Wauconda senior Jake Thorstenson doesn’t let roles define him.

Thorstenson has moved seamlessly into Wauconda’s prolific offense at quarterback. But he continues to start on defense too.

“I’m just a guy who just so happens to play quarterback,” he said. “When I play football, I go out there with no thoughts and do what I do. I’ve played since I was in second grade, so I know what I’m doing.”

Thorstenson certainly looked like he did during Wauconda’s 43-39 Northern Lake County Conference road win over Grant on Friday night. He completed 6 of 9 pass attempts for 102 yards and two touchdowns, both to junior wide receiver Luke Sickmeir on fourth down, and ran for several third-down conversions as well.

Thorstenson, who also plays baseball, finished with 31 rushing yards on nine carries as conference co-leader Wauconda (6-0, 4-0) gained more than 400 yards on the ground against Grant (4-2, 2-2). Senior fullback Jackson Rudolph rushed for 214 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries, senior running back Cole Korycanek ran for 100 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries, and junior running back Brody Rudolph added 74 yards on 10 carries.

“My whole youth career, I played running back, and I was a bruiser, trucking people,” Thorstenson said. “I got faster, so I’ve bounced around since then. But avoiding contact is the least of my worries. I want contact, and I love contact.”

Thorstenson gets to initiate plenty of contact on the other side of the ball too. He’s the rare quarterback who plays defense, mostly at cornerback this season. He had started at linebacker for two seasons.

“They moved me to secondary to protect me a little bit,” he said. “Today, I played linebacker for the first time, and it was awesome. I did that (playing both quarterback and linebacker) freshman year. But it was just so much fun. I love games like this. It’s the best.”

Wauconda coach Chris Prostka said Thorstenson will play wherever the team needs him.

“At his core, he’s a defensive guy who likes to hit people,” Prostka said. “He really developed as a quarterback over the summer, though. You can see, when he runs the ball, it’s like having a fourth running back.

“He does anything we need him to do. He would play every special teams position, as long as he’s on the field. The kid loves to play, and he brings a great attitude.”

As the quarterback, Thorstenson is the primary reason Wauconda isn’t one-dimensional. His ability to look downfield when the opposing defense has eight or even nine in the box is critically important for the offense.

“It’s always appreciated to have a quarterback who can throw because it opens up our playbook a little more,” Jackson Rudolph said. “If our run game isn’t working, like in the first half tonight, he’s able to throw the ball to Luke and make things happen.”

That’s a good way to look at Thorstenson. He makes things happen.

Trailing by two touchdowns early in the second quarter, Wauconda stayed true to its run-oriented offensive identity but foiled Grant with two fourth-and-long touchdown passes from Thorstenson to Sickmeir, who had seven catches for 122 yards. The first was a 36-yarder on fourth-and-27 from Grant’s 36-yard line before halftime, and they struck again on fourth-and-13 from Grant’s 22 to stretch Wauconda’s lead to 36-26 early in the fourth quarter.

“It being fourth down is the furthest thing from my mind,” Thorstenson said. “We’ve got things in the playbook for every scenario, and I know where I have to get the ball.”

Thorstenson knows opponents can’t be so sure.

“It’s been really fun and tough for teams to stop,” he said.

Steve Reaven is a freelance reporter.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/04/football-wauconda-grant-jake-thortenson/