Springfield football legend inducted into Toledo hall of fame

Springfield (8-1) has as good a chance as anyone in Division I. The Wildcats earned the No. 2 seed in Region 2 and open the playoffs at home at 7 p.m. Friday against No. 15 seed Northmont (3-6), a team they beat 47-0 last week in the final week of the regular season. The winner will play No. 7 seed Dublin Jerome (6-4) or No. 10 Powell Olentangy Liberty (5-5) in the second round.

Springfield has plenty of postseason experience, having reached the state semifinals the last two seasons. It rose to No. 2 in the state poll before losing 22-21 to Miamisburg in Week 9. Now it begins what it hopes will be another long postseason march. It will take five victories to reach the state championship game in Canton and one more to become the first Clark County team to win a state title in the playoff era.

“When you have an expectation, it’s a business approach,” Wallace said. “We had a lot of injuries this year. In high school football, you can have the greatest plan in the world, but it’s all about making sure your kids are in the right mental state to go play on Friday night so they can execute the game plan.”

Wallace was one of those kids 28 years ago. He played his final season at South High School in 1993. Four years later, as a junior at the University of Toledo, he earned the starting quarterback job for the Rockets. In two seasons as the starter, he threw 44 touchdown passes, which ranks seventh in school history. He was inducted into the Toledo Hall of Fame on Saturday at halftime of a game against Western Michigan.

Wallace’s wife Julie, daughter Julisa, who’s a sophomore at Ohio State, and son C.J. Wallace, who’s in eighth grade, accompanied him to the game to see him honored. Wallace wasn’t able to attend a banquet Friday night because he was coaching with Springfield, but he filmed a video speech with the help of Cherie Moore and Jenna Leinasars, from Springfield City School District’s communications and public relations department.

Wallace had to wait an extra year for his hall of fame moment. He was a part of the 2020 class. The ceremony was delayed because of the pandemic.

“It’s definitely a great honor,” Wallace said.

Wallace and South teammate Dee Miller, who played at Ohio State, were named the the Division I Co-Offensive Players of the Year in 1993. Wallace threw 38 touchdown passes as a senior and finished his career as the state’s all-time leader in career touchdown passes (81). He’s now tied for 29th place.

Wallace’s time as a starter at Toledo got off to a memorable start when he led the Rockets to a 36-22 victory at home against Purdue on Sept. 6, 1997. He completed 21 of 44 passes for 254 yards and threw two touchdown passes.

The opposing quarterbacks that day were Billy Dicken and Drew Brees, a freshman who made his college debut in the game. Brees did not throw a touchdown passes in eight appearances that season but threw 90 in the next three years and 571 in a 20-year NFL career that ended last season.

“That was a fun first start for me,” Wallace said. “There are just great memories. I’m glad I made that choice (to go to Toledo). There were a lot of choices I could have made, but my brother always said, trust your gut because you’ve got to sleep there.”

Wallace’s football career lasted almost as long as Brees’. He began his pro career in 2000 with the Carolina Rhinos of Arena Football 2 and later played for the Orlando Predators. He then spent eight seasons with the Florida Firecats. He became AF2′s all-time leading passer in 2009, the last season before the league dissolved. He then moved on to the Florida Tarpons in a new indoor league, the X-league, and played with them until retiring in 2018.

What finally made Wallace call it quits after 18 seasons in indoor football?

“My legs,” he said. “I couldn’t get away from anybody. I could still throw it. I could get rid of the ball and make good choices. I learned how to manage the game. It seemed like (arena football) was built for me and my style of play. I kind of flourished in it. Jay Gruden taught me a lot. I played for him my first couple years in Orlando. He really introduced the game to me, and it kind of took off from there.”

Wallace has provided the same boost for Springfield’s starting quarterback, senior Te’Sean Smoot, the last three seasons. Smoot led the Greater Western Ohio Conference in the regular season with a 150.0 passer rating and a 64.9 percent completion percentage. He threw nine touchdown passes and ran for 15 scores.

Wallace praised the way Smoot works on and off the field. He studies film. He doesn’t get too high or too low. His teammates love him. He’s still looking for a right spot to play college football.

“Sometimes I give him too much,” Wallace said. “I just put the ball in his hands. The tenacity he has is unmatched. You can’t really see that all the time on film. He reminds me of how I was. Someone just had to take a chance on me, and when he gets his shot and somebody believes in him, he’s going to do exactly what he’s doing here on this level.”

Wallace has known Smoot since Smoot, whose dad Conley is the defensive coordinator, was in elementary school.

“He’s been a big key since PeeWee,” said Smoot, who has thrown 55 touchdown passes in his career and rushed for 30 scores, “just coming and watching the games and seeing the potential, investing in me, building me up and turning me into the quarterback that I am today. I thank him for putting his time into me.”