Neuqua Valley seniors Evan Moore and Broc Rutter go way back.
Their friendship can be traced back to the first grade, a time when their first passes and completions likely involved a small Nerf football during two-hand touch games at recess.
Now, the playground has turned into high school stadiums, and recess has given way to big Upstate Eight Valley games.
“We’ve been best friends as long as I can remember,” Moore said. “I was born in Tennessee and moved here when I was 7. We’ve been friends ever since.”
Rutter leads the Naperville area in passing yards with 1,033 and is tied for the lead in touchdown passes with 11. Moore is second in receiving yards with 376 and third in catches with 20.
They have helped the Wildcats (4-2, 4-0) win four straight.
“It’s been awesome training together over the years,” Rutter said. “Evan was overshadowed a bit last year, but he’s really stepped up and become one of our go-to guys.”
Last year, All-Stater Mikey Dudek was the go-to receiver for the Wildcats, but he’s now playing for the University of Illinois, one of the team’s few bright spots with 33 catches for 539 yards. Meanwhile, Moore saw some playing time last fall, but only caught three passes for 25 yards and one TD.
“Last year was a big learning experience,” Moore said. “You don’t really realize the speed of the game jumping like it does from sophomore to varsity. I learned a lot from Mikey (Dudek) and Ryan Kuhl. They told me to not overlook things and to just play football and not overthink.”
Moore also attributes a lot of his success from the training he and Rutter have received at Don Beebe’s House of Speed in Aurora over the past few years.
“We’ve learned so much about timing and route running there,” Moore said. “We’ve been really working hard on it since eighth grade and it’s all coming together. I think we’re seeing it pay off.”
Bill Ellinghaus, in his third year as Neuqua’s head coach, has had his share of dynamic offensive players. He’s also been the team’s offensive coordinator since 2004.
“Evan’s always been a receiver who runs precise routes,” Ellinghaus said. “No matter the situation, he runs great routes. He’s done that since sophomore year. Plus, it helps that he has great chemistry with Broc.”
After losing their first two games to begin the season, the Wildcats have done nothing but win. They’ll host Bartlett on Friday.
During their winning streak, Moore has averaged 72.5 receiving yards and caught three TD passes.
“We definitely knew what we could do in Week 1 and Week 2 but we didn’t do it,” Moore said. “I think we finally came together at Glenbard East (Week 3) and that was the confidence boost we needed.”
While Moore’s focus right now is on Friday and then the remainder of Neuqua Valley’s season, he also hopes to play football in college.
“Yeah, I hope to keep on playing,” he said. “I’ve looked at a few schools. We’ll see what happens.”
