Burke Neibch didn’t need to make a name for himself as Wheaton North’s quarterback.
His last name already adorns the school gymnasium.
A 6-foot-2 senior, Burke Neibch is a grandson of the late Bill Neibch, who was Wheaton North’s athletic director from 1977 to 2000. The school named the gym and a girls basketball tournament in honor of Bill Neibch, an Illinois Athletic Directors Association Hall of Fame member who died in 2002.
But Burke Neibch’s local sports lineage runs deeper than that. His father, Chris Neibch, was a multisport athlete at Wheaton North and has been Waubonsie Valley’s athletic director for 14 years. His mother, Wheaton North math teacher Michelle Neibch, was an All-DuPage Valley Conference guard in basketball at the school — as was her brother, Brian Allured.
Michelle Neibch and Brian Allured are the children of Jim Allured, a quarterback in Wheaton North’s first four-year class in 1968. Jim Allured later was the girls basketball coach and a football assistant at Wheaton Warrenville South.
“Coming in my freshman year, there’s obviously just like a little bit of pressure, obviously already having a bit of a reputation with my grandfather, his name on the gym, my mom working here, and my dad, both my parents and both my grandparents going here — obviously a legacy that I was walking into, kind of outside of my control,” Burke Neibch said.
“I definitely embraced it. I obviously am very proud of my family’s history and who my family is as people.”
Bill Neibch died before Burke was born.
“I’ve just heard that he’s a great man, a great leader — kind, caring, generous,” Burke Neibch said. “I would have loved the chance to meet him — just talk to him, just get to know him. I know how great of a man he was, and I wish that I could have had that in my life. I still have my other side’s grandfather (Allured), and he means so much to me.”
Other than imploring his grandson to audible to a quarterback sneak — Burke Neibch defers to Wheaton North coach Joe Wardynski on that — Allured’s advice is simple but profound.
“I just tell him to get out there and do his best,” said Allured, who calls his grandson “an excellent field general.”
Burke Neibch has done that on the varsity level since then-senior quarterback Jacob Johnson suffered an injury in Week 2 last year. He completed 91 of 160 passes for 1,022 yards and seven touchdowns last season.
Burke Neibch’s preparation met the opportunity.
“Unlike some years when you may lose a starter at a position and you’re nervous as to who’s coming in to replace them, we felt very confident about Burke coming in and taking that role,” Wardynski said.
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“I felt like he did a great job for us, jumped right in, and the kids believed in him, and he led us throughout the rest of the year.”
Burke Neibch helped pace the Falcons’ 4-0 start this season, completing 25 of 43 passes for 374 yards and four touchdowns, although he’s sidelined by a hand injury.
“I see my role as just doing my job to help the team win,” he said. “I know I’m not going to throw 50 passes a game. I’m not going to throw 30 passes a game even. But I’m going to take my skill set and do what I can do.”
Chris Neibch, a 1997 Wheaton North graduate, said Burke knows the school’s importance to the family and emphasized it in a letter to his parents on senior night.
“He spoke to us in that note, saying how much of an honor it is to carry on grandpa’s name and be a part of the Wheaton North tradition,” Chris Neibch said. “It hit home pretty hard.”
With Burke Neibch out for the game against rival Wheaton Warrenville South on Friday, another Burke — junior Rory Burke — will make his second straight start at quarterback as the Falcons try to improve to 6-0.
In reserve will be Burke Neibch’s younger brother, sophomore call-up Grant Neibch, who may be positioned to continue the family tradition along with their younger sister, Annie Neibch.
“Obviously, I was kind of in his boat, what would be next year as a junior having a senior in front of me competing for that job,” Burke Neibch said. “I definitely hope, as he’s been pulled up too, to be a mentor to him. … Even if he does end up not getting the job day one, just making sure he’s ready to step up whenever his name’s called.”