Possibilities not lost on Jonas Williams-led Bolingbrook

Following the fortunes of the Bolingbrook football team last season was a bit like buying a ticket for a rollercoaster that changed its route on every ride.

At times, you’d get an absolute thrill ride that left one wanting to see what was coming next. Other journeys, however, weren’t quite as satisfying.

Bolingbrook will go down in the record books with a 7-3 record and an opening-round playoff loss to Maine South in the 8A playoffs on the field. That loss was later reversed to a win because of sanctions placed on Maine South after the conclusion of the season.

Most programs would be relatively happy with a season mark of that nature, but after seeing some of the highlights, it’s hard not to imagine what might have been.

“Honestly, I just block it all out. I’m just focused at the task at hand and getting better with my team. I don’t really care about people’s opinions and their conspiracies about where I’m going.”

—  Jonas Williams, Bolingbrook quarterback

A big part of that explosiveness rested in the powerful arm of now sophomore Jonas Williams. A little-known freshman at the start of the season, Williams blasted onto the scene with a seven-touchdown performance against Minooka to start his season. He kept close to the ridiculous pace for the rest of the season, finishing with 34 touchdowns and nearly 3,000 yards passing.

But even he fell victim to the rollercoaster nature of the Bolingbrook season in the game that ended the Raiders’ season, where he was bottled up to the tune of just over 100 yards passing and threw four interceptions.

Then, after the season concluded, rumors swirled that Williams could be on the move to one of the national powerhouses to potentially enhance his collegiate prospects.

“Honestly, I just block it all out. I’m just focused at the task at hand and getting better with my team. I don’t really care about people’s opinions and their conspiracies about where I’m going,” Williams said. “I’m more worried about the task at hand and getting better every day with this team.”

Williams hopes for a statistical surge on the already excellent numbers he has posted, but honestly doesn’t seem to care about checking any other boxes on a personal resume. He is only focused on filling up the “W” column on Bolingbrook’s schedule.

“I don’t really feel the pressure,” Williams said. “If I don’t throw nine touchdowns or whatever, I’m not going to be mad. I’m going to be a team player. I just want the team to win, so whatever comes with it, comes with it.”

Bolingbrook underwent instability in its coaching ranks last season with long-time Raiders coach John Ivlow experiencing some health concerns midway through the 2022 campaign. Ivlow stepped down at the end of the season, with the Raiders eventually turning to its defensive coordinator and former Penn State player Titcus Pettigrew to take the reins of the program.

Pettigrew continues to be marveled by Williams’ approach, which belies his physical age.

“He’s stronger, bigger and faster. He’s a unicorn to me,” Pettigrew said. “The stuff we’re putting him through in practice and the difficulties we are making him face, he has a calm about himself. It’s rare, and I’ve played at the highest level, and I’ve seen from Doug Flutie to Drew Brees. He just has that ‘it’ factor and a calm about himself in duress situations that makes you believe he can be the next.”

And while it might seem too unorthodox to place a lot of leadership responsibilities in the hands of a sophomore, Williams has sort of forced Pettigrew’s hand.

“He keeps wanting to get better. He’s like a sponge. He’s coming back for more and inquiring for more information and details. If he makes a mistake, he wants to know what he can do to get better, how he can fix it. He’s motivated,” Pettigrew said. “For a kid to be 14-15, and I’ve seen him with players that have been down, and he’s walked over to them and say, ‘We don’t have time for that.’

“So he’s showing mannerisms of a senior in a 14- 15-year-old body. And it’s not your typical 14- 15-year-old body.”

And with leaders like Williams and Wisconsin commit Kyan Berry-Johnson at wide receiver, Pettigrew hopes his team can put last season behind it and focus on what could be next.

“I believe the calm can be there for them. It’s been a lot. We had a great coach in Ivlow, who’s still a dear friend to me. He set a great foundation and something we can build on at this school. And the kids just had to buy into it. We had to lock in and focus on a lot of things, ‘we’ and not ‘me’ mentality. I think that’s the direction we’re headed,” Pettigrew said.

“So the slogan we’re gonna go about all year is getting the RAC – responsibility, accountability and culture. Be responsible for your actions, be held accountable, and that creates the culture from every level to want to be great. And so we’ve got to stay with that formula and work it.”

The biggest challenge Bolingbrook may have ahead of it is on the defensive side of the ball. For the first time in several seasons, the Raiders defense won’t be anchored by a Division I signee. They still don’t lack for talent, though. The question will be how it responds when things don’t go as expected.

There was a three-game stretch where Bolingbrook surrendered 112 points and couldn’t get opposing offenses off the field. That can’t happen if the Raiders hope to reach their goals.

“What are we working on is really discipline,” Bolingbrook linebacker Chris Ellen said. “Because last year, we just had a lot of talent, but we just didn’t have the discipline to match last year. That’s what we are focused on.”