New coaches are taking the lead at four Springfield area high schools as football season begins. Logan Larson and Trent Quarton will face each other in their first game as head coaches for Pleasant Plains and New Berlin. Both coaches expressed optimism about how their teams have responded to the changes.
Quarton said, “I think we’re on the right track; we’re headed in the right direction (…) We have a lot of supportive parents … have a lot of seniors, and a lot of senior moms that are more than willing to help me with the extra stuff.”
Larson also commented on his early start with the team. He said, “I thought the summer went really well (…) Obviously, I got to get in pretty early and started working with them in February. I was helping out with track, so I got to see those guys almost every single day (…) I thought our speed, athletically, we were in a pretty good spot. We need to get stronger, but that’s something we’re going to keep improving on throughout the football season. From a football standpoint, I thought those guys have really adjusted well, doing everything asked of them, being physical and tough. From a fundamental standpoint, just playing really good football.”
Last season New Berlin finished 7-3 and seeks another playoff appearance under Quarton’s guidance. The Cardinals, coached by Larson this year, ended last season 2-7 and hope to return to the postseason for the first time since 2018.
Quarton added, “I think everybody’s expectations normally is, ‘Let’s make the playoffs,’ (…) I think we have a group of seniors that are capable of doing that, along with some underclassmen. We have a lot of kids back, even though we lost a lot, that were a part of that run last year and are hungry for more.”
For Larson at Pleasant Plains, coaching his alma mater brings special meaning. “There’s still some familiar faces working in the school and just getting texts from old teammates and friends, they’re excited about the program and me getting the job (…) This is a special place for me,” he said.
In Pana, Mark Ramsey returns from retirement as head coach after years coaching across Illinois—including two state championship wins—and now aims to guide Pana further into postseason play.
At Beardstown High School, Chris Sawyers becomes head coach following his successful turnaround at Sunrise Mountain High School in Las Vegas where he led the Miners from winless seasons to being named the Las Vegas Raiders’ 2023 Tom Flores High School Coach of the Year.
Sawyers discussed his transition to Illinois: “The people are amazing. I’m not going to lie ― I’m not a fan of the humidity; it’s pretty awful. Someone told me in the winters, it can get down to minus-20 at times. It’s an interesting place, for sure,” Sawyers said with a laugh.
He described efforts to set new standards within Beardstown’s program: “It’s a big change for everybody: the kids, the coaches, the community (…) We’re trying to instill a different culture. It’s a big project, but the kids in general have been amazing. They really want to get better, and they’ve done a really good job learning the game of football and doing everything they can to try and understand what I’m trying to express to them.” Sawyers added: “We’re probably (behind) in that fact; we’re a little bit slowed (on hitting certain benchmarks before the season begins), (…) But we have got tremendously better and we’re making a little bit of progress every day.(…) The kids are not the problem. We’ve just got to get them the information, get them a little tougher and teach them some technique; they’re going to be just fine.”
As all four new coaches begin their tenures this fall across Springfield-area schools—Pleasant Plains’ Larson, New Berlin’s Quarton, Pana’s Ramsey and Beardstown’s Sawyers—they aim for improvement both on and off the field.
###
