Wisely, Yorkville’s coaches are letting Isaiah Brown just do it.
The slender sophomore receiver and punt returner is making coach Dan McGuire and special teams coordinator Mike Guzaldo look good in the process.
“The No. 1 thing they’ll say is, ‘Don’t be a superhero,'” Brown said. “‘Just do your job. Catch and secure the ball first.'”
The 5-foot-11, 155-pound Brown was referring to his work on special teams, but the message works for both of his roles. He leads the Foxes with 36 receptions for 427 yards.
Junior receiver Dominick Coronado, with 15 catches for 135 yards, is second in receptions. Junior running back Josh Gettemy, who has 14 receptions, is second with 205 yards.
It’s been a boon for Yorkville (10-1), which advanced to the Class 7A quarterfinals with a wild 34-31 victory Friday over Moline in four overtimes.
The Foxes kick off at 1 p.m. Saturday at Batavia (8-3), which needed two overtimes to escape Hersey (10-1) by a 19-13 margin.
Yorkville remains a run-dominant offense with 1,996 yards rushing, but the Foxes also have 1,274 yards through the air.
“I’m happy with anything I’ve gotten numbers-wise,” Brown said. “Anything I can do for the team is fine by me.
“I do block for our running backs and I have three pancake blocks. I’m not the biggest, but when I block, I hit hard.”
Last season, Brown played quarterback for the freshman team at a coach’s suggestion, but has played mostly wide receiver since starting at age 8.
“It was pretty fun having the ball in your hands every play and throwing it or running it,” Brown said.
During summer workouts, Brown let McGuire know of his previous experience as a receiver.
“Midway through camp, he asked me, Dyllan Malone and Luke Zook to stay back and play varsity,” Brown said. “It was one of the greatest days of my life, knowing I could play varsity as a sophomore.”
He said he was surprisingly calm in the season opener at Romeoville.
“First catch I got a first down and was knocked out of bounds.” Brown said. “It was like, ‘Wow, this is what it feels like. All the hype is real. Time to get going.'”
He hasn’t stopped but didn’t get his first touchdown until connecting on a 43-yard play — his longest of the season — with junior quarterback Michael Dopart in a 33-8 first-round playoff win over Libertyville.
“It came on a fade route,” Brown said. “I’m always looking for the deep route, but short routes have been my thing this season.”
Asked to self evaluate, Brown said his hands are his strongest asset.
“My ball security is very good,” he said. “And I’d tell you to watch for my shiftiness, because when the ball is in my hands, I’m going to try to break your ankles.”
Punt returns have been a small part of the game for Brown. One mistake, though, can have a huge impact on the outcome.
McGuire has put an emphasis on that aspect after losing a lot of senior talent to graduation from the offense.
“Isaiah does a nice job tracking the ball and is like a good center fielder out there,” McGuire said. “We knew field position would be important for us this year and don’t want to start drives on our own 5. We want to start on the 40.”
Brown, who has a season-long return of 74 yards, has done a nice job with fair catches.
“His body control is impressive, too,” McGuire said. “He went up late in the Moline game on a ball I thought our QB was trying to throw away. Isaiah came down with it, and I thought he was inbounds.
“They ruled otherwise, but he’s capable of making some pretty acrobatic catches.”
Brown’s best appears yet to come.