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player ready...It’s the third varsity season for senior Lebarion Gilmore. Three years with Stagg’s boys of fall and a primary goal of turning around the fortunes of the Chargers in football.
And Gilmore, who plays both quarterback and safety, feels like this is finally the year.
“My plan has always been to change things around,” Gilmore said before Tuesday’s practice in Palos Hills. “Especially to make the playoffs and make history for us.”
Recent history hasn’t been too kind to Stagg, which lost 23 games in a row from 2019 to 2021. After two wins to start last season, the hopeful Chargers lost seven straight.
But this season feels different for Stagg (2-0), which heads into Friday’s home game against Belleville West (1-1) led by Gilmore and senior middle linebacker Anthony Sukalo.
According to the 6-foot-2, 175-pound Gilmore, part of the reason for the optimism comes the Chargers staying grounded after a big start that saw them outscore opponents 98-26.
They know the meat of the schedule will be in the final six weeks.
“It feels great being 2-0, but last year, we were the same way,” said Gilmore, who has thrown five touchdown passes and rushed for three. “Then we ended losing the next seven.
“I’m staying levelheaded right now and not getting too big because it’s also out-of-conference games, so I’m just waiting until we get to conference. One game at a time.”
Stagg coach Colt Nero, in his fourth year, has seen the full spectrum of winning and losing.
Nero agreed with Gilmore that the psyche is different. One can see that at practice, with most players as serious as can be and a few trying to keep things light with jokes.
“We were in a similar situation last year and that was very new to them — to see success,” Nero said. “Fast forward a year and they wanted to get out the gate fast.
“This year it’s, ‘What’s the next team?'”
Sukalo, who also leads the Chargers in rushing with 172 yards, pointed out there’s something to be said about enjoying the moment, though.
“It’s very rewarding,” he said. “We put in a lot of hard work in the offseason, and it’s great to see it pay off.”
Gilmore said a big influence on his career was TJ Griffin, a 2022 Stagg graduate who’s a redshirt freshman defensive back at Illinois.
Griffin also played receiver at Stagg. Gilmore and Griffin connected on both an athletic and personal level.
“TJ was my guy,” Gilmore said. “I kind of hung out with him a lot during football season. He inspired me.
“He didn’t win a single high school football game and he ended up there, so I know my dreams are able to come true.”
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An interesting anecdote about Gilmore is the fact he learned a lot about playing quarterback from video games.
“Growing up as a kid, I played a lot of Madden,” he said with a smile. “I wanted to be able to lead these guys to do something great.”
Where Gilmore ends up after college is to be determined, although he has offers from South Dakota and Akron. Several Power Five schools have shown interest as well.
That’s all fine and good, but Gilmore has specific criteria about where he would like to play at the next level.
“I want to be able to have a relationship with my coaches and not just always talk about football,” he said. “I want to know they are worrying about my family at home and stuff like that.”
Gregg Voss is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.