Argianis, Donofrio complete Vernon Hills

It's easy to get hung up on the aura of having two major Division I athletes on one high school football team.

Many defenses around here have, and that's a big reason Vernon Hills has rolled to a 9-1 record and a second-round Class 5A playoff date with Tinley Park on Saturday.

The focus has often been so much on the Cougars' superstar receivers Notre Dame-bound DaVaris Daniels and Ohio State-bound Evan Spencer that the rest of the offense gets a bit overlooked.

Sometimes a lot overlooked.

Big mistake.

“We've just got too many different weapons on offense,” Vernon Hills coach Tony Monken said. “People want to key on DaVaris and Evan. But we've done a great job of forcing people to defend everyone.”

Starting with quarterback Chris Argianas.

Argianas is a new, technically old player who is coming and going with a bang in his last, and technically first, season. Then there's center Mike Donofrio, a two-year starter and the ringleader of a line that has paved the way for one of the most prolific offenses in the northern suburbs.

Daniels and Spencer may keep the Cougars going, and going and going some more. But without a dynamic quarterback-center combination like Argianas and Donofrio, it's possible the Vernon Hills juggernaut would have trouble getting started in the first place.

Vernon Hills is scoring 41.6 points per game, and Argianas has passed for 514 yards and 8 touchdowns on just 25 completions.

“DaVaris and Evan are so key to us,” Argianas said. “They demand so much attention that they make everything a lot easier for the rest of us because they open things up.

“But they'd also be the first to tell you that it takes a team. It takes all of us.”

Argianas hasn't always been a part of “us.” And it was beginning to really get to him.

He played football as a freshman and was the starting quarterback on the freshman team. He even started one game for the sophomore team.

But by the end of the school year, he was burned out. A basketball and baseball player as well, Argianas was beginning to seriously doubt that he could keep up the physical demands of playing three sports for three more years.

“I was wiped out,” Argianas said. “I figured that the only thing I could do would be to give up a sport.”

Argianas agonized over the decision. He loves all three sports, but he felt for his well-being, for his sanity, he had to pick something.

So, football was out.

“When he said he wasn't going to play anymore, I was really disappointed,” Donofrio said. “We are good friends and we had a lot of good chemistry going playing together as freshmen. I thought he'd be our quarterback the whole time, all through high school, but I knew how hectic his life was with basketball and baseball and he takes honors classes, too. I knew it was hard for him.”

What Argianas didn't bargain for was how hard life would be without football.

He didn't play as a sophomore or junior, which gave him more time to devote to basketball and baseball without being spread so thin. But he often found himself wondering if the pro of less stress outweighed the con of being without football.

“That part was nice. Having more time. I definitely felt like I was more prepared for basketball and baseball,” said Argianas, who got promoted to varsity in both basketball and baseball as a sophomore. “But I was still missing football.”

By the end of his junior year, Argianas couldn't take it anymore.

He started throwing the football around again, often with Daniels and Spencer.

He wanted to play again in a more official capacity. He didn't want to miss any more football, or a great opportunity.

“I really didn't want to have any regrets about not trying to play football one more time,” Argianas said. “And I also didn't want to miss out playing with guys like DaVaris and Evan one last time. I mean, we're going to be seeing those guys on TV next year. I wanted to say that I played with them on varsity.

“But it was more than just that. It was wanting to play with all these guys. I knew we were going to have a really good team this year. I didn't want to miss that. I wanted to be a part of this really good team.”

So Argianas returned. And no one was sure what to expect.

Rust? Growing pains?

He was a question mark, but that didn't matter. He was welcomed back with open arms, extended as wide as can be.

“We're a small school,” Monken said with a laugh. “If someone wants to come back out for the team, we're not going to hold them back. We don't cut anyone. We don't say no to anyone. We were disappointed Chris left the team after his freshman year, but we were very happy that he had come back out.

“We just didn't want to get too excited. We were prepared that things might go slowly.”

Or not. Monken and his staff weren't quite prepared for what did actually happen.

“We were pleasantly surprised with his learning curve,” Monken said of Argianas. “It was huge.”

Argianas seemed to slip back into quarterback mode as quickly as he slipped out. In no time, he was competing for the starting spot.

“Chris is just one of those kids,” Donofrio said. “He's such a good athlete that he can pretty much pick up anything real quick and be a star at it.”

Argianas says looks are deceiving. He had to really work at re-acclimating, and he needed a lot of help from his coaches and guys like Donofrio.

“He's made this transition a lot easier for me,” Argianas said of Donofrio. “Mike is such a good player and definitely the leader of our line. He helps a lot of the guys on the line with their assignments and things like that, and he's definitely helped me out.

“It's kind of funny that he was there for me both times as I got started, as a freshman and now as a senior.”

Argianas is hoping that this tour of duty doesn't end any time soon. After all, he's got a lot of time to make up for.

So, an early exit from the playoffs is not an option.

“It's weird to think that, at most, there are only four games left,” Argianas said. “I just want to keep playing for as long as I can.

“I understand now that this is really it this time.”

pbabcock@dailyherald.com