Simeon smashes Brooks; speedy junior Cornell Conely emerges as a star

After dropping its football season opener to defending Class 4A champ Rochester, Simeon has been flying mostly under the radar.

But first-year coach Sinque Turner, who left one of the Public League’s top programs at Kenwood to take over at his alma mater, has the building blocks for a team that could play deep into November.

In the Wolverines’ fourth straight victory, 62-0 over Brooks on Friday afternoon at Gately Stadium, an established star and an emerging one took center stage.

Senior Christopher Burgess Jr. is one of the best defensive linemen in the nation, a four-star prospect committed to Notre Dame and the consensus No. 4 player in the state. Long and explosive at 6-4 and 240 pounds, he’s the leader of a defense that has allowed 24 points during a four-game winning streak for Simeon (4-1, 3-0 Public League Red).

On Friday, the Wolverines held Brooks (1-4, 0-3) to nine total yards, consistently stuffing the run game and heavily pressuring quarterback David Richardson. Burgess is setting the tone, despite facing an array of blocking schemes designed to neutralize him, if not stop him.

“We’re doing our job,” Burgess said. “That loss to Rochester improved us.”

Simeon expected to have another elite defensive lineman this season, but four-star junior McHale Blade, who has almost 20 Power Four offers, is out for the year.

“McHale had an unfortunate injury over the summer where he had to get his ACL repaired,” Turner said. “But it’s slight, and he’ll be back [working] in January. So when Chris graduates, McHale will be coming back. We’ll still have that poster guy.”

In the meantime, Burgess said, Janeal Conner and Andre Burns stepped up at the edge position.

The emerging star Friday was speedy junior receiver Cornell Conely, who had touchdown catches of 36 and 60 yards from senior quarterback Kaleb Sims.

Turner said he sees a lot of himself in Conely, who’s 5-9, 170.

“He’ll be really dynamic on the defensive side,” Turner said.

But as deep as the Wolverines are on that unit, they have the luxury of being able to let Conely focus on
offense.

“Very explosive player,” Turner said. “I’m excited to see what he’s got going on for the rest of the season.”

Conely says he’s happy with his current role.

“Perfect,” he said. “All the plays, all the concepts, everything works. All you’ve got to do is execute.”

The Wolverines did that against the Eagles. Near the end of the first half, they scored on five consecutive offensive snaps: two touchdown runs by junior Isaiah Thomas Jr., Sims’ 36-yard pass to Conely, James Bell’s 50-yard run and a 60-yard catch-and-run by Conely.

Sims, who also had a touchdown run in the first quarter, isn’t a proto-typical quarterback at 5-11, 205. But he is an effective one.

“I like his arm,” Turner said. “He’s able to extend plays with his legs. He’s a runner as well. I’m looking for him to get better and better as he gets more reps.”