Junior quarterback Hunter Boyd shows signs he’s ready to grow up in a hurry to lead Chesterton’s young offense as the lone returning starter on that side of the ball

Tom Keegan
Onwardtrojans.com

One year can be a long time for a high school athlete, sometimes long enough for a teenager to go from the one being carried to the one doing the carrying.
That’s where Chesterton junior Hunter Boyd finds himself in preparation for his second year as the Trojans’ starting quarterback.
A little taller and thicker, moving with a more athletic gait, and communicating more comfortably, Boyd appears happy to have graduated from follower to leader.
“I feel a lot more prepared,” Boyd said as he conducted an interview that stretched from the weight room near the gymnasium to the locker room door at the football stadium before the Trojans’ 11th and final summer practice. “Having a year of experience, I know what to do as far as preparation going into each game.”
So much has changed that in one year Boyd has gone from the youngest starter on the offense to the lone returning starter. He stands about 6-foot-4, is closing in on weighing 195 pounds and throws a beautiful, catchable spiral.
As a sophomore, Boyd threw for 1,392 yards with eight touchdown passes and five interceptions and had a .592 completion percentage.
Boyd’s considerable arm talent earned him the starting job. When he was on, the lefty threw accurate deep balls with a nice touch. His limited mobility resulted in him compiling a rushing total of negative-108 yards as defenses made trying to sack him a priority.
He took a very serious approach to the offseason, determined to become more consistent with his throwing mechanics and stronger and more agile with an eye toward avoiding sacks.
“Hunter worked a lot in the offseason on some speed stuff and that was not a strong suit for him last year, so it was something he really needed to focus on,” 14th-year head coach Mark Peterson said. “He has done a good job in the weight room, really bought into what (strength coach Matt) Wagner is teaching him and is really developing as a leader.”
Boyd will need to be better than last season because veteran weapons have been replaced by developing talent, and he’ll be working behind a whole new offensive line.
All but 86 receiving yards graduated, as did Andrew Goveia and his 893 yards rushing.
Yet, replacing the most productive players at the skill positions doesn’t rank as the most difficult challenge for the offense. Cobbling together an offensive line that can keep Boyd standing long enough to find open receivers qualifies as the biggest concern.
No newcomer on the offense has generated a louder summer buzz than junior Sam Posavec, Portage’s leading tackler from his strong safety position as a sophomore. Posavec not only brings dedication in the weight room but talent on the field at running back.
“He’s a really good threat,” Boyd said. “He can break away at any time and he also can be used well in the passing game.”
Sophomores Harper Brown and Logan Leverenz lend depth at running back. Leverenz, who impressed as the trigger man of the freshman team, also will back up Boyd at quarterback and play some linebacker.
Boyd and Peterson both expressed satisfaction over how the summer went for those on the receiving end of Boyd’s passes, which softens the blow of losing Louis Raffin, Gus Wisch, Mike Rone and Patrick Mochen to graduation.
Seniors Colin McCoy, Bradley Robinson and Elliot Mehling, as well as junior Brody Lane, a transfer from Andrean, all developed chemistry with Boyd during the summer. Robinson also will play in the secondary.
“Brody’s been a nice target for me,” Boyd said. “He helps out a lot. He brings the energy to every practice and that’s one of the things we need the most. Plus, he’s a football player and an athlete. He knows where to settle in windows, he can get open and he has good hands, too.”
Peterson said that junior linebacker Mauro Semidei also will be a part of the passing game too and made some catches over the summer that caught the attention of college coaches.
So, although the skill group isn’t as senior-heavy as most years and the sophomore class will get more snaps than in most seasons, there does appear to be some exciting talent on hand.
To an extent, the players holding the football can only show their skills if the blocks are there for them. Therein lies the biggest challenge for the Trojans.
Kameron Elliott, the lone returning starter on the offensive line, has given up football, and the other four starters graduated.
Junior Malik Oueslati, who started some games last season, has the most varsity experience among the O-linemen. Seniors Daniel Nieto II and Isaiah Hammond, junior Leland Skube and sophomore Mason Donahue also are battling for spots up front.
“Every year some seniors and juniors end up stepping up and stepping in,” Peterson said. “We’re still working on solidifying some things.”
Boyd and his head coach/offensive coordinator share the opinion that the offense came a long way in a short amount of time over the summer and has an even longer way to go in the short span from when preseason practices start Aug. 3 to the season opener Aug. 21 at home vs. Hobart.
Boyd called a scrimmage vs. Andrean a “real punch in the mouth to see where we’re at. We were really far behind. We weren’t clicking.”
Boyd included himself in that not clicking assessment.
“There was a lot of miscommunication with the receivers, not knowing some of the routes and concepts,” he said. “Once we started to work on all the timing and stuff like that we got that down. We were struggling. But the offensive line has been working hard. They’ve been willing to get better and I think they have gotten a lot better. I mean, it's been a little bit of a struggle, but I have full belief in our coaches and in our line that we're going to figure it out. I know I know that we can. We just have to progressively get better each and every day to get there.”
Boyd didn’t wait for organized practices to work on his individual growth. He was honest with himself about his debut season and set about changing what needed to change.
“I’ve been working on my throwing mechanics because I feel like I was missing a lot of easy throws, so I’ve been working on that and have become a lot better at that this summer,” he said.
Under Wagner’s guidance, he also has worked on his legs and feet.
“I’ve just tried to become quicker,” he said. “I’m not necessarily going to be the fastest guy, that's for sure, but I’m trying to have quick feet and be able to extend plays because last year I really struggled with that, extending the play once the pocket collapses. I'm going to have to do that because that’s how football is. Things don’t go like they’re supposed to sometimes because stuff happens, so I'm just going to have to extend plays and be a football player and not collapse when the pocket gets tight.”
He said he feels different in that regard largely because of his work in the weight room.
“I feel like I can move a lot better,” he said. “I think last year it was just like my ankles and my hips were really stiff and I couldn’t move very well.”
In order for the Trojans to take advantage of Boyd’s arm strength on slow-developing pass plays downfield, the blocking will need to hold up. But even if those plays aren’t available, Boyd’s arm strength will enable Peterson to call quick-hitting plays that he couldn’t with a quarterback who doesn’t have as strong an arm, the coach explained.
“When we were on those arrow routes, those bench routes onto the perimeter out of those slot positions, he's got a good enough arm and solid enough arm strength to be able to throw that ball with great efficiency,” Peterson said. “That's a 3-or-4-yard route that he throws 25, 30 yards to get the ball to them, so that they can turn it into a 10-or-15-yard completion.”
The Trojans' other non-conference game is at Hammond Morton and after the seven-game DAC schedule they play in the same 5A sectional as Hammond Central, Michigan City and Munster.