JERSEYVILLE - Two new eras begin tonight in Jerseyville when Granite City takes on Jersey; Brad Hasquin takes the reins of the Warriors tonight while Ric Johns opens his account as the Panthers’ new coach; tonight also begins an additional new era in GCHS sporting history as the Warriors begin life as an independent school after leaving the Southwestern Conference over the summer.
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It’s not the first time the Warriors have not been a SWC member; they had left the league in the mid-70s when they were known as Granite City South, going on to help form the old Gateway East Conference in the late 70s with then-crosstown rival Granite City North, Belleville Althoff, Edwardsville and Cahokia. The GEC folded not long after North and South were merged back together in 1983, with both Edwardsville and GCHS eventually re-joining the SWC.
Last year’s Warriors finished the season 2-7 overall, 0-7 in the SWC, under Carl Luehmann, while the Panthers finished 4-5 under Jon Adkins; both coaches stepped down after last season, with Hasquin and Johns taking their places.
Legendary high school football coach Ric Johns is back close to where he started for the 2018 season as the new Jersey grid leader. Johns is most known for his 16 years as head coach at Calhoun High School, where his team won state titles and as competitive each year in the state playoff hunt. He began his career in 1981 at Calhoun.
Granite City quarterback Freddy Edwards enters Friday night as projected to be one of the top offensive threats in the region, versatile with both the run and pass.
The Panthers will sport a different style of play and considerably varied offensive look under Johns, who many consider one of the better all-time football coaches in Illinois.
Johns has won 187 games in 28 years as a head football coach and his Trenton-Wesclin team was an undefeated 9-0 last year in the regular season and won a conference championship. Jersey was 4-5 last year.
“I started about 18 miles from here down river at Calhoun and that was 1981 when I was 24 years old in my first year,” Johns said. “I graduated from Belleville East in 1975. I went to Carlinville after that, then I was offensive coordinator at Triad for seven years before taking the head coaching job at Belleville West and Trenton-Wesclin.”
Johns said he is excited about coaching at Jersey, working with the players and coaches.
“Things are working well,” he said of his transition. “I think we have a pretty good shot for a good season. We have enough here to have a good team in my opinion.”Brent Feeney also contributed to this story.
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