Competition at camp: Unity-Payson looking to fill offensive holes

Published 8:31 pm Thursday, July 23, 2026

MENDON, Ill. — There’s plenty of new faces with Unity-Payson football this season.
The Mustangs graduated a lot of key starters and there is a lot of competition for open spots this summer at camp.

“We’re just trying to get back to the basics,” said Mustangs head coach Matt Woodworth. “We graduated a lot of guys from last year’s team, and a lot of starters. So we got a lot of new kids we’re trying to fit into new roles. We’re trying to figure out who’s going to be in what role.”

The biggest change is at quarterback with the graduation of Sawyer Allen, who was a dual-threat behind center preparing for his freshman season at Quincy University.

Allen finished last year with a combined 25 touchdowns, and completed 127-of-200 passes for 1,806 yards.

“I think with the skill position guys that we have here, we can make whoever wins (the quarterback’s) job easier,” said Mustangs senior tight end Troy Miller. “I think our line is good enough where he’s not going to be getting sacked within seconds of getting the ball.”

Unity-Payson has several players competing for the open quarterback spot, includind senior Kasen Humke and sophomore Henry Bealor.

“Kasen Humke’s a senior looking to compete for that spot,” said Woodworth. “Henry Bealor’s a sophomore that picked things up pretty well last year. He’s taking a few reps and getting some work in. So we’ve got a few guys here and there that are trying their hand out at it and we’ll see how it goes.”

The Mustangs also lost their top-three receivers to graduation — Blake Arnsman, Kendall Knox and Cole Wray.

Arnsman had a team-high 42 catches for 619 yards and three touchdowns, while Kendall Knox caught 39 passes for a team-high 662 yards and 11 scores.

“Sawyer Allen was one of a kind,” said Mustangs senior offensive lineman Trenton Jones. “Kendall and Blake were really powerhouses at our wide receiver group. We definitely have some talent coming back. It’s younger guys and they got to adjust and get ready for the season.”

Miller is Unity-Payson’s top returning receiver after catching 12 passes for 114 yards and a touchdown out of the tight end spot.

“Troy Miller is a tight end that got some good varsity reps last year,” said Woodworth. “He may move out to receiver as well. He’s a good, physical athlete that can give us some good blocking in the run game, but also get out there and do some good things in the passing game.”

Miller is ready to step to help in the receiving game, with Unity-Payson also holding a competition to see who joins him in the receiving spots.

“It sucks not having Kendall, Blake and Cole,” said Miller. “Not to brag, I still had over 100 yards in two games. So while we don’t have our leading receivers, we have guys that can fill their hole.”

Unity-Payson also graduated its top two running backs — Justin Cramm and Austin Janssen.

However, it was Allen who was the Mustangs’ most effective rusher, who finished with 156 carries for 742 yards and nine touchdowns.

One player being looked at to replace some of that production in the backfield is sophomore Clint Cannell.

“Clint Cannell is a sophomore that’s going to step up for us at the running back spot,” said Woodworth. “He’s a good enough athlete that we can move him out to receiver a little bit, too. I think he’s going to be a chess piece that we can move around.”

The Mustangs have some other younger players they are looking at for running backs.

“We have a good mix of talent at running back,” said Miller. “We got two backs that are going to be really good for short yardage situations. Then, we have a guy that I think will be great for filling (Justin) Cramm’s role of getting consistent yardage.”

With a new quarterback and the turnover at receiver, it’s possible that Unity-Payson will be more run-oriented this fall.

“I can see us having a little bit more run plays, just because our wide receiver group isn’t as old,” said Jones. “We definitely have a good running back group and I feel like we could run over on a lot of teams.”

Jones leads the offensive line and is joined by fellow senior Reed Linder as returners up front.

“Trenton’s a big, physical kid,” said Woodworth. “He kind of gives us a known presence up there on the line. Reed’s more of a smaller, athletic kid, but moves well. He’s aggressive. Those two are probably going to be our leaders up front.”

Unity-Payson has several other players competing for offensive line spots, including junior Tyson Howell, junior Logan Grant and sophomore Abram Rice.

“It’s definitely a challenge not having our experienced players back,” said Jones. “It’s definitely different and it’s going to take some time. I feel like our new guys are going to be pretty good, and it’s just going to take a little bit of time to adjust but it will be good.”