Unlike many other players on the Antioch football team’s roster, junior defensive lineman Willie Hamilton didn’t go through the town’s robust feeder program with the dream of playing under the bright lights in high school.

Hamilton didn’t play football at all while he was growing up, and he needed a nudge to even consider the idea as a freshman.

“My friend was encouraging me to play, but I was totally against it,” he said. “I never really watched football on TV, so I didn’t really know what I was getting into. At first, it was too much.”

Hamilton enjoyed his first season and showed enough potential to be promoted to the varsity team as a sophomore, but he still had to be convinced to return. His health was the deciding factor. He estimates that he weighed around 240 pounds at his heaviest.

“With me playing football, my main goal was to lose weight,” Hamilton said. “I had had health issues associated with being overweight, like high blood pressure, so losing weight was motivation if I wanted to be healthier.”

Hamilton began to understand what the sport had to offer during his sophomore season.

“I didn’t really know anyone my freshman year, but I like it now because of the brotherhood,” he said. “If I’m ever feeling discouraged, I feel like I’m going through the same stuff as others. There’s a level of connection with the team. I like football now and want to stay with it.”

That would be good for the Sequoits (8-2) because the 5-foot-10, 207-pound Hamilton has distinguished himself as one of their top defensive players and projects to be even more impactful as a senior. He has played at defensive end opposite senior Owen Shea for much of the season but has manned all four positions on the line.

Entering fifth-seeded Antioch’s game at fourth-seeded Lake Zurich in the second round of the Class 6A playoffs at 1 p.m. Saturday, Hamilton has 23 tackles, a sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

One attribute that distinguishes Hamilton, who has also wrestled at Antioch, is his nonstop motor.

“He’s a gentle, sensitive, sweet kid, but the way he plays on the field doesn’t match his personality,” Antioch coach Brian Glashagel said. “He’s very athletic for someone of his size, and he’s one of the rare players who doesn’t give up on plays that go all the way around the opposite end. He doesn’t understand that concept, which truly makes him unique.”

Shea recalled an instance during a practice when Hamilton’s all-out tendencies became obvious to everyone on the team.

“He was chasing down a running back on a jet sweep, and the guy went to make a cut, and he made a full-on dive, laying out completely,” Shea said. “Everyone was laughing, but that’s just how he plays all the time. Everyone likes and respects him for things like that.”

On plays like that, Hamilton isn’t looking for adulation. He’s setting an example for his teammates but also believes he owes them that kind of effort.

“It’s for me and the people I’m playing with,” he said. “I’m in it for everyone else. I want to go as hard as I can for the seniors. The play’s not over until the whistle blows. I try to just go get the ball.”

That mindset will be important for Antioch during its rematch with Lake Zurich, which won 33-0 in Week 2. The game gives Hamilton and his teammates a chance for redemption and also gives him an opportunity to gauge his progress this season.

“I watch film privately, and it’s mostly a benchmark for getting better,” Hamilton said. “I do look better than earlier in the year. I’m more calm on run defense. That used to be one of my weaker skills. And I know how to land my punches better, and there’s more correct placement with my feet.”

When Hamilton watches film, he also notes what he looks like physically. He’s often undersized compared to offensive lineman he faces. Therein lies the irony for someone who started to play football to lose weight.

“Being smaller most of the time, I feel I have something to prove,” Hamilton said. “I feel like people and the opponent look down on me, and that doesn’t sit well with me.”

Steve Reaven is a freelance reporter.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/06/6a-football-lake-zurich-antioch-willie-hamilton/