Football: McNamara name again prominent in Lake County

It's tough to compete with the ring.

But Vernon Hills quarterback Connor McNamara does have some pretty good numbers. Better numbers, in fact, than his dad Bill, a successful quarterback himself in high school and college, ever had.

Sometimes Connor likes to tease his dad about that, referencing the 2,200 yards and 22 touchdowns he passed for last season alone.

"Connor has better numbers than I did in high school, no doubt," said Bill McNamara, a standout quarterback at Thornton Fractional North in the mid-1980s, and a three-year starter at Lawrence University.

"When I'm really getting to him (about the numbers), he has to bring up (the state championship)," Connor McNamara laughed.

"Well, I have to remind him who has the ring and who doesn't have the ring," Bill McNamara confirmed with a smile.

Bill McNamara, the head football coach at Stevenson, got the first state championship ring of his career last November. He led the Patriots to the Class 8A state title at the University of Illinois in Champaign.

It was one of many special moments last football season for a family that eats, sleeps and breathes football.

While dad Bill was putting together his state championship run, son Connor was busy making a case as the best quarterback in Lake County.

Now, as the 2015 high school season opens tonight, the two return in an attempt to one-up themselves in their last season competing in the same county together. Bill McNamara is out to help Stevenson defend its state title and Connor McNamara, now a senior, is determined to finish his career at Vernon Hills with not only his best numbers yet, but also his own run at a state championship.

"It's crossed my mind that this could be my last year of playing (football) since I was in second grade running around not really knowing what I was doing," Connor McNamara said. "It's sad. I try not to think about it."

Instead, Connor and his dad like to think about all the great memories they've share through football, especially over the last year.

Vernon Hills just missed the playoffs last season with a 5-4 record, but Connor certainly felt like a playoff quarterback. He was on the sidelines for every Stevenson victory through the state semifinals. Then, for the state championship game, he sat with his mother Kelly, brother Dylan and sister Kayla in the stands at Memorial Stadium.

"I've heard Connor talk a lot about that experience with the other kids on our team, how neat it was to be downstate and on the field for so many of those playoff games," Vernon Hills coach Bill Bellecomo said. "He's been there now, he's seen it and he's hungry for it for himself. I can tell."

It wasn't a stretch for Connor to root for the Patriots during the playoffs.

He grew up on the Stevenson sidelines, as a green-and-gold clad ball boy. Bill, before taking over as the Patriots' head coach in 2010, was an assistant coach in the program for many years before that. The McNamara family has revolved around Stevenson football.

"For me, it's Cougars first, but then it's Patriots," Connor said. "Once my season is over, I'm cheering for them, and I was yelling a lot on the sidelines for them last year.

"I've been going to Stevenson games since I was playing youth football. It's cool seeing how special the playoffs are. So you come out to practice and try to work a little harder to get there with your team."

Bill McNamara thinks Connor is on the right track. Since Stevenson usually plays at the same time as Vernon Hills, he saw only one of Connor's games in person last season. He'll likely miss every game this year.

But he is certainly well-versed on Connor's skills and triumphs. Father and son make a point of carving out time for each other on Saturday mornings during the fall. They'll watch film, frame by frame, of Connor's games together and talk strategy and situations.

"I think Connor had a great year last year. As a dad, I certainly think so. But as a coach or a fan, check the statistics," Bill McNamara said. "Statistically, Connor had a great year. His touchdown to interception ratio was great, his completion rate was great, and (Vernon Hills) rolled up the yards.

"I love talking football with him on Saturday mornings. We watch the film and I ask him what he might have been thinking on this play or that play and what plays that he really liked. It's more father-son than coach-player."

There were many times years ago that Bill McNamara contemplated moving his family so that he could have actually coached both Connor and older brother Dylan in high school. It's been tough for him to miss so many of his kids' games over the years.

But he believes something else would have been much tougher.

"I didn't want them to be under their dad's shadow," said Bill McNamara, who did get the opportunity to coach both of his sons in travel football when they were younger. "This way, there would be no talk or gossip that they're getting this or that because of their dad. They're carving their own path in high school. You know, let them earn their own way.

"Hopefully everything they've received so far has been through hard work and work ethic and just being good players. Things have worked out fine for our family. We're in a great spot."

McNamara is in a great spot at Stevenson, too, having delivered the school its first-ever state title in football. And plenty of talent returns this season.

"To win it last year…that was something. To endure our tough schedule and finish the regular season 9-0 was special, and every game in the playoffs was such a dog fight," Bill McNamara said. "You can look at it two ways: the monkey is kind of off the back, but the bullseye is there now. Everybody has that bullseye on us this year. But we accept the challenge.

"It's a great challenge. We know that from last year. It was amazing to see our kids bring it every day and close the deal. It was special."

McNamara and his staff commemorated each playoff victory last fall with a huge party at his house.

They celebrated the Class 8A state championship with a five-star dinner at Alexander's Steakhouse, just minutes from the Illinois campus.

"We just took over the place with Stevenson people, players, families, fans. It was a great atmosphere," Bill McNamara said. "We brought the championship trophy in and the families got to take pictures with it."

Meanwhile, Connor was taking plenty of mental pictures.

"It was awesome to see that up-close and personal," Connor McNamara said. "Anyone would love to have that with their team. It makes me ready to start this season. I'm ready to see what we can do."

It will be interesting, once again, to see what both McNamaras do this season.

pbabcock@dailyherald.com

Follow Patricia on Twitter: @babcockmcgraw