Two heads, it’s often said, are better than one.
But does that hold true for quarterbacks?
Not likely, cynics will say, many of them going so far as to add, “If you’re playing two quarterbacks, it may mean you don’t have one.”
At Yorkville, junior Michael Dopart and senior Kyle Stevens have both heard that line before in their time as quarterbacks. And so has their coach, Dan McGuire.
So far at least, they have been proving the naysayers wrong.
“We’re each other’s biggest supporter on the field,” Stevens said. “We want each other to succeed, and that’s helped.”
It has also helped Yorkville (9-1) get this far.
The Foxes play host at 7 p.m. Friday to Moline (9-1) in the second round of the Class 7A playoffs. A win would give the program a double-digit total for the first time since 1999.
Yorkville has made it here with the 5-foot-11, 210-pound Dopart and the 6-3, 195-pound Stevens sharing the most important position on the field.
“With no true starter, we just had to try our best and keep working every day in practice,” Dopart said. “It was a little weird at first, but you get used to it.”
Stevens said since everyone’s goal is to start, “it was a pill we had to swallow when we got the news we were going to be splitting time, but we both accepted it well.”
In the playoff opener, Dopart completed 7 of 13 passes for 123 yards and one touchdown during a 33-8 win over visiting Libertyville. He has completed 84 of 154 passes for 1,020 yards with eight TDs and two interceptions this season.
Stevens, meanwhile, has completed 14 of 33 passes for 172 yards with three TDs and no interceptions.
“We bring different skill sets to the table and together run a well-run offense,” Stevens said. “We joke about how we’re both ‘QB half.'”
McGuire admitted it wasn’t his plan this season, but Stevens has been one of his most improved players on the team since last May and forced the issue.
“We were concerned about it going in for multiple reasons, getting them used to the tempo, used to the game and developing a feel for the game,” McGuire said. “In general, when you do too much, you spread people thin.
“Plus, you don’t know how they’re going to handle it personality-wise, how they’re going to get along.”
No problem there.
“We try to do it personnel grouping-wise with a package for each of them,” McGuire said of splitting the playing time. “I’ll never forget, in our game against Oswego, our package with Kyle was in.
“I remember looking around and Michael was like, ‘Keep doing what you’re doing, it’s working.’ For him to say that in a big game, I thought, was telling of the relationship they have.”
Both quarterbacks confirm the team’s defense is its strength.
“Going against them every day makes us better,” Dopart said.
And the quarterbacks’ work has helped McGuire’s team achieve his goal of balance on several fronts.
Yorkville has a 16-6 turnover ratio with 13 interceptions and three fumble recoveries, while the Foxes have given up the ball just four times on fumbles and twice on interceptions.
On top of that, Yorkville has scored 13 TDs rushing and11 TDs passing. The defense is also responsible for 11 TDs. Senior kicker Hudson Fiene has connected on 29 of 31 PAT kicks and 5 of 10 field goals.
In last week’s playoff win, the Foxes had one TD rushing, one passing, one on an interception return, one off a recovered blocked punt and a pair of 30-yard field goals.
“That’s a credit to our kids,” McGuire said. “It’s not easy. Everybody wants to play the whole time. I think that’s emblematic of our entire team.
“It’s really cool to see how they share everything.”