High school football notebook: Evanston’s new star; Jon Beutjer takes over at Lyons

Last season hardly could have started out better for Evanston’s Sebastian Cheeks.

After playing freshman football in 2018, he bumped all the way up to the varsity as a starting linebacker. In Week 1, Cheeks ran back two interceptions for touchdowns and forced a goal-line fumble to set up another score in a win over St. Patrick.

But Cheeks also suffered a shoulder injury in that game. He initially tried to keep playing, but wound up missing half the season as the Wildkits finished 3-6.

Still, that brief audition was enough to get Cheeks on recruiters’ radar. The 6-2, 200-pounder is the consensus No. 3 player in Illinois’ Class of 2022 and has offers from such college powers as Notre Dame, Michigan, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Iowa State, Boston College and Syracuse.

“My tape is pretty short,” Cheeks said. “But what I did in a couple games, I know I can (build) off that. I know who I am as a player and I’m looking forward to Year 3 (of high school).”

Evanston coach Mike Burzawa also knows who Cheeks is as a player, and will be happy to pencil him in as a two-way starter next spring at linebacker and running back.

“He’s a rare combination of speed, size, athleticism,” Burzawa said. “He’s long. Most of the schools are recruiting him as a linebacker/strong safety type because he could do so many things.

“You could put him down on the line of scrimmage, he could rush the passer. He could cover a number two receiver (but) he’s physical enough to play in the box.”

Cheeks’ versatility plays out across multiple sports too. He started playing football as a 7-year-old, later tried baseball and was a three-sport athlete at Evanston before giving up basketball last year to rehab from his injury.

He’s still on the track team as a hurdler, an event that makes him a better football player too.

“Hurdling — everything that goes into it, it’s a really complicated thing,” Cheeks said. “And it just builds your overall athletic performance.”

Now he’s hoping to demonstrate that in a football season like no other in Illinois high school history — one delayed till the spring because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Competition, I really miss it,” Cheeks said. “On top of the pandemic and my injury, it’s been a long time. So I’m just ready to get back at it.”

Lion king

If you know Jon Beutjer’s history, you might expect the new Lyons coach to install a pass-happy offense.

Beutjer threw for a state-record 60 touchdowns for Wheaton Warrenville South in 1998, played quarterback at Iowa and Illinois, and had stints in the CFL and Arena Football.

He spent the last 10 years as an assistant at Lyons, working with three quarterbacks who went on to Division I (Ben Bryant, Tommy Fiedler and Zach Mahoney). Now Beutjer is the Lions’ head coach, taking over when Dan Hartman announced he’s resigning after one season and moving to Ohio.

But don’t assume anything about Beutjer’s game plans next spring.

“You have to look at your guys and ... you have to tailor your offense to the players you have,” he said. “We’re going to try to run the football and throw the football.”

Among the returning starters for the Lions, who were 4-5 last year, are a pair of juniors: quarterback Joey Antonietti and receiver Quentrell Harris (whose older brother Matthew went on to play at Northwestern). Seniors back include linebacker Jimmy Poulos, center Ray Kloes and offensive lineman Joe Tagmeyer.

Beutjer is ready to get started, even in a delayed season.

“I had it in the back of my mind I’d love to be the head coach at LT, after being under (head coaches) Kurt Weinberg and Dan Hartman,” Beutjer said. “The opportunity presented itself and I went for it.”