‘A huge honor’ to win the Adler Award — and to play with his son

Wheaton Warrenville South football coach Sean Norris played for staunch rival Wheaton North in high school, but he respects greatness no matter what side of town you’re on.

In 2024 Norris renamed the WW South Offensive Player of the Year award as the Phil Adler Memorial Outstanding Offensive Player. It honors the 1993 graduate and all-state running back who scored the winning touchdown in the Tigers’ first state championship in 1992, 40-34 over Joliet Catholic in double overtime.

“We want our players to remember people that went before them and inspire them to pursue excellence on and off the field. Phil was a great example of that,” Norris said.

The renaming came following Adler’s death at 49 on April 21, 2024, after a long illness.

“It’s just an honor to see him have his name up there. It’s very indicative of the type of player he was,” said one of his three children, Reid Adler, a junior linebacker who was a special teams leader this season for the Tigers while wearing No. 32, same as his dad.

“Very hard nosed, he’d always say, ‘Play hard, do your job, and no regrets.’”

Running back Owen Yorke was the inaugural winner of the Adler Memorial award in 2024. Now a senior, Yorke repeated the feat at the Tigers football banquet on Dec. 3.

The Class 6A all-state selection ran for 1,832 yards and 24 touchdowns. Overall, Yorke’s 3,415 yards rushing pushed him into third all-time at WW South, behind Dan Dierking and Red Grange — and just ahead of Phil Adler’s 3,055 yards.

“Being the first recipient of the award after his passing was a huge honor, and being able to carry on his legacy is a big thing,” said Yorke, who called it a privilege to be Reid Adler’s teammate.

“When I first got it last year, he was the first guy to know,” said Yorke, also an academic all-stater. “He was very complimentary about it, and I tried to be as supportive as possible. I just tried to be there for him, and I think the whole team was.”

Adler sees parallels between his father and Yorke. Tough, like his father, “ready to go” at all times, he said.

“He’s a very impressive player. I think he definitely deserves it,” Adler said.

Yorke felt honored to have played with Adler, and “to represent his dad the best I can,” he said.

“Whoever gets (the award) next year should be super appreciative and grateful to have the chance to honor such a well-spoken-of individual who had such an impact on us,” Yorke said.

The fisher king

In November the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society (B.A.S.S.) announced its 2025 Bassmaster High School All-American Fishing Team.

Kaneland senior Carter Pjesky made the 12-person team out of about 200 applicants.

“It means a lot,” he said. “I’ve been working out there for a lot of years and also working hard in the classroom, so it feels good to be recognized for it.”

Competing in tournaments since the fourth grade, Pjesky travels to about 10 states a year to fish. Around these parts, he favors Delavan Lake and Geneva Lake just over the Wisconsin border.

We asked him for some tips, things that led to him finishing in the top five in 10 tournaments over 2024-25, including the title at the 2024 Strike King Bassmaster High School Series in Georgia.

Pjesky won that with former fishing partner J.D. McBroom, a St. Charles North graduate now at the University of Alabama.

“Probably my biggest one is to fish with as many different people as you can. Everybody’s kind of got their own way of doing things, and by fishing with different people I think that you can just learn so much,” Pjesky said.

“Along with that, fish as many different lakes across the country. Every lake is completely different. You can have one lake down and another you struggle on. To be diverse and consistent is huge.

“I’ve learned so much by traveling, even not fishing related,” Pjesky said. “Seeing different parts of the country and seeing how different lakes react. Like Florida, for example, it’s a whole different animal.

“There’s no replacement for time on the water,” said Pjesky, who aspires to be a pro fisherman after college. “You can watch all the videos and read all the articles, which helps, but time on the water is the most important thing.”

It’s all catch-and-release, though, Pjesky said, “I will keep a few walleye in the spring.”

Few things in life are better than walleye in the spring.

doberhelman@dailyherald.com