St. Laurence senior Jimmy McDermott had played safety throughout his high school career, but he made four emergency starts at quarterback last season due to injuries.
After getting a taste of playing behind center, McDermott wanted more. Making the transition to a full-time offensive player, he’s sharing quarterback duties this fall with sophomore Noah Taylor.
“It’s super fun playing quarterback,” McDermott said. “I like thinking. I like being in control of the game. Being able to play the quarterback position, that’s a lot more difficult to me than anything else and I like a new challenge, so I’ve enjoyed it.”
McDermott responded to his first playoff challenge Friday night. He threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to Cory Les and also ran for a 70-yard TD to lift St. Laurence to a 49-19 win over host Oak Lawn in a Class 6A first-round game.
Les ran for 158 yards and a TD on just nine carries to pace the Vikings (6-4). Taylor threw a pair of TD passes, featuring a 13-yarder to Sean Rice and an 11-yarder to Jake Edlund.
Brian Killen also returned a fumble 35 yards for a TD to boost St. Laurence, which will play host to Bradley-Bourbonnais (9-1) in the second round. The Boilermakers beat Shepard 42-21.
“Hopefully, our offense that game was a statement for the rest of the class,” McDermott said. “I was confident in myself and Noah that entire game. If we needed to run the ball or pass the ball, I felt like we were pretty dominant on both sides.”
Jayden Schlosser contributed three catches for 42 yards and ran for a 1-yard TD to lead Oak Lawn (7-3), which saw its huge turnaround season end after going 0-9 last year.
Danny Strelow completed 10 of 18 passes for 137 yards, while Alex Soto ran for a 15-yard TD and Luke Mahoney added an interception for the Spartans.
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When first-year St. Laurence coach Patrick Swanson took the job, however, he quickly heard from McDermott about his positional preference.
“He came to me when I first got hired and said, ‘I want to be a quarterback — I want to learn the offense,’” Swanson said. “We did kind of a quarterback school from March through August.
“He was there every day with his notebook.”
And the results have delighted Swanson.
“Jimmy’s done a phenomenal job of not only getting better for himself, but he makes us better,” Swanson said. “It’s his toughness. After every game, it looks like he’s been in a nine-round boxing match. It’s impressive to watch.”
To wit, McDermott hit Les on a screen pass that went for a 31-yard TD to start the scoring and broke free for a 70-yard TD run in the second quarter as the Vikings opened up a 35-6 lead.
On the latter play, McDermott showed off his biggest strength. He’s more of the running quarterback, with Taylor providing a spark in the passing game.
The duo believes it’s the ideal combination.
“We complement each other perfectly,” McDermott said. “Even in practice or in games, if I’m struggling, I know he’s going to come in and back me up. I hope he feels the same way about me.”
Taylor definitely does.
“Jimmy leads our offense very well and he’s been a big part of my success,” Taylor said. “He’s told me the right things to do and he always holds me accountable.
“Being a sophomore on varsity is a blessing. I’ve been able to further my success, and Jimmy is a big complement to that success.”
The offseason was certainly a challenge for McDermott, who was adapting to a new position with a new coaching staff.
All that extra studying was worth it, though.
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“Learning a new playbook with a new coaching staff was a little difficult but I got it done,” McDermott said. “It was also tough for me to leave the safety position. I had played there all four years and loved it.
“But I’m definitely happy to be playing the quarterback position.”