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| St. Teresa safety Patrick Althoff has intercepted four passes in four weeks and has scored six TDs in four different ways -- passing, catching, fumble and interception returns. |
DECATUR -- Patrick Althoff swore off playing football again.
The St. Teresa senior, who transferred in from Bloomington Central Catholic last year, was more of a basketball player anyway. After partially tearing his ACL in a preseason football scrimmage his sophomore year, Althoff decided to focus on basketball.
But coming in this year and having family history on the football field, Althoff decided to give it another chance.
"My dad went here and played football. I kind of wanted to live up to what he did," Althoff said.
The Bulldogs are glad he changed his mind. Starting at free safety, the senior has solidified a secondary that has been impressive so far. He's intercepted four passes through the first four weeks while being a part of a defense that's allowed a 50 percent completion rate and just 221 passing yards.
On a team that has seen plenty of new faces play integral roles, the oldest one may have provided the biggest spark.
"I would say the only reason he's not a captain is because he's only been here a year," St. Teresa coach Tim Brilley said. "We have five senior captains, and he fits right in there. We needed someone to fill the void with Christian Williams being gone, and defensively, he's helped us there."
Part of the reason St. T's had success on defense is that Althoff has given the coaching staff peace of mind while sending more pressure at the line of scrimmage.
"I would say the biggest thing is that he allows us to be aggressive with our corners and the guys in front of us," Brilley said. "We like to put a lot of pressure and take away a lot of routes before they can even run them by being aggressive with our cornerbacks and our outside backers."
St. T plays a 4-3 and often moves the other safety up to basically create a 4-4. That leaves Althoff alone in the secondary to decide where to cover. It's a natural transition from basketball, where he plays the point.
"We already have one safety up in the box, so we're trying to keep him back and be that smart player," Brilley said. "You always have to have that last line of defense you can trust, just in case.
"The (cornerbacks) know they have to worry about the deep ball, but at the same time they know they're going to have help if the ball's actually thrown their way."
It's a bit ironic that Althoff is St. Teresa's safety net when he's had terrible luck with injuries himself.
After tearing his ACL his sophomore year, he missed most of his junior year of basketball because he tore his patellar tendon the second day of P.E. Even though consecutive years were marred by injuries and neither were in an actual game, Althoff said he had little hesitation in getting back to playing sports.
"I still feel pain every once in a while," he said. "I probably can't jump the same that I could before, but the biggest part was getting it out of my head -- that I'm OK, I'll be alright.
"I still have moments in games where I'm like, 'I don't want to get hurt. I'm a bit nervous.' But playing basketball last year and coming back was fun."
Althoff said there wasn't too much of a learning curve even though he hadn't played football for nearly two years. The bigger hurdle was getting a feel of how his teammates in front of him reacted.
"I guess you could say I was a little nervous, because it was my first varsity game ever starting," Althoff said of Week 1. "It was a little intimidating, but then just getting in the groove of everything, it was just like football again."
That was easily apparent in Week 2. Coming off a tough loss against Tolono Unity, St. Teresa shocked Maroa-Forsyth 39-36 and Althoff was a huge reason why. He intercepted three passes, caught a 42-yard touchdown pass and then to top it all off threw two touchdowns on trick plays that helped the Bulldogs retake the lead twice.
Brilley said he knew early on Althoff was his guy if they needed to dive deep into the playbook.
"We practice a few trick plays every week, and he just has that 'it' factor," Brilley said. "He's just an athlete and he just gets it."
Althoff's been more than a one-game wonder. He returned a fumble for a touchdown in Week 3, had a pick-six in Week 4 and is the third-leading tackler for the team. And yes, he's actively looking for those turnovers.
"I love watching the Bears and seeing them get turnovers," Althoff said. "That's what I want to be like.
"Charles Tillman's great. I love when he punches the ball out. That's just awesome. I try to do that, but can't say I'm nearly that good."
Now comes the challenge of continuing that success as pass-happy offenses Sullivan-Okaw Valley,
Tuscola and Shelbyville loom on the schedule in weeks 6 through 8.
"It's been enjoyable so far, but it's because we've been winning," he said. "Got to keep winning."
The St. Teresa senior, who transferred in from Bloomington Central Catholic last year, was more of a basketball player anyway. After partially tearing his ACL in a preseason football scrimmage his sophomore year, Althoff decided to focus on basketball.
But coming in this year and having family history on the football field, Althoff decided to give it another chance.
"My dad went here and played football. I kind of wanted to live up to what he did," Althoff said.
The Bulldogs are glad he changed his mind. Starting at free safety, the senior has solidified a secondary that has been impressive so far. He's intercepted four passes through the first four weeks while being a part of a defense that's allowed a 50 percent completion rate and just 221 passing yards.
On a team that has seen plenty of new faces play integral roles, the oldest one may have provided the biggest spark.
"I would say the only reason he's not a captain is because he's only been here a year," St. Teresa coach Tim Brilley said. "We have five senior captains, and he fits right in there. We needed someone to fill the void with Christian Williams being gone, and defensively, he's helped us there."
Part of the reason St. T's had success on defense is that Althoff has given the coaching staff peace of mind while sending more pressure at the line of scrimmage.
"I would say the biggest thing is that he allows us to be aggressive with our corners and the guys in front of us," Brilley said. "We like to put a lot of pressure and take away a lot of routes before they can even run them by being aggressive with our cornerbacks and our outside backers."
St. T plays a 4-3 and often moves the other safety up to basically create a 4-4. That leaves Althoff alone in the secondary to decide where to cover. It's a natural transition from basketball, where he plays the point.
"We already have one safety up in the box, so we're trying to keep him back and be that smart player," Brilley said. "You always have to have that last line of defense you can trust, just in case.
"The (cornerbacks) know they have to worry about the deep ball, but at the same time they know they're going to have help if the ball's actually thrown their way."
It's a bit ironic that Althoff is St. Teresa's safety net when he's had terrible luck with injuries himself.
After tearing his ACL his sophomore year, he missed most of his junior year of basketball because he tore his patellar tendon the second day of P.E. Even though consecutive years were marred by injuries and neither were in an actual game, Althoff said he had little hesitation in getting back to playing sports.
"I still feel pain every once in a while," he said. "I probably can't jump the same that I could before, but the biggest part was getting it out of my head -- that I'm OK, I'll be alright.
"I still have moments in games where I'm like, 'I don't want to get hurt. I'm a bit nervous.' But playing basketball last year and coming back was fun."
Althoff said there wasn't too much of a learning curve even though he hadn't played football for nearly two years. The bigger hurdle was getting a feel of how his teammates in front of him reacted.
"I guess you could say I was a little nervous, because it was my first varsity game ever starting," Althoff said of Week 1. "It was a little intimidating, but then just getting in the groove of everything, it was just like football again."
That was easily apparent in Week 2. Coming off a tough loss against Tolono Unity, St. Teresa shocked Maroa-Forsyth 39-36 and Althoff was a huge reason why. He intercepted three passes, caught a 42-yard touchdown pass and then to top it all off threw two touchdowns on trick plays that helped the Bulldogs retake the lead twice.
Brilley said he knew early on Althoff was his guy if they needed to dive deep into the playbook.
"We practice a few trick plays every week, and he just has that 'it' factor," Brilley said. "He's just an athlete and he just gets it."
Althoff's been more than a one-game wonder. He returned a fumble for a touchdown in Week 3, had a pick-six in Week 4 and is the third-leading tackler for the team. And yes, he's actively looking for those turnovers.
"I love watching the Bears and seeing them get turnovers," Althoff said. "That's what I want to be like.
"Charles Tillman's great. I love when he punches the ball out. That's just awesome. I try to do that, but can't say I'm nearly that good."
Now comes the challenge of continuing that success as pass-happy offenses Sullivan-Okaw Valley,
Tuscola and Shelbyville loom on the schedule in weeks 6 through 8.
"It's been enjoyable so far, but it's because we've been winning," he said. "Got to keep winning."
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