Showcase Q&A: Camp Point Central’s Genenbacher discusses attending QU, community support and passion for outdoors
The fourth annual Muddy River Showcase takes place June 21 at John Wood Community College’s Student Activity Center. The girls game will tip at 2 p.m. with the boys game to follow at 4 p.m. General admission is $10.
CAMP POINT, Ill. — Elijah Genenbacher has an exhausting day planned.
The Camp Point Central multi-sport athlete was selected to play in two all-star events on the same day — the Illinois High School Football Coaches Association’s 51st Shrine Game and the fourth annual Muddy River Showcase basketball game.
Both take place June 21 with the football game kicking off at 10 a.m. at Illinois Wesleyan’s Tucci Stadium in Bloomington and the Illinois vs. Missouri basketball game tipping off at 4 p.m. at John Wood Community College’s Student Activity Center.
So is there enough time to make the double-dip happen?
“Well, my older brother did the same thing and played in both,” said Genenbacher, whose brother, Issac, excelled in both games in 2023. “So I know I can do the same.”
Besides, the Quincy University football signee didn’t want the opportunity to represent the Panthers in both sports one final time slip away.
“It’s an incredible honor to be selected,” Genenbacher said. “And I love playing both.”
Genenbacher chatted with Muddy River Sports Editor Matt Schuckman about his love of both sports, his position change at QU and his passion for the outdoors in this Muddy River Showcase Q&A.
Q: Do you love basketball the way you love football?
A: Obviously, I don’t love basketball as much as I love football, but basketball is a sport I’ve played my whole life. It’s very forgiving and it’s fun. I love the joy of the sport. With football, nothing is more rewarding. With basketball, I can just go out there and pick up a ball at anytime and have fun with it.
Q: Was there a certain point you knew football was your future?
A: I’d say my sophomore year when I took that starting role in high school of middle linebacker. I realized I have a love for football and a desire for football that is stronger than it is for basketball. When I took that role, I knew I had to stick with it and I love the game more than I do basketball. But basketball is definitely a close second.
Q: What are you looking forward to about playing in the Showcase?
A: There are a lot of kids I’ve played against my whole life, but I’ve never played with them. So I’m looking forward to playing with them. There are some kids I know from Missouri playing on the Missouri team, so I’m looking forward to competing against them.
Q: What made you choose QU as your next step in playing football?
A: The closeness is a big factor. This community I’ve been around my whole childhood, living just 30 minutes from Quincy. Just talking with (QU coach Jason) Killday and what he wants in the future and how he’s going to bring that about recruiting-wise and how he wants it to work for QU and the culture they are building, it’s something I want to be a part of.
Q: Did Killday talking about transitioning you to tight end excite you or give you pause?
A: A little bit of both, honestly. At first, I was like, “Oh, I like linebacker. Playing linebacker is my thing.” And when he said tight end, it was like, “Oh, tight end?” But the more I think about it and knowing I’m going to play there, the more excited I am to do something different and learn some new things. I really think I fit in well there.
Q: How much do you have to work this summer so you’re prepared for fall camp?
A: A lot. I’m going to have to work a lot. I know what it takes to get that starting spot and get to where I want to be. So if I want to get to where I want to be personally, then I’m going to have to work my butt off all summer.
Q: Who has been the biggest influence on you?
A: For sure, (Camp Point Central football coach Brad) Dixon. He is somebody I’ve looked up ever since I started high school, even before then. I knew what kind of guy he was. Him being able to coach me and mentor me has been special. Not only does he push me to be the best I can be athletically, he always makes sure anything happening outside of athletics and anything going on in my life that he can do the most he can to be a good influence and be a mentor for me.
Q: A lot of people might be intimidated by Coach Dixon at first, but once you get around him you realize how caring he is, don’t you?
A: I thought the same thing at first. Going into my freshman year and going to speed and strength conditioning that summer, I was like, “Oh, my gosh, I wonder how this is going to be.” But you learn quickly he is a very lovable guy.
Q: How much fun was it to be a part of a program that plays at such a high level?
A: It was so much fun. It’s for sure the best thing I’ve done in my whole life, to be on that football team and create a family like we did in that small-town community. Not only to have that closeness, but then to go far with it and show what you’re made of is even bigger. It’s the best part of my life that I’ve been a part of.
Q: What’s the best part of game day at Central?
A: I think just walking out to AC/DC’s “Hell’s Bells” and that feeling. You’re never going to get anything like that again. Everybody in the stands you know them and you talk to them. To walk out to that song and have that adrenaline rush and know your community is there supporting you, there’s not a better feeling in the world.
Q: And that end zone crew is pretty special, isn’t it?
A: I love all of them.
Q: It was like an extended family everywhere you turned, right?
A: Anywhere I walked in Camp Point, I felt like I’d be talking to somebody and they’d be telling me about football and how they’re supporting our team. It’s amazing.
Q: How important has the support from your immediate family been?
A: It means everything. The stuff that my mom and dad have had to sacrifice throughout the years to get me to where I want to be and to make me successful is incredible. It’s not only being a mentor to me, but keeping me on the right track and putting me in the best position myself and take all the stress off me so I can be successful.
Q: Your sister, Agnes, is known for being a tough player in her own right. If she wasn’t tough, how much grief would she get?
A: A lot. I tell people all the time she’s tough. One time, she wanted to play football with me, just backyard football. The first play she got the ball I tackled her and she broke her arm. I think that’s just a little story about what it’s like growing up with two older brothers that are rough. But she never backed down.
Q: But you still take care of her as a little sister, right?
A: Of course. You have to. We look out for her.
Q: Your girlfriend, Lauren Miller, is getting the opportunity to play basketball at SIU-Edwardsville. How excited are you to watch her succeed?
A: I’ve always been her No. 1 fan. With her going there and doing her thing, I’m so proud of her and all she has accomplished. I know who she is and what she does, so I know she’s going to accomplish great things there.
Q: So is there any wager between you two over who is going to have the better showing in the Showcase?
A: There’s not. We both want the best for each other and we’ll both do the best we can, but there’s no super big competition. We both just want each other to do well.
Q: When you want to get away from sports, what do you do for fun?
A: Honestly, I love the outdoors. Anything outdoors. I love fishing, hunting, anything. I hunt about everything you can in the Midwest. My dad is a big outdoorsman, so I grew up with him and my older brother doing things outdoors. Pretty much anything outdoors.
Q: Do you have a favorite hunting season or game you like to hunt?
A: My dad has always been a huge racoon hunter. We have a van we take around coon hunting everywhere that we call the coon-mobile So my brother’s senior picture with his friends, it was taken with the coon-mobile and everyone hanging out the side. It’s kind of a thing in Camp Point. We take everyone coon hunting that we can. A lot of weeknights in the fall, you’ll see us out there coon hunting.
Q: Do you know what you want to do when you graduate from college?
A: I’m going to study criminal justice at QU. My goal is to become a state police officer and then transfer over to be a game warden and conservation officer. I’ve always loved the outdoors, so that would be right up my alley.
Check out more of the Muddy River Showcase Q&As at the links below:
Payson Seymour’s Blake Schwartz
South Shelby’s Callie McWilliams
West Hancock’s Lewis Siegfried
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