Lake Zurich senior Ryan Hasemeyer couldn’t have expected this.

A latecomer to football, Hasemeyer said he was at “the bottom” of the depth chart on the junior varsity team when he first started playing two years ago and didn’t even get any action on special teams on the varsity team last year.

“Even in this offseason, I knew I had a role, but it wasn’t on the field,” he said. “It was on the sideline and on special teams — get the boys hyped and get the crowd moving.

“But through the summer, I slowly worked my way up and realized my job would be on the field.”

Indeed, the 5-foot-7, 170-pound Hasemeyer became an effective No. 2 running back in the Bears’ productive ground game. He not only gave senior Kaden Abrantes a breather but also kept the chains moving.

“If he busts out a huge r

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