Youngsters making impact during Newman’s playoff run

Historically, Papoccia has never been a fan of bringing up 10th graders to the varsity team, preferring instead to run his well-established system with juniors and seniors who had paid their dues in the high school program.

But way back in August, the 33-year veteran knew the skill-set some of his sophomores possessed were going to be too hard to ignore.

"We've got some really good sophomores who are pressing," Papoccia said back on  August 14. "I don't like to bring sophomores up, but these kids are going to get a chance probably; they're pretty good."

Not only is Papoccia a four-time state champion coach, he's also a prophet.

The two sophomore starters on the Comet offensive line – center David Rowzee and guard Jacob Barnes – have been anchors in the middle all season long, and three of the 11 sophomores Papoccia brought up the for the playoffs have also proven to be key contributors to Newman's run to the Class 3A semifinals.

"It's been quite a ride," said the 6-foot-3, 250-pound Barnes, from Rock Falls. "I love these seniors, I love these coaches, and I love this team. It's been a great experience, and it's going to be tough to say goodbye to this season."

While Barnes and Rowzee were varsity newbies, classmates Dillan Heffelfinger and Nolan McGinn had some experience at the highest level. McGinn was a strong performer last spring for the track team, while Heffelfinger made a splash on the baseball diamond as the Comets' leadoff hitter.

Those two, along with punter Brandon Ahlgrim, have stepped in and been big parts of this playoff run since being called up at the end of the regular season.

"It's definitely helped me adjust, knowing a lot of the seniors from playing baseball with them," said Heffelfinger, who has two TDs while spelling fullback Brian Bahrs at various points throughout the postseason. "I thought my role would mainly be on special teams, but then I got an opportunity to play some fullback against Monmouth [-Roseville in the second round] and was able to score a couple of touchdowns. My role's gotten bigger week by week."