Max Bray returns to Illinois Valley for senior year, transfers to St. Bede

When Max Bray was a sophomore at Aurora Christian, his father died.

Bray, whose family was living in Yorkville, returned for his junior season with the Eagles, but it was tough. After the first semester, he decided to return to his roots in the Illinois Valley.

The Ottawa native transferred to St. Bede last winter.

“My dad passed away my sophomore year. I finished that year and then I went back there, and it was just hard being away from my mom and being up there so much,” Bray said. “I wanted to come back down here with my family to grieve with them and finish my senior year down here.”

Bray said he has felt welcomed by the Bruins community.

“Something I’ve noticed is they’re just all very caring people,” Bray said. “They’re always checking in on me, seeing how I’m doing.”

Bray comes to the Bruins with three years of varsity experience at quarterback. He played four games as a freshman during the spring 2021 season and 10 games in each of the past two seasons.

At Aurora Christian, Bray was a freshman when current Northern Illinois University quarterback Ethan Hampton was a senior. Hampton graduated in December and enrolled at NIU in January, giving Bray the chance to play in the spring.

“I like to say that I’m a seasoned veteran,” Bray said. “I think it’s made me into a really good dual threat being able to throw and run. Just trying to stay smart on the field and off the field is one of the best things you can do as a quarterback.”

Bray completed 138 of 236 passes for 2,107 yards and 26 touchdowns to 10 interceptions as a sophomore while running for 289 yards and five TDs.

Last fall, Bray connected on 129 of 217 passes for 1,640 yards and 14 touchdowns to six interceptions with 427 yards and six TDs on the ground.

Bray led the Eagles to a 6-4 record in 2021 and a 5-5 mark last season.

“He’s a talent,” St. Bede coach Jim Eustice said. “He has a lot of experience. He’s done a lot of good things to build the relationships with his teammates and new classmates. He was here in January, so that helped.”

Bray, who is 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds, fills a void the Bruins faced with the graduation of two-year starter John Brady, who threw for 1,442 yards and 15 touchdowns and ran for 1,073 yards and 17 TDs last season in leading St. Bede to a 7-3 record.

“Last year is the first time we’ve had a quarterback who both rushed and threw for over 1,000 yards and Max is going to be able to do both as well,” Eustice said. “Having a quarterback who can do that is a lot of fun to be around and coach.”

Before Bray transferred, the Bruins were looking at starting a sophomore at quarterback this fall in either Gino Ferrari or A.J. Hermes.

“When the season ended last year, we were going to be going into this year with one of those two young kids as the quarterback, but now they don’t have that added pressure, and we can keep developing them down at the JV level,” Eustice said.

Bray said he’s getting used to the Bruins’ offense.

“It’s a very good offense they run here,” Bray said. “I’ve been able to get acquainted with the playbook. Coach Eustice is doing something really incredible here with how he’s running his plays. It’s not like any offense I’ve seen before. It gives people a lot of chances to spread the ball around, and I think my skills fit perfectly in this offense.”

Over the summer, Bray has put in time working with his receivers.

“All the receivers have been putting in work, and I think it’s really good,” Bray said. “[During preseason practices we have to] just keep getting better with our timing and catching. I sometimes throw them a little too hard. We just have to keep in sync and keep in rhythm.”

In his final prep season, Bray hopes to lead the Bruins, who went 15-6 over the past two seasons, to a deep playoff run.

“It’s my senior year, and I love football and the school,” Bray said. “I just want to be able to help bring them to a state championship.”