American Army knife: Peotone’s Chase Rivera plays all over the field

In 1983, DIC Entertainment created the animated TV series “Inspector Gadget.” The show followed the adventures of a cyborg police inspector that solved crimes using a variety of high-tech gadgets that he was made of. He could do almost anything because of his special abilities.

No word yet on whether Chase Rivera is a cyborg, but he certainly has the ability to do almost anything.

Rivera, a rising senior at Peotone, is a true do-it-all football player. He plays five positions in all three phases of the game.

To top it off, he’s only getting better.

“He’s had two really solid years up for us so far,” Peotone coach Apostolos Tsiamas said. “We just need him to take another step this year like he did from his sophomore to junior year. He could be the focal point of our offense. He plays a lot of different spots defensively, as well. As good of a football player as he is, he’s an even better kid. He’s developed into a really good leader for our team, and I expect big things this year from him.”

Rivera has been a fixture for Peotone at running back, receiver, safety, linebacker and kicker. He plays basketball, too, but it’s football that he hopes will take him to college. He said he’s had conversations with six universities about playing for their programs.

As far as Rivera’s ability to play multiple positions, he says that he’s willing to play anywhere on the field that he’s needed. More than his versatility, however, he’s focused on helping the team win.

“I’ve always been a really hard worker,” Rivera said. “This year, though, I’ve been working even harder because in the back of my mind I’ve been realizing it’s my last go around in high school. I want to go and give it all I’ve got, and I know I’ll have the chance to look back on my memories from my last season, and I want them to be good ones.”

It’s not just Rivera’s versatility that makes him stand out. His stat line shows just how impactful he’s been for the Blue Devils. As a junior, he ran for 1,071 yards and 16 touchdowns, hauled in five touchdown catches with 518 receiving yards, recorded 55 tackles with three interceptions on defense and kicked 20 PATs. He posted 1,801 all-purpose yards and was 13th in the state for total points scored with 152.

“He’s got a good football IQ,” Tsiamas said. “You can put him in the backfield and get him the ball, but he was actually our second-leading rusher last year and our leading receiver. Anytime you’ve got a high football IQ, we’re going to try and use you in a bunch of different spots, and that won’t change much going into his senior year.”

Rivera has no qualms about playing as much as he’s needed. On the contrary, he enjoys being on the field at all times and embracing the workload.

“I will never complain about being on the field the entire game,” Rivera said. “I’ve always done that my entire football career. When I’m in every play there’s no excuse, and it allows me to help and motivate others every single play. My coaches are very appreciative of that.”

Tsiamas is looking for Rivera to step up into a more vocal role this season. He emphasized that Rivera is “a great kid,” and that challenge should be easily matched. He also believes Rivera’s success will play a critical role in how well the Blue Devils do this year.

Peotone went 7-4 last season, including 5-2 in the Illinois Central Eight Conference. The Blue Devils advanced to the second round of the Class 3A playoffs before losing to eventual state champion Byron. That Blue Devils squad started 2-3 before winning five straight. Peotone returns the bulk of that roster and should be poised to keep things rolling this year.

“I’d like to see us pick up where we left off last year,” Tsiamas said. “We started out a little slow last year. I think we got away from what our identity was and in the second half we kind of got back to it and a lot of that started with Chase. Through the first five games he only had like 300 yards rushing and he ended up with almost 1,100 so he really turned in on the last few weeks and we have a lot of kids back from that group.”

As for Rivera, he’s confident that the Blue Devils will keep pushing forward and find even more success.

“I need us to get past the second round,” Rivera said. “We know we can win those games to reach the second round. ... We just need to lock in when the time comes. There’s only been a few teams in our school history that have made it to the second round, so I want to make history, do something no Peotone team has ever done and reach the third round of the playoffs.”