Game Balls: Top high school sports performances

Jordan Augustine

The senior quarterback broke Althoff’s single-season passing yardage record Saturday and also tossed six touchdown passes in a 58-21 Class 4A second-round playoff victory over Quincy Notre Dame. Augustine completed 23-of-29 passes for 326 yards in the win, picking apart the Raiders’ defense all afternoon and completing passes to eight different receivers in the first half. He pushed his passing TD total to 36 this season and also broke Eric Mertens’ single-season record for passing yards (2,902). Augustine has thrown for a record 2,962 yards this season.

Jaylon Bester

Bester ran for 145 yards in Saturday’s Class 4A playoff win over Quincy Notre Dame and also tacked on a scintillating 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. The talented junior leads Althoff with 17 touchdowns and is averaging more than 10 yards per carry with 960 yards on 93 carries.

Ben Flowers

After winning the Decatur MacArthur Sectional a week ago, Flowers continued to bloom as he placed 13th in the Class 2A State Cross Country Meet on Saturday at Detweiller Park in Peoria. Fkloweer finished the thee mile course in 14 minutes 57 seconds.

Ben Huels and Kane Osterhage

Huels, a junior, had four goals and one assist and Osterhage, a senior, had one goal and three assists as Waterloo defeated Mundelein Carmel 3-1 and Peoria Notre Dame 4-3 to win the Class 2A state championship at Hoffman Estates High School. Both players finished with 31 goals as the Bulldogs finished 25-3-1.

Katirah Johnson

Johnson has been a force at the net for the state-bound Indians all season and showed why again Saturday with nine of Mascoutah’s record 35 blocks in the super-sectional win over Quincy Notre Dame. Before Saturday she had 149 kills and now has 138 blocks.

Megan Lindsay and Amanda Jung

Lindsay and Jung have been two of Mascoutah’s top players all season and are key reasons the Indians are headed to the Class 3A state tournament. Before Saturday’s super-sectional win that sent the Indians on their first trip to state, Lindsay had 262 kills and 273 digs and Jung had 189 kills and 242 digs. Lindsay, Mascoutah’s all-time kills leader, will sign with Murray State and Jung is headed to Southern Indiana.

Colin Schuetz

The growth of the junior quarterback from the start of the season through the second round of the football playoffs runs parallel to the Knights’ advancing to the Class 4A quarterfinal. In Mater Dei’s defeat of previously unbeaten Columbia on Saturday, Schuetz was an efficient 21-of-29 passing for 206 yards and two touchdowns. He also led all rushers with 122 yards and two scores on 20 carries.

Jenna Schwartz

Waterloo, Cross Country

Proving without a shadow of a doubt that her outstanding regular season was no fluke, Schwartz proved to be the real deal as she placed 24th in the Class 2A Girls State Cross Country Meet on Saturday at Detweiller Park in Peoria. One of the top freshmen in the state, Schwartz finished with a time of 17 minutes 55 seconds.

Brendan Timmermann

The senior sometimes-wide receiver, sometimes-running back did a little bit of both in the Knights’ balanced offensive attack Saturday against Columbia. Timmermann caught 12 passes for 110 yards and a touchdown and rushed 14 times for 69 yards and two touchdowns.

This story was originally published November 9, 2015 at 7:57 PM with the headline "Game Balls: Top high school sports performances."