Watch Zion-Benton junior Rmoni Beals on the football field, and it becomes clear there isn’t much he can’t do.
There isn’t much he doesn’t do, for that matter.
Wide receiver. Quarterback. Defensive back. Kick returner.
“I just love being on the field, and the contact of football brings me joy,” he said.
The 6-foot-1, 165-pound Beals is involved in plenty of contact during games, given how much time he spends around the ball.
“We can do so many things with him,” Zion-Benton coach MacArthur White said. “The kid can do anything. He can even kick field goals. He can play every position but offensive line and defensive line, but if he had more weight on his bones, he could.”
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There is only so much Beals can do at once, however, and the Zee-Bees (1-5, 1-3) lost their first five games this season. On Friday, they snapped an eight-game losing streak dating to last year with a 31-0 North Suburban Conference win against Waukegan.
“Losing the first five games was heartbreaking,” Beals said. “I feel that we still competed in them all. We were in the games, but we just didn’t execute late. We needed to have the conditioning and dedication to play a complete game.”
Against Waukegan, Beals caught a 45-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Ramar Hudson Jr. in the first quarter.
“I didn’t see Rmoni at first,” Hudson said. “I rolled to the left and saw the safety flow to the right. So I threw it over the top to his outside shoulder, and he got it.”
Through six games, Beals has 320 yards receiving and six touchdowns, but victories have been elusive.
“Postgame, he was like, ‘Man, we should have been winning,'” White said. “We’ve let some games slip from us. When we won, he was like, ‘This is what I expected.’ He had a calm, chill look on his face.”
The Zee-Bees won just one game last season, a conference victory against Waukegan, and Beals is laser-focused on improving on that by building on the most recent win.
“We executed plays we should have,” he said. “We came together as a team and trusted each other. We were all locked in and focused. Our goal was to prove a point that we aren’t who we were last year. This year, we’ve got the dedication and intensity to win more.”
Zion-Benton hasn’t qualified for the playoffs since 2018, when Beals’ older brother Jaylen Beals was in the program. His older brother Sincere Quezare also played football for the Zee-Bees, and his younger sister Niyanna Beals is a Zion-Benton sophomore who plays basketball and runs track.
“Jaylen inspired me to play football,” Rmoni Beals said. “Watching his games is what made me play. Watching him score, and the hype and intensity of his games, made me want to be out there myself and do the things he did. He was fast and really shifty. I would try little moves that he did.”
Rmoni Beals, who was the top scorer for the Zion-Benton boys basketball team last season, didn’t learn only by watching, though. Jaylen Beals was a successful wrestler for the Zee-Bees and gave Rmoni hands-on lessons.
“He’s showed me some wrestling moves that I try in football,” Rmoni Beals said. “Then I try to make the moves better and turn them into my own.”
Going into this season, Beals understood he’d also have to put his stamp on the Zee-Bees for them to be successful.
“I knew I’d have a big spot to step up into and fill,” he said. “I knew I’d have to be more of a leader and execute more both in games and in practice.”
Beals’ teammates voted for him to be a captain this season.
“He’s a vocal leader,” White said. “A lot of kids lead but just want to be your friend and allow you to be late and use excuses. But Rmoni holds you accountable. Coaches can do it, but it means more when it comes from your peers. Rmoni is different in that he doesn’t mind speaking up and holding his peers accountable.”
That leadership is apparent to Beals’ teammates too.
“We feed off of him,” Hudson said. “He gets everyone going in the locker room and in the huddle.”
Beals said he was honored to be given the responsibility.
“It’s about being mature,” he said. “It’s about making sure people know what they’re doing and making sure the team is together. I have to do that all when no one is watching.”
Sam Brief is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.