The beat goes on for Grayslake North's Delgado

This is the kind of hustle that won't show up on the stat sheet or on the game film.

It was halftime, after all.

As Grayslake North's football players ran to the locker room at intermission of their eventual 34-0 win over visiting Mendota last Friday night, one Knight stayed behind.

Tight end Eric Delgado raced furiously to do a clothing change faster than anything Clark Kent could pull off.

Before you could say "Superman," Delgado had ripped off his football helmet, strapped marching-band gauntlets on his arms, pulled on a pair gloves, removed his cleats and slipped on black shoes, which he had to tie. (Wouldn't Velcro be faster?)

From football player to drum major ... and Delgado didn't miss a beat.

Super, man.

"We have a lot of kids that actually help them," Grayslake North marching band director Candace Edstrand said. "When Eric runs off the field, we have kids that dress him and get him ready to go for us.

"So as long as the kids are on top of it, it works out."

It's nice, noted Edstrand and assistant marching band director Laura Bertermann, that Grayslake North football coach Steve Wood allows Delgado to work out his multi-tasking so that neither marching band nor football negatively affects the other.

Delgado, still wearing his shoulder pads, No. 85 jersey and football pants, climbed a collapsible ladder, stepped on its small platform and started leading Grayslake North's marching band by using a series of hand gestures and commands.

A Knight stood tall -- a good 10-feet tall -- and proud.

Talk about a leader.

About 10 minutes later, Delgado stepped down, hustled to a sideline bench, removed his marching-band attire and turned back into football player.

He had to be sweating, but he wasn't going to show it.

So how does he find the time to learn both football plays and marching-band music?

"It's hard," a smiling Delgado said while changing shoes before speeding to the locker room to join his football teammates. "I find a way to make it work somehow."

One of Delgado's football teammates, offensive lineman Jason Propeck, also performs in the marching band. Against Mendota, however, an injury limited the saxophone player to shooting film for the football team.

Quite a fun and different football squad Grayslake North has. The roster includes a drum major, a female place-kicker (Katie Lahera) and a player whose last name starts with the letter "X" (linebacker Adam Xiong).

A win Friday night against rival Grayslake Central makes the Knights playoff-elgible.

That would be sweet music for Delgado and Grayslake North.