

“We expected big things – the goal was a state championship,” Kyler said. “We said that right from the get-go. From the end of last year, losing to Montini didn’t feel that good. We thought we had the pieces to make a big run, and we thought we did pretty good at it.”

The Barbs fell short of that goal, losing, 54-35, to eventual champion Prairie Ridge – the third time in Weckler’s four years they were eliminated from the postseason by the eventual state champion. It was 11 more points than anyone else scored on the Wolves, who beat Sacred Heart-Griffin, 48-17, the next week for the title.

Kyler threw six interceptions this year while completing 61.3 percent of his passes.

“All you can do is take the next step, and he did that as a player, as a leader and as a quarterback,” Weckler said. “He became more vocal, and definitely made plays when we needed to make plays.”

The Barbs went 5-5 and lost in the first round of the playoffs in Weckler’s first year, then Kyler became the starting quarterback. With current Illinois running back Dre Brown in the backfield, the Barbs went a round further in the postseason, finishing 9-2.

Last year, the Barbs reached the quarterfinals and finished 9-3, before this year’s the team went to the semifinals and went 10-3.

“With him, we made the playoffs every year, won a playoff game every year, made the semifinals, made the quarters, won our first playoff game at home three years ago,” Weckler said. “He brought that confidence to our program, that our team as a whole is expecting to win every time they go out on the field. For him to be able to do that makes our job as a coaching staff easier.”

Although the team will lose a lot of talent after this year – among the seniors were the 2016 Daily Chronicle Defensive Football Player of the Year, Dwayne Lacey, and last year’s top offensive player, Cole Tucker – Kyler said he’s convinced the pattern of improvement can continue.

“I definitely don’t think it’s just our class,” Kyler said. “Coach Weckler has done a great job with this program. Each year, the team’s getting closer and closer, and there are no individuals.

“Everyone is a team player. They don’t care about themselves, just the win. In the end, that’s what matters to everyone.”

Kyler went 28-8 as a starting quarterback, leading the team to six playoff wins. He has offers from Colgate and Olivet Nazarene, but also is talking to Columbia, Dartmouth and the Air Force Academy, he said.

Kyler said the experience of reaching the semifinals is something he won’t soon forget.

“Just going on our way to the semifinal game it was just unreal,” Kyler said. “We had a police car lead us out, a fire truck. People were standing on First Street, dressed in orange and black. It’s like we were in a movie. We had so much support, and I think this group will be remembered for a long time.”