Plainfield South 'Horse' Scores Rare Football Trifecta

In Plainfield South's opener, senior quarterback Sheldon Magee hit the high school football equivalent of a horse player's trifecta. He ran for a touchdown. He threw a touchdown pass. And he caught a touchdown pass.

Magee accounted for 151 yards total offense by himself in the Cougars' 50-6 victory over Raby on the Turf last Friday night at Chicago's Hanson Stadium.

He rushed three times for 64 yards. He turned a low snap and a potential disaster into a heads-up play and an electrifying 61-yard TD burst. He hit four-of-five passes for 61 yards. Included was a 20-yard TD strike to Alex Flores.

And, to top it off, Magee caught a 20-yard TD pass from Austin Howarth.

"Sheldon is great athlete," South coach Mike Briscoe said. "He can do all that. He can also play defense. But right now we don't need him there. He can throw the ball. He can run. And he can catch.

"He proved that on Friday night.  You've always got to know where Sheldon's at on the field. He's that kind of athlete."

South (1-0) jumped out of the gates just like Magee envisioned – with a show of team speed. The Cougars converted four-of-six third downs and piled up 416 yards with Magee spreading the ball around in their new spread attack.

"Yeah, it was a great game," he said. "But you've still got to keep playing. Our goal is to play 13 more games."

Magee is a two-sport standout for the Cougars who also runs track. He boasts sprinter's speed. He was clocked in a career-best 49.07 seconds for 400 meters last spring. He transferred back to Plainfield South after attending Aurora Christian for one semester.

He first learned the spread offense while at Aurora Christian. He makes his reads at the line of scrimmage, scanning the opposing defense from shotgun formation.

"If it's 'Cover 1,' we're definitely going to go to a pass because our guys can run by anyone," Magee said. "Our offense is based on some pull-reads. It's a diverse offense. This is our first year running it.

"At Aurora Christian last year, we ran a little bit of the spread. Coming back to South, it's basically the same offense I ran last year."

The big difference is Magee's maturity. He is not only a year older but also that much wiser. He leaves the wisecracking for the inevitable situations that come up with his fraternal twin brother John Magee, a returning all-state running back.

The two have been known to pull the occasional fast one on unsuspecting strangers – quite literally.

"People get us mixed up, so it's a game we can play on people sometimes," Sheldon Magee said.

He wants to run track and play football in college. He is looking at a number of different schools, the list running the gamut from Eastern Illinois and Purdue to Winona State.

He isn't in a rush to make a decision – only to return for an encore performance. The Cougars play host to neighborhood rival Joliet West on Friday night.

"It's like playing your brother and sister in other sports," Magee said. "You know all of them. They know all of your guys. So, it's going to be a close game."