John Elway was one of the best quarterbacks in National Football League history. He led the Denver Broncos to the Super Bowl five times, winning back-to-back world championships in 1998 and 1999.
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Chris Wisslead will be remembered for "The Drive."
-by Matt Levins from the Hawk Eye, Burlington, IA (used with permission)
John Elway was one of the best quarterbacks in National Football League history. He led the Denver Broncos to the Super Bowl five times, winning back-to-back world championships in 1998 and 1999.
But his claim to fame began with "The Drive." On Jan. 11, 1987, in the AFC Championship game against the Cleveland Browns at Municipal Stadium, Elway led the Broncos on a 98-yard, game-winning touchdown drive in the final minute to send the Broncos to the Super Bowl.
Southern High School's Chris Wisslead, much like Elway, will forever be remembered for his own version of "The Drive."
The date was Nov. 9, 2002. Southern, making its third straight trip to the Illinois Class 1A playoffs, was trailing Annawan 24-20 with 1 minute, 24 seconds showing on the clock in their second-round game at Annawan.
Wisslead, the Rebels' quarterback, was in the midst of perhaps his worst game of the year. But he put that all aside and led the Rebels 69 yards on just four plays for the game-winning touchdown.
A legend was born.
Six-and-a-half months later, Wisslead helped the Rebels reach a supersectional final in baseball, one game away from a berth in the state tournament. It was the culmination of a remarkable four years for Wisslead at Southern High School. Wisslead was part of a special class of seniors to pass through Southern, a close-knit group of friends who enjoyed whatever sport happened to be in season.
Wisslead, The Hawk Eye's Male Prep Athlete of the Year, earned 10 varsity letters - four in baseball and three each in basketball and football. Wisslead and his classmates set a standard - not only on the playing field, but in the classroom and the community - for others to live up to.
"It was a lot of fun," said Wisslead, the son of Steve and Eleanor Ann Wisslead. "We had a lot of success. All the seasons last year were fun. I wouldn't change anything about them."
"Chris was very talented in everything he did, and he's a great kid," Southern baseball coach Jim Cole said. "Chris was very gifted in the classroom and he was easy to talk with. He's very athletic, but he's also a very good kid."
"Chris is a very smart kid who knows what he wants to do in life," Southern boys basketball coach Jay Blender said. "He's the kind of kid that when he graduates, you hate to see him leave."
"Chris is a very deserving boy," said former Southern football coach Will Bavery, who retired after last season. "He has a very good head on his shoulders. He'll do well in life."
Growing up in Raritan
Wisslead grew up in a house on the square in downtown Raritan, a small hamlet of 146 people located 10 miles southeast of Stronghurst.
Raritan is well known for two things: a tornado that ripped through town in May of 1997, and the annual Moore Brothers fireworks display every Fourth of July. The tornado that roared through town wiped out the building where the Wisslead family operated their bulk fuel business.
"That really affected our family," Wisslead said. "The building we were working out of was totally taken out. Those were some hard times there."
Wisslead enjoyed the lazy, carefree days living in a small community. The town park was the favorite hangout for all the kids. If parents were looking for their children, the best place to start was the park. The kids would gather there to play games and just have a good time.
"It was quite an experience, living in a small town," Wisslead said.
"There were a lot of kids my age. Every day we would be down at the park, playing baseball, basketball, football ... whatever we were in the mood for. We would get on the phone and call up kids and say "We're going to play baseball, bring your stuff.' We would play all day."
In fact, Quinn Leath's mother was the local Cub Scout leader.
"I used to go to his house and we would go camping," Wisslead said. "We have always gotten along well. (My friends) were the same way I was. Whatever time it of the year it was, that was the sport we played."
Wisslead's athletic talent, even at a young age, did not go unnoticed. Blender, who grew up in Raritan with Wisslead's father, could see that the young Wisslead had special athletic ability.
"Chris started in our program in second grade. He was involved all the way through high school," Blender said. "Even as a little kid, Chris was always hanging around the gym. He always had that desire to compete. If it's basketball, he wants to compete at the top level. The same with baseball, football, golf or even cards. He loves to compete."
Stronghurst to Media and back
Wisslead and his classmates went to elementary school in Stronghurst, then to Media for junior high. Together, Wisslead and his teammates began to taste success at an early age.
"In baseball we made it to the Sweet 16 our eighth-grade year," Wisslead said. "We qualified in track one year and got second. Everyone knew we had some good athletes in our class. We were expected to be better than average."
Wisslead's freshman year marked the return of the legendary Will Bavery to the football sidelines. The Rebels were 2-7 that season, then came back with a solid 7-3 season to earn their first playoff berth in five years.
Wisslead led the Rebels in rushing his junior season, gaining 548 yards on 87 carries and helped the team to another playoff spot with a 6-4 record.
But when quarterback Josh Ragar graduated and Bavery installed a new spread offense, the 6-foot-4, 185-pound Wisslead was a natural to take over as quarterback his senior year.
Wisslead delivered in a big way. He completed 141-of-232 passes (60.7 percent) for 1,986 yards and 27 touchdowns and was intercepted just 10 times. He helped the Rebels to a 9-3 record and a berth in the Class 1A quarterfinals.
"Everyone knew that when Josh left, I would step in and that would be my role," Wisslead said. "They kind of hinted at it when they took us to a passing camp in Fort Madison. We didn't lose a game down there. We beat Burlington and Fort Madison. We were lucky that we had a lot of good athletes. We had a lot of skilled people. We could see that the offense was a good fit for our team."
"Chris is a really, really accurate thrower," Will Bavery said. "When he is on, he is the most accurate thrower I've ever seen at that level. He could pinpoint a ball from 40 yards."
"Chris was a very hard-working boy," said Floyd Bavery, Wisslead's quarterback coach last year. "Every night after practice, I would get 30 or 40 yards away and he would work on hitting targets on the sideline. His accuracy really, really improved and he had a great year because of it."
The Drive
Wisslead's crowning moment came in the Rebels' second-round playoff game at top-seeded Annawan.
Wisslead, by his standards, was not having a good game. He was a miserable 5-of-11 passing for a meager 20 yards and was intercepted three times in the first half.
But Wisslead began to heat up in the third quarter and the Rebels forged a 20-17 lead after a Wisslead touchdown pass to Leath with 6:12 left in the game.
But the Braves went on a 74-yard, 13-play scoring drive to take a 24-20 lead with just 1:24 showing on the clock.
Wisslead knew he had one last shot, one last chance to shine.
"When they scored, we knew we had a certain amount of time left," Floyd Bavery said. "I called the plays from the sideline, but Chris knew we were going to have to hustle. I had one play called and we had another ready to go."
"With 1:24 left, I knew we had scored too early," Annawan coach Jim Frankenreider said. "I knew Wisslead was a good athlete. I knew he was capable of winning the game with the receivers he had."
Wisslead completing the first pass of the drive, a nine-yarder to Leath. He hustled the team to the line for the next play, a 28-yard completion to Matt McIntire.
Just like that, the Rebels were at the Annawan 27 with just under a minute to play.
"You could see, once Chris got that second pass in, they knew we could do this," Floyd Bavery said. "We just went down the field lickety-split. Just from the look in their eyes, they knew they could do it. They believed in themselves. They had confidence that we could win it."
"I was just trying to stay active and get that first pass in," Wisslead said. "We practiced going so many yards in a certain amount of time. It really paid off for us there. They were playing a prevent defense and everything just opened up. Our first goal was to just get a completion, not go for the home-run ball. We wanted to string four or five passes together. We weren't rushing as much as you might think. When you get out there, you realize you have some time to relax."
Wisslead calmly brought the Rebels to the line of scrimmage and called the next play. He hit McIntire with another completion, this one covering 23 yards to the Annawan 4. There were 37 seconds remaining as Annawan called a timeout.
Wisslead then hit McIntire once again, this time on a "Z-pattern' to the sideline. McIntire hauled in an over-the-shoulder touchdown pass to give the Rebels a 26-24 lead with 31 seconds left.
Southern's defense held and the Rebels came away with a thrilling victory to advance to the quarterfinals, where they lost to Kewanee Wethersfield.
"There was a big sigh of relief. We drove all the way down the field and scored," Wisslead said. "It was wild. It was a great feeling."
"Chris is an outstanding athlete. He did an absolutely great job on that last drive to win the game for them," Frankenreider said. "He was very poised for a high school kid. He has such good athletic ability that he was able to move out of the pocket if we got close to him. He is a fine athlete and he seems like a very good gentleman."
"That was an exciting time for our football program," Will Bavery said. "It was quite a drive. A lot of people say that was one of the most exciting football games they ever watched. I'm sure in our history that one will be like "The Drive' in Cleveland."
From the Gridiron to the Hardcourt
Wisslead was equally successful on the basketball court, where he played every position at one time or another.
Wisslead was an all-state player his last two seasons. As a junior, Wisslead averaged 18.1 points and 5.7 rebounds while helping the Rebels to a regional championship.
He followed that this year by averaging 17.5 points and six rebounds. The Rebels won the Bi-County Conference championship. Wisslead scored over 1,400 points in his career and was a three-time all-conference player.
But the Rebels fell short in the regionals, losing a 42-40 semifinal game against Monmouth to end the season with a 20-5 record.
Just like that, the season was over.
"It was disappointing," Wisslead said. "We were looking to go farther, but it just wasn't meant to be. But we had a lot of fun."
"Chris was a leader on the floor," Blender said. "He was a player we looked to to score for us. He really developed into a total player. He was a very, very good defensive player. He took great pride in that. Early in his career he was a very good scorer. But as his career went along, he became a very good all-around basketball player. He was very, very consistent. He was just consistent night in and night out."
A "Field of Dreams'
As in football and basketball, Wisslead was a natural on the baseball diamond. Wisslead's talents were apparent.
"My first year here I taught fourth grade and those guys were the first group I taught," Cole said of Wisslead's class. "It was great watching them through junior high and high school. It's been a great time for me."
Wisslead came up to the varsity team as a freshman, filling the designated hitter role. He moved to first base the next season. He also played some outfield and shortstop and was one of the team's top pitchers, along with Leath.
Wisslead saved his best for last. He was 7-1 with a 2.83 ERA as a pitcher and hit .471 with seven home runs and 41 RBIs this season. The Rebels took a 29-1 record into their supersectional final game against Rockridge, but dropped a heartbreaking 3-2 loss, falling just short of the state tournament.
"It was tough to swallow for a little while, but life goes on," Wisslead said. "Just like in basketball, maybe it wasn't meant to be."
And with that, the special group of seniors went their separate ways.
A legacy is left behind
Wisslead, a National Honor Society member, will enroll at John Wood College in Quincy, Ill., this fall, where he will begin his studies in the pharmaceutical field. He will play basketball and baseball for the Trailblazers.
"He's going to do both for us," John Wood baseball coach Greg Wathen said. "As a baseball player, he's got a high ceiling as a pitcher. He's not a super, super hard thrower, but he hits his spots and he can add another 2-3 miles-per-hour on his fastball in the first year alone. We are excited to have him join our team."
Wisslead and his fellow classmates may be going their separate ways, but they have formed a bond, a lasting friendship, which will last a lifetime. zAs for their legacy - time will tell.
"We'll see in five or 10 years," Wisslead said. "That was not one of my goals. I just went out there to have fun. It was a lot of fun competing and playing with my friends."