Don't tell him the odds

Ravaged liver couldn't stop Eagles' Kariotis

Sitting in the kitchen of his Aurora home, Pete Kariotis is one of few high school players who can make the table he rests his hands on seem like a TV tray. He stands 6 feet tall and checks in at 310 pounds. As he shifts, the chair underneath squeals for mercy -- much like many a quarterback who fell victim to the Aurora Christian defensive tackle.

His weight and strength translate to the upper tiers of college football, but his height and 40-yard dash time leave him examining other options on signing day.

That means Kariotis may not be inking his name to a piece of paper today, but the fact he has the opportunity to choose between several Division III programs is amazing in its own right.

First, by the numbers, Kariotis will be one of few. According to the NCAA, "about 5.7 percent, or approximately one in 17, of all high school senior boys playing interscholastic football will go on to play football at a NCAA member institution."

By rights, he shouldn't even be able to sign anything, let alone be able to capitalize on a high school career that saw him record the fourth-highest career sack total in IHSA history.

In March 1990, Kay Kariotis sat rocking Pete for hours in Oak Park Hospital, a 6-pound newborn with bright blue eyes and a liver so badly damaged he was not supposed to make it another day. His biological mother and Kay's daughter, Angeleque, was a drug addict, and infant Pete paid the price. His liver was so ravaged by Hepatitis B that Kay was told that even if he made it through his first 24 hours, life past age 10 would be too much to hope for.

"He is 18 years old and shouldn't even be here," Kay said. "When he was a year old (his pediatrician) said, 'Kay, his liver is so deteriorated, even with a liver transplant, by the age of 10 he should die.' There was no hope for him."

But Kay and her husband, Angelo, immediately adopted their grandson (and later, Angeleque's daughter Nicole) and after about a year they decided to take Pete to Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago to try the drug interferon to help Pete recover. Before going for a liver biopsy, Kay took Pete to Calvary Church in Naperville for a blessing.

Shortly thereafter is when Kay said the hospital's pediatric liver specialist told them Pete's liver was no longer in danger of failing.

"They do blood work every year, he's 18 years old, 300 pounds, playing football -- look at him," she said. "It was a total healing."

As the years passed, Kariotis didn't just grow, he exploded, and he was playing youth football with seventh-graders as a fourth-grader. He played in Naperville and Plainfield youth leagues until eighth grade, when he was enrolled at Aurora Christian.

Don Beebe had just come to the school as its varsity football coach, and Kay immediately sought him out. She told Beebe how her son was rampaging through the youth leagues.

"I thought it was a neat thing to hear Kay talk about Pete -- then I met Pete," Beebe said through laughs, "And I was like, 'OK, Pete's pretty good. And pretty big.'"

It was clear Kariotis was going to a be a varsity player as a freshman at Aurora Christian, but he was raw, using pure power to overcome blockers. The Eagles defensive coaches began working on his speed and technique, and he developed into an all-around threat.

"When he was younger he would just bull rush and just run into anything that got in his way. He wouldn't read the play," Beebe said. "(Now), with his weight, anything in his way he's going to blow up."

In his four-year career at Aurora Christian, Kariotis set several school records and climbed up the IHSA career list for sacks [SEE BOX].

"Pete Kariotis will always be one of my favorite players," Beebe said. "He's come a long way physically, spiritually, mentally. And without Kay I don't know if Pete would have ever made it. He might have just been a statistic. It's sad, but it's probably true."

As he greets the usual group of friends that invades the Kariotis household, Pete is all smiles as he talks about his college options and his time in high school.

"That was the coolest thing about Aurora Christian -- our coaches don't just care about wins," he said. "They care about you and what you're going to do after school."

Chadron State College, a Division II program in Nebraska, expressed interest, as have Aurora University, North Park University and several other Division III programs. And on Tuesday night, Trinity International University -- an NAIA program in Deerfield -- offered him a scholarship.

Kariotis won't play in the Big Ten, but his story is one of victory nonetheless.

"Pete understands that in Christ there is always hope, there is always peace, there is always joy," Beebe said. "He's not bitter. He's not wrapped up in his past. I think that's such a true testament to the boy's faith and it's neat to be around. A lot people gave up on him. God never did. And Pete never gave up on himself, either." National Letter of Intent Signing Day