It’s the year of the quarterback in Illinois prep football, and Libertyville’s Quinn Schambow might be putting together the best season of all.
Through 10 games, the 6-foot, 197-pound senior has thrown for 50 touchdowns. That’s the seventh-highest single-season total in state history, according to the IHSA website.
He has completed 75% of his passes for 3,262 yards with only three interceptions in 222 attempts.
And the most mind-boggling part of it is, football isn’t even Schambow’s best sport. Baseball is.
Schambow is one of the nation’s premier high-school catchers, committed to Oklahoma State and owning a .421 batting average over a little more than two high-school seasons.
Most national-caliber athletes usually end up specializing before their prep years are over. But Schambow couldn’t resist one more go-round in football and it’s worked out as well as he or his team could have hoped.
Libertyville (9-1) won a share of the North Suburban title and beat Deerfield 43-17 last week for its first playoff win since 2015. The Wildcats host Lake Forest at 1 p.m. Saturday in a Class 6A second-round game. The Scouts won the teams’ first meeting 42-35 in Week 8.
“We’re not surprised,” Schambow said of the Wildcats’ breakout season. “Other people might be, but we knew it was going to happen.”
Schambow started playing football in his backyard and graduated to flag football around eight years ago,
“I’ve always had a pretty good arm,” he said. “[But] I liked to play receiver when I was a little kid.”
The thought of focusing on baseball this year did cross his mind. Balancing both sports, including a travel schedule that has him flying out of town for national events, isn’t easy.
But he couldn’t pass up the chance to play one more football season, especially with the talent Libertyville has this year. Junior receiver Blaise LaVista and sophomore tight end Brock Williams both have Division I offers.
“We have a very loaded team on both sides of the ball,” Schambow said.
That made coming back an easy call.
“I’m definitely going to miss the game,” Schambow said. “I love it. … That’s why I decided to play this year.
“I’m going to be sad when it’s all over. I’m just trying to take advantage of every [day] with guys. It’ll be tough to walk away from.”
But his future is clearly in baseball. He started out playing wiffle ball with his buddies before moving on to youth baseball as a pitcher, catcher and shortstop.
Now he’s settled in behind the plate. What does he like about that spot?
“My favorite thing is just catching the ball,” Schambow said. “There’s a lot that goes into catching. It’s very satisfying when you and your pitcher are working well together.”
Oklahoma State is one of college baseball’s most storied programs, with 49 NCAA Tournament appearances and 20 trips to the College World Series. The Cowboys prioritized Schambow early and committing to them was an easy decision.
“It was mainly the coaches and the campus and how they can develop me to be the best I can be,” he said. “I think I can go in there freshman year and make an impact.’
First, though, he has some unfinished business on the football field.