Logan Lachermeier knows what others think. It would be impossible not to.

At 5-11 and weighing 160 pounds (“Well, OK, 5-10½,” Lachermeier admitted with a smirk), the Minneapolis North senior doesn’t look like the prototypical quarterback, a position dominated by physical specimens. He can get obscured when he takes his stance 3 yards behind center. When opponents see first him, they often take him lightly.

That’s when Lachermeier knows the edge is his.

He may not possess the physical “wow” factor of other top quarterbacks around the state, but what Lachermeier does possess a skill set that makes him the state’s most prolific passer.

“You can be big and tall, but it’s always different when you put your helmet on,” he said.

That’s where Lachermeier often stands taller than most. The possessor of a strong and accurate arm, he’s completed 95 of 131 passes for 1,782 yards and 23 touchdowns for the undefeated Polars. The last two numbers are lead the state.

“The main thing is to know what you’re doing, what the defense is doing. And who the ball needs to go to,” Lachermeier said. “I think 100 percent of the time that is more important than how big somebody is.”

The son of North social studies teacher and Polars offensive coordinator Tom Lachermeier, Logan has been a student of the game, and the position of quarterback, since his days playing flag football.

His father played quarterback at Bethel. Playing the position has been a topic of conversation between father and son for as long as Logan can remember. That tutelage makes a difference.

“It helps that his dad is offensive coordinator, I’ll tell you that,” North head coach Charles “OA” Adams said.

“My dad’s taught me everything I know,” Logan said.

Asked if he could imagine himself as the Polars’ starting quarterback now without his father’s involvement, Logan answers without hesitation.

“Absolutely not,” he said.

All agree, however, that the biggest contributors to Lachermeier’s success are the guys around him

Lachermeier moved up to play tackle football in eighth grade. At the same time, many of his current Polars teammates made the same move.

With a shared background in flag football — Minneapolis Park Board youth tackle football was halted in 2020 because of dwindling numbers and the effects of the COVID pandemic — players who had been competing against each other came together as Polars in eighth grade.

They’ve become inseparable, as teammates and friends. Quantayvious Roberts, Ronell Willis Jr., Anthony Deline, Cordae Williams, J’Marion Sanders and Jeremiah Jackson consider Lachermeier’s home just a few blocks from the school their home base.

When they’re not playing football or working out during the offseason, any one of those players — often all of them — can be found there. They’ve developed a brotherly bond, both supportive and competitive, that is an important ingredient in the elixir that makes up North’s team chemistry.

“It’s a brotherhood,” Jackson said. “We all stick together for everything. School, sports, each other.”

“We wouldn’t be where we are without him,” Williams said, jerking his thumb toward Lachermeier.

They’ve combined for 86 catches for 1,733 yards and 23 touchdowns.

Deline is the team’s leading receiver with 31 catches for 626 yards and eight scores, but the group insisted nobody cares who gets the credit. It’s all about the W’s.

“They’re over at my house all the time, sometimes too much,” Logan Lachermeier said. “I know there’s been some teams in the past where selfishness has kind of destroyed the team and that’s really brought us down. But this year, we’re closer than we’ve ever been. I mean, I’ve been a part of North since I was this tall [gesturing toward his knees]. My dad’s been here for forever, and we’ve just got a bond. That’s something special.”

A significant part of what drives the Polars is the lasting memory of DeShaun Hill, Polars quarterback who was shot and killed in 2022. In a neighborhood like Minneapolis’ North Side, the tragic death of D-Hill, as most remember him, is still fresh.

“D-Hill was the quarterback right before me,” Lachermeier said. “He was amazing, but it was wrong place, wrong time. It’s just a reality of living over here.”

Lachermeier and his teammates make sure to honor D-Hill’s memory before every game, in recognition that they feel lucky to continue to play the game they love when he didn’t get the chance.

“He was a role model for me,” Lachermeier said. “Before every game, we do a little chant: ‘Who is this for?’ Then we all answer ‘Nine’ [Hill’s uniform number]. We owe it to his legacy.”