After having vastly different experiences last fall, Chance Sanders and Rocky Green share a common goal this season.
Get Argo football back to a good place.
The inexperienced Argonauts went 0-9 last year, snapping a string of three consecutive 5-5 seasons and IHSA playoff berths.
Sanders, a 6-2, 185-pound senior, was the starting quarterback last year. Green, a 5-10, 190-pound senior, was a member of Brother Rice’s Class 7A championship team. Now he’s back at his hometown school as a running back, inside linebacker and tight end.
They’re upbeat about the Argonauts’ chances to bounce back.
“Last year’s experience really taught me that we need to be more (of) a team and a brotherhood and work together,” Sanders said recently during a break in practice. “Last year we had our ups and downs and we’re going to be better this year. We’re all together. We’re all working harder.
“It takes everyone to be on the same page. You can’t be arguing, you can’t be fighting. … You’ve got to be one — one program.”
Adding someone like Green, who started high school at St. Laurence before moving to Brother Rice, to the mix can only help.
“It’s awesome,” Sanders said. “I grew up with him. We went to middle school, elementary school (together). I’ve seen him do great things at all the schools he’s been at.”
It’s been a happy homecoming for Green, who is 5-10 and 190 pounds.
“Definitely a good experience,” he said. “Getting back to my hometown friends, my hometown in general. Have been out of it for a while throughout high school, so it’s good to be back.”
While job one for Sanders and Green is righting the ship at Argo, they also have college dreams. Sanders has visited Elmhurst, Rockford and Carroll, while Green has logged visits to Carroll and Loras.
Interestingly, Sanders started playing football in first grade for the Palos Stars but didn’t become a quarterback till high school.
“I was the tallest kid growing up,” he said. “I was a little chubbier, too. I used to play offensive tackle and (defensive) end.”
Argo coach Phillip Rossberg expects Sanders to thrive in a new offensive system installed this fall.
“It’s giving him a lot more opportunities to be more calm and to make some throws,” Rossberg said. “… He can throw a nice deep ball and that’s something we’ve missed — explosive plays — the last couple years.”
Green, who played youth football for the Worth-Ridge Panthers and Mount Greenwood Colts, has always been a linebacker.
“He’s just a hard-nosed kid,” Rossberg said. “… He has no fear. He’s a tone-setter, pretty much.”
But Green’s athletic resume is diverse: he used to play lacrosse and still plays goalie for a high-school hockey co-op team.
He believes his experience on the ice translates to the football field.
“Especially as a goalie, knowing a lot of things are relying on you,” Green said. “Just knowing that pressure and being able to play through that is definitely something great that’s crossed over for me.”