Sorenson, Stevenson aiming high again
Stevenson football opponents have the eye-popping play on film.
After all, all they have to do is go to Jack Sorenson's Twitter page (@Jsor6) and continue scrolling until they come across the video. The kid flipping the football behind his back and high into the air using his two feet is, yep, Sorenson himself. It's a move he learned from a soccer buddy of his.
From 30 yards out, using no hands, Sorenson drop-kicks the football toward the goal posts.
The kick is good.
I mean, the kick is really good. Brilliant. Sick. A trick play worthy of, perhaps, a spot in Stevenson's offensive playbook. They still allow drop kicks, don't they?
"I saw some kid do it and he got a couple of million views on YouTube," Sorenson said. "He did it from 20 yards, so I was like, 'I could do that from 30.' "
OK, so Sorenson says it took him 8-9 takes to split the uprights, which teammate Matthew Norton captured on film.
"Nobody saw those other ones," Sorenson said with a laugh. "I whiffed a couple of times before we finally got that one on film."
OK, so Stevenson graduated nearly its entire starting defense and multiple Division-I players, including the Northwestern duo of Cameron Green (football scholarship) and Willie Bourbon (baseball ride). But in the 6-foot-1, 185-pound Sorenson, who transitions from wide receiver to quarterback for his senior season, the Patriots have a YouTube-worthy sensation. Or, at least, a darn good athlete.
Last month, Sorenson verbally committed to Miami (Ohio) University to play football. Following his sophomore year, with no interest from college football coaches in sight, he gave a commitment to Boston University - to play lacrosse.
"He could play bags, badminton, bowling. He could play anything, and he's going to be good at it," Stevenson coach Bill McNamara said. "We're pretty fortunate that he's our quarterback this year.
Stevenson was lucky to have Sorenson on the other side of Green last season. If opponents game-planned to try to limit Green, Bourbon, the three-year varsity quarterback, targeted Sorenson, who didn't disappoint. A postseason call-up (and contributor) as a sophomore, Sorenson led last year's Class 8A state champs in catches with 63.
"He was an unbelievable wideout last year," McNamara said. "But he's the kind of kid that has to touch the ball on every offensive play."
Sorenson didn't expect to catch on at receiver, so to speak, so rapidly.
"I didn't. Not at all," Sorenson said. "I think teams prioritized Cameron. Which left me, Henry (Marchese), Jordan Atkins and all the other receivers wide open. Once Willie started moving the ball around, defenses had to respect all of us. So we all got similar numbers."
The game plan this season? Repeat it.
"I think it's what we're going to do this year - move the ball around a lot and make defenses think," Sorenson said. "I think that's what Willie did very well last year."
Sorenson has played quarterback all of his young life, minus last season. Miami, however, figures to play him at wide receiver, he says. After receiving 10-11 offers, by his count, he chose the RedHawks over the University of Pennsylvania. After two visits to Miami's campus - one with each parent - he made the official call on his third trip.
"That process was definitely chaotic," Sorenson said. "But I think at the end of the day, I was trying to find a school that had honest coaches and honest players, and where I could leave a legacy and (be a part of) a team that would be remembered. I want to make a difference."
And if he does that at Miami, he still won't be satisfied.
"My dream since I've been 3 years old has been to have an opportunity to play in the NFL," Sorenson said. "I think it's every kid's dream. Since I've been able to scribble on paper, it's always been 'NFL football player.' In high school whenever a teacher will ask, 'What do you want to be when you're older?' I write, 'NFL football player.' "
Go watch Sorenson's trick kick.
With him, anything is possible.
jaguilar@dailyherald.com
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