By Fred Kroner
Drew Williams and Fletcher Hannah are helping do big things for a small high school.
A year ago, the Heritage High School students teamed up in the IHSA Bass Fishing contest and qualified for state, where they placed 19th out of 75 entries.
This year – as juniors at a high school with 147 students – they are no longer the only members of the Heritage Bass Fishing team.
Three newcomers joined this year, which created a dilemma for coach James Williams, Drew’s dad.
Should he keep his veterans together in one boat and place the rookies in another boat? Or should he use the experienced fishermen to teach the novices?
James Williams opted for the teaching method.
The decision looked like a genius maneuver at the Thursday (May 5) IHSA sectional at Lake Shelbyville.
Twenty-five high schools sent entries, all seeking one of the three state tournament berths that were at stake.
After seven hours of fishing, sitting atop the leaderboard after weigh-ins were completed was Heritage in first place and Heritage in second place.
Hannah and his colleagues, freshmen Robert Holloman and Brennan Struck, weighed in the maximum number of fish (five) and they totaled 11 pounds, 6 ounces.
Drew Williams and Joel Bear also had five keepers and their total weight was 11 pounds, 2 ounces.
In third place was a team from Neoga at 7 pounds, 15 ounces.
A search of the past four IHSA sectional tournaments reveals how rare it is for the same school to capture the top two spots at sectional. It has happened four times, including this spring.
The IHSA also recognizes the day’s top individual catch. That belonged to Heritage’s Drew Williams, who weighed in a 6-pound, 7-ounce largemouth.
The catch was the largest in any tournament competition at Shelbyville in more than two years.
The outcome was the best possible scenario for James Williams’ high school program.
“I thought we had one for sure (that could qualify),” said the coach who started the Heritage program in 2012. “I wasn’t sure about two, but you always hope for the best.”
It wasn’t by happenstance that Drew Williams is experiencing success in a sport he hopes to pursue in college.
“I’ve been tournament fishing since I was 8,” said Drew Williams, 17. “Last year, from March to October, I was in 32 tournaments. It was ongoing almost every weekend.”
He finished his 2021 season strong, winning two of his final four tournaments and securing top-10 finishes in the other two.
He has expectations beyond a top-three finish when the state finals are held at Lake Carlyle on May 20th and 21st.
“Since seventh grade, I’ve wanted a chance to do this for a living,” Drew Williams said.
His big-bass catch happened in the tournament’s final minutes.
“The spot I caught the big one, my grandpa (Doug Williams) showed me five years ago,” Drew Williams said. “He told me that was usually a good area in late April or early May.”
Though the pressure was on, it wasn’t a buzzer-beater.
“We had 20 minutes left,” he said. “One cast and I got it.”
It was a case of saving the best for last. Bear and Drew Williams had “three small fish,” according to James Williams, nearly 4 ½ hours into the sectional, “and then the rain started to subside.”
James Williams said he offered a few suggestions as the day went on.
“I gave advice on what they should be throwing, but it was up to the kids to catch the fish,” he said.
James Williams believes Heritage can improve its state finish later this month.
“We learned a lot at Carlyle last year and we have one of the most experienced anglers in the state in Drew,” he said. “These boys are riding the wave right now.
“They’re coachable and they’re excited. They feel like they have something to prove coming from a small school.”
James Williams, who is an avid fisherman, encouraged his son to get involved at a young age.
“Not every kid can shoot a basketball or throw a football,” James Williams said, “but most any kid can learn to fish.
“It’s a way to relax and a lifelong skill. I wish they had this when I was growing up,” added the 1998 Mahomet-Seymour High School graduate.
Though there are an assortment of spring tournaments prior to the sectional, Heritage did not participate in them.
“Kids need to practice and learn the fundamentals before you throw them in a tournament,” James Williams said.
Drew Williams said he wasn’t nervous having a beginner in the boat with him at the sectional.
“It was his first tourney, but he handled the pressure,” Drew Williams said.
His father didn’t have any doubts.
“He’s like a Yadier Molina for my team,” James Williams said. “He’s like an assistant coach and an angler.”
Drew Williams’ passion for bass fishing is one reason the Heritage roster has more than doubled since last year.
“He has had a lot of success and in doing that, it interested a lot of his classmates,” James Williams said. “We have five dedicated kids and I could see it doubling next year.
“A lot of kids fish in the summer and it’s a rewarding sport.”
Only two students at a time can be in the boat, along with the driver. Heritage’s second boat split up the day’s experience between the two freshmen with each spending 3 ½ hours on the water with Hannah.
“As freshmen, to be part of the experience, they were fine with it,” James Williams said.
The Heritage anglers left the high school at 4:30 a.m. on the day of the competition – chauffeured by superintendent Tom Davis – in order to arrive in time for a mandatory 6 a.m. boat check.
The Heritage entries were only two of four who hauled in the maximum limit of five fish for the day.
Drew Williams hopes to make his college decision by the time his senior basketball season starts in November. Among the universities where he has an interest are Dubuque (Iowa), Southwest Michigan, Bryan College (Tennessee) and McKendree College (Lebanon, Illinois).
