Karamanos digs in at QB for Lake Forest Academy

Versatile Chris Karamanos can play multiple positions. By all accounts, quarterback shouldn’t be one of them.

The Lake Forest Academy junior is tough and rugged, with a sturdy body built for taking punishment. But at 5-foot-8, he’s a lot closer to the ground than an elite signal caller might be.

Karamanos doesn’t mind a bit. He likes it that way.

“So you just have to be better,” Karamanos said. “You just have to play at a higher level than everyone else — that’s what I’ve noticed. I try to take that and make it a positive.”

If you measured the gritty QB in toughness, you’d need a couple of ladders to reach that high.

“He makes plays with his arm and his feet, but the biggest thing with him is that he’s just tough,” LFA coach Robin Bowkett said. “He’s just as fierce a competitor as you’ll ever see. He hates to lose, which is great. And he loves to win at everything he does.”

Lake Forest Academy’s up-and-down season (3-4 overall) has clearly been hard on Karamanos, both physically and mentally. He’s noticeably distraught when the team struggles.

With the Caxys playing a ranked Providence team on Friday, Karamanos probably had the worst seat in the house during his team’s 38-10 loss: face down on the turf, pancaked by Providence defenders. But Karamanos doesn’t plan on giving up any time soon.

“I’d be fine going back to playing running back like I used to, but I like playing quarterback,” Karamanos said. “I just like having the ball. It might sound arrogant, but when the game is on the line I want the ball. I can control what happens a little more. So I’d be open to doing whatever — if a college wants me to play running back, I’ll play running back. It’s all good with me; I just want to play football.”

A quarterback change is literally an impossibility, as Karamanos is the only QB on Lake Forest’s roster.

“The hardest part for him is probably seeing over the line, because our offensive line is really tall,” junior running back Mbassa Mayikana said. “But he does well because he throws a great ball, and he’s really fast, too. He’s extremely competitive, so he overcomes a lot of things. You can tell every time we mess up, he gets really mad. That’s just how he is. Toughest kid on the team, in my opinion.”