Lake Zurich senior Ryan Hasemeyer couldn’t have expected this.
A latecomer to football, Hasemeyer said he was at “the bottom” of the depth chart on the junior varsity team when he first started playing two years ago and didn’t even get any action on special teams on the varsity team last year.
“Even in this offseason, I knew I had a role, but it wasn’t on the field,” he said. “It was on the sideline and on special teams — get the boys hyped and get the crowd moving.
“But through the summer, I slowly worked my way up and realized my job would be on the field.”
Indeed, the 5-foot-7, 170-pound Hasemeyer became an effective No. 2 running back in the Bears’ productive ground game. He not only gave senior Kaden Abrantes a breather but also kept the chains moving.
“If he busts out a huge run and he’s gassed, I could go in and finish what needs to be done — get the first down, get a couple of extra yards,” Hasemeyer said. “I think we came together as a package, but I would be nothing without Kaden.”
Hasemeyer and Abrantes each had big moments during Lake Zurich’s 24-21 loss to Nazareth in a Class 6A state quarterfinal in La Grange Park on Saturday.
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Abrantes got the Bears (9-3) on the board first, rambling 69 yards for a touchdown less than two minutes into the game. Their advantage increased to 14-0 later in the first quarter after senior wide receiver Christopher Chang scored on a 43-yard scamper around right end.
The Roadrunners (11-1), who won the past three 5A state titles, cut the lead to 14-9. But after Hasemeyer scored on a 3-yard plunge just before halftime, Lake Zurich had a 21-9 lead that held until late in the fourth quarter.
“He had some amazing moments today, and that was great to see,” Abrantes said. “I can play my hardest knowing that I have a good guy to back me up whenever I’m tired. Coach puts him in, and I know he’s going to get yards and be good for the team.
“He runs like there’s no tomorrow, and that’s a perfect running back in my mind.”
Hasemeyer, who finished the season with 385 yards and four touchdowns on 79 carries, ran the ball five times for 39 yards on that scoring drive, which came at a key juncture as the Bears regained momentum with nine straight runs.
“He’s a guy who’s just kept grinding and found a role this year,” Lake Zurich coach Ron Planz said. “He was huge today. We needed every carry and every yard he gave.
“I’m so proud of him and his work ethic. He took the role he earned and did unbelievable things with it.”
No one is more pleased than Hasemeyer.
“I’ve always been so proud of what I do because not a lot of people know how hard I’ve worked,” he said. “Because I joined football late, to see it pay off and to score touchdowns in the regular season and in the playoffs, it means so much more to me than people realize.”
Hasemeyer is no less proud of a 7-yard gain that didn’t produce a touchdown on Saturday. One of his eight carries for 46 yards, it was his “favorite run of all time,” he said.
“I broke a tackle and got through the line, and the only thing I was thinking in my head was to keep my feet moving,” he said. “That run sticks out to me. I worked for that. I got to the hole, and there were a couple of guys on me, and I had to shake them off and keep running.”
Nazareth mounted a furious rally with two touchdowns in the final 2:36. Senior quarterback Jackson Failla’s go-ahead 15-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Trenton Walker with 1:23 remaining came after the Roadrunners recovered an onside kick.
The Bears couldn’t muster any more points, but the outcome didn’t tarnish Hasemeyer’s positive experience in the program.
“The thing that kept me coming back was I haven’t made bonds with people like I have with football,” he said. “You play other sports, and you get close to people, but it’s not like football. Football brings you together.”
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For Hasemeyer, football provided a stockpile of memories too.
“I’m just so genuinely grateful,” he said. “There’s nothing else in the world I’d rather be doing on Friday nights and Saturday afternoons than playing in a football game with my best friends.”
Steve Reaven is a freelance reporter.