2024 NewsTribune Offensive Football Player of the Year: Princeton’s Casey Etheridge

When Casey Ethetidge was in grade school, he watched Princeton’s Ronde Worrels run all over opposing teams for a Bureau County record 4,387 yards.

After a big junior season for the Tigers, Etheridge is within striking distance of Worrels’ record as he now has 3,807 career yards.

“I remember being younger and thinking of Ronde Worrels as a celebrity,” Etheridge said. “He was a great running back and great defensive player. How hard I’ve worked and how hard we’ve worked as a team shows in how many yards we’ve been able to get as an offense. Being up there with someone like Ronde shows a lot.”

Etheridge had a breakout sophomore season a year ago with 1,897 and 29, and even with being the focal point of opposing defenses and playing both ways this fall, he produced another big season with 1,706 yards and 25 touchdowns.

The 5-foot-10, 175-pound junior helped the Tigers reach the Class 3A quarterfinals for the fifth consecutive season.

Etheridge was unanimous All-Three Rivers Conference Mississippi Division as a running back and honorable mention as a linebacker and also was named Illinis High School Football Coaches Association Class 3A All State honorable mention.

For all he accomplished this season, Etheridge is the 2024 NewsTribune Offensive Football Player of the Year. He also won the honor last season.

“He’s a kid who every single opposing defense knows where he is on the field at all times and they’re going to devote somebody to key on him to try to take him away,” Princeton coach Ryan Pearson said. “For him to have that kind of season with everybody knowing exactly what type of talent he is, that’s truly a testament to how hard he works and prepares and how impressive he is.”

Etheridge averaged 142.2 yards per game and 8.5 yards per carry. He rushed for more than 100 yards eight times, ran for 150 or more yards six times and eclipsed 200 yards twice. Etheridge scored touchdowns in 10 of 12 games and had seven multi-TD games.

“I think I really grew (this season),” Etheridge said. “I really appreciated my line and what they have to go through to open holes for me. I realized that every play doesn’t have to be big. A 40-yard play is great, but a 5-yard gain is also successful.”

Pearson said Etheridge does an excellent job seeing the hole and getting through it.

“A lot of credit goes to our offensive line and tight ends for opening up the holes,” Pearson said. “If you give Casey a small glimpse, he only needs a little bit of daylight. He’s one of the best cutback runners I have ever seen.”

Etheridge managed to have another big offensive season despite playing both ways this season. He finished with 36 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and 2 sacks as a linebacker.

“It was definitely a change this year compared to last year because last year I just played one way so I was able to take a break,” Etheridge said. “This year I played defense and it really worked my conditioning and mentality because you don’t get a break. You just go, go, go. I thought I grew as a player being able to play both ways.

“At the beginning of the season, I could really see an affect playing both ways, but as the season went on, I got in better shape and I really started to enjoy defense.”

Next season, Etheridge will look to gain the 581 yards he needs to become the county rushing leader, but more importantly to him, he hopes to help the Tigers to advance past the quarterfinals after four straight quarterfinal losses.

“I truly think the sky’s the limit,” Pearson said. “I know he’s not satisfied with how our season went the last few years. He really wants to be part of that group that gets us over the quarterfinal hump. … The kids in our program want to get to the big prize and I think Casey certainly has his eyes set on that. I think he’s going to do everything in his power to help us get there.”