Liaromatis automatic for 'Cats

Updated: March 22, 2011 5:10PM

Fullback. Guard. Middle linebacker. Tight end. Wingback. I-back. Wilmington's Steve Liaromatis has seemingly played more positions than letters on an eye chart, with his latest focus being necessitated by injury.

During a 40-19 Interstate Eight Conference crossover victory against Coal City in Week 8, senior wingback Jeremy Bailey went to the sidelines with a lower-back injury and stayed there through a tasty 34-14 win over Sandwich in the regular-season finale.

While Bailey also sat out a 55-26 rout of Winnebago in the first round of the Class 3A football playoffs, the even-keel Liaromatis kept his legs churning. The 6-foot, 190-pound senior is more down to earth than dirt and more than willing to get his hands dirty.

Here. There. Wherever.

"The coaches will tell me, ‘Hey, you're playing here this week,' and I'll be like, ‘OK, that's fine with me,'" Liaromatis said in an automatic, matter-of-fact fashion. "I don't try to make anything into a bigger deal than I think it has to be or than it should be."

What should have been a haymaker that felled Wilmington's offense has turned into the punch that packed a bigger wallop for the unbeaten Wildcats, with Liaromatis rushing for 195 yards and 4 touchdowns on 13 carries in the dismantling of Winnebago.

On top of that, Liaromatis led Wilmington with 2 catches for 24 yards in pushing his season totals to a team-best 15 receptions for 219 yards. His 59 carries for 519 yards and 10 TDs trail only Bailey (101 carries, 699 yards, 14 TDs) in its double-wing, I-wing attack.

According to Wildcats coach Jeff Reents, part of the credit for Liaromatis' success in Bailey's place can be traced to a suddenly surging offensive line - tackles Max Lyday and Bobby Warren, guards Alex Peterson and Kyle Bardel and center Mike Popovich.

For whom will that line block? It may not matter as Wilmington (10-0) travels to Aurora Christian (6-4) - headlined by quarterback Anthony Maddie, a Romeoville native and Joliet Catholic transfer - for Saturday's second-round kickoff at 7 p.m.

"We've been trying to do what we need to do to be at the same level as with Jeremy," Lyday said. "It's great that people see that Jeremy is out and we're still getting good yardage on the ground. We wondered in the beginning who was going to step up, and Steve has done a great job."

"To step in and do what Steve has done, it's really about two things," Reents pointed out. "One, Steve is a very, very good athlete; there's no doubt about that. And, two, our line is doing a heckuva job opening up the holes for him."

Actually, a hole on the offensive line gave Liaromatis his first glimpse of varsity action as a sophomore. He previously spent most of his two-way time in the Wildcats' program at fullback and linebacker, adding tight end to his repertoire last fall and for this year.

"Truthfully, our plan was to play him at the end spot and eventually we wanted to move him into the backfield and get him some carries," Wilmington offensive coordinator Barry Southall said. "With Jeremy going down, it just happened sooner than we expected."

"It doesn't bother me," Liaromatis said with a shrug. "I know the offense better now. Jeremy is definitely a key player for our offense and I enjoy running back, but whatever position I have to play that makes the team better, basically that's what I do."

A year ago, what Liaromatis did was pace the Wilmington defense and contribute 188 yards rushing and 2 TDs on 24 carries. He chipped in 4 catches for 76 yards. Most of that was in the fullback/tight end mold, but his recent stint has been a revelation of sorts.

Watch out, Forrest Gump.

"The surprise about him at halfback has been his breakaway speed," Reents said. "He has always been a great athlete who can play a lot of different spots for you because he has good size, but the nice surprise for us has been him breaking away at times with his speed."

"We put him at end because we felt he had the speed to be that type of player," Southall nodded. "The difference between fullback and halfback is he's going to get more opportunities to break runs being out on that outside edge. And he's in great condition, which really helps."

It also helps that Liaromatis carries a 3.7 grade-point average on a 4.0 scale. With or without the ball, he is a threat, and Southall noted how "he keeps his legs running, he keeps his legs moving. That's a big key, plus being a pretty good-sized kid for 3A football."

And pretty quick, too.

"There are a lot of people who have been saying that to me," confirmed Liaromatis, who scored on runs of 46 and 64 yards against Winnebago. "I've heard, ‘I didn't know you were that fast.' All I can say to that is, ‘Yeah. Yeah, I am.'"

"It's fun to see somebody like him, a tight end, step up and have that success as a running back," Lyday said. "He has filled Jeremy's shoes."

It's quite a list. Fullback. Guard. Middle linebacker. Tight end. Wingback. I-back.

His favorite of the five?

"I'd probably go with linebacker," Liaromatis said. "I do like making a lot of contact, making the tackles, and that makes me feel pretty good. But running the football, when you get to run some people over ... well, that has its perks, too."

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