Zion-Benton’s Kevin James knows defenses are going to try to stop teammate Jamere French, an Ohio recruit who is one of the best running backs in the area.
James suspects opponents don’t believe the Zee-Bees can win another way.
“A lot of teams think we’re one-dimensional, and that’s far from the truth,” James said. “I feel like we have the best quarterback in the conference and a really good receiving corps.
“Every time a team feels that all we can do is run it with Jamere, that’s when we pull out the pass and show them what we can do.”
Zion-Benton did exactly that during a North Suburban Conference game against visiting Stevenson on Thursday night. While French ran for 297 yards and four touchdowns on 38 carries, James caught two touchdown passes from quarterback Marquan Gordon in the unbeaten Zee-Bees’ 42-23 win.
James’ first touchdown catch was a 15-yarder midway through the second quarter. His second was a 55-yarder on a fourth-and-7 play that was schemed on the sideline and then executed to perfection less than two minutes into the second half.
“We knew we couldn’t run it, so me and Rashad (Love) were in doubles on the right side, and the coaches told him to run a post and me to run an out-and-up,” James said. “Coach told me he trusted me and told Marquan to make a decision on one of us two. He made the right one.
“He put it out there great, and it was probably the easiest catch of my life, right in the basket. I just had to catch it and run in for the rest.”
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That touchdown capped a 26-3 run by the Zee-Bees (4-0, 2-0), who bounced back from an early 14-0 deficit to beat Stevenson (0-4, 0-2) for the first time since 1995 and remain undefeated through four games for the first time this century.
The rapid development of James, a senior wide receiver/tight end who finished with five catches for 83 yards, is emblematic of a team that went 1-8 in 2024, raised its win total to four last year and has already equaled that number this season. A playoff berth seems certain.
“At first, he was just a wide receiver, but this year he really has his nose in the blocking,” French said of James. “He got way stronger and has done so much to develop.
“He plays a big part on this team, especially in the blocking game, and here he has two touchdowns tonight too. He’s way, way, way better at everything this year.”
Indeed, James is being deployed in different ways largely because he’s physically stronger. He played at 160 pounds as a junior and at one point in the offseason had added about 40. He tapered that total to 185, but the difference in his physical capabilities is like night and day.
“He’s a versatile kid,” Zion-Benton coach MacArthur White said. “He can play wide receiver for us, he can play tight end and he’s probably one of our best blockers.
“I love that kid. He’s a key part of the running game. He solidified the offensive line. They’re great up front, and adding him to that mix really helps.”
That James is even in uniform is a surprise considering he was diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, a heart condition, last winter. It was discovered when he had an EKG during a physical exam in preparation for track season, and it meant that he had to refrain from any heavy exertion.
“I was at one of my friends’ 18th birthday party, and we were all dancing,” James said, describing an incident that preceded his physical. “I felt something wasn’t right and had to go sit down because a sharp pain was hitting my chest.
“They told me at first I wasn’t going to play any sports anymore. Now I realize that everything I’m able to do is a blessing, and I’m taking advantage of that.”
James was given the green light to return to training after a stress test administered a couple of months later showed no signs of the condition. He has been full-go ever since, and the results have been as positive as can be for both him and the Zee-Bees.
James’ touchdowns against Stevenson were a personal milestone, and afterward it seemed like the win put the team onto a whole new level.
“I’m not going to lie, through my first two years on varsity, that would have been game over,” James said of the early deficit. “I looked around on the sideline today after they came out and scored on the first play of the drive to go up 14-0 and didn’t see a single head drop. Everybody was saying, ‘We’re still good.’
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“We know how good our offense is, and we know we’re going to eventually put up points and the defense will feed off our energy and eventually get a stop. We stay together no matter what.”
Steve Reaven is a freelance reporter.