Glenbard North senior Angelo Gatses has rushed for 1,236 yards and 16 touchdowns through eight games, as first reported by Dave Oberhelman of the Daily Herald. The 5-foot-9, 180-pound team co-captain has topped 100 rushing yards in six of those contests, including a 288-yard performance against Geneva.

The numbers mark a leap for a player who logged 127 yards and three touchdowns as a backup last season. His older brother Donato Gatses, a 2,200-yard rusher and Illinois High School Football Coaches Association Class 7A honorable-mention all-state pick in 2025, graduated and is now a freshman at Indiana University.

"Now I'm kind of on my own," Angelo Gatses told the Daily Herald. He said he spent years playing alongside Donato and now feels he has his own stage.

The transition has come under first-year head coach Justin Kerwin, a 2001 Glenbard North graduate. Kerwin told the Daily Herald that Gatses never leaves the field and has stepped into a leadership role this season. Gatses is one of six team captains, alongside Mason Bebar, Miguel Magana, Xavier Smiley, quarterback Logan Kramer and linebacker Mikey Santiemmo.

Gatses plays both ways.

He starts at cornerback on defense, lines up occasionally at receiver and returns kickoffs and punts. The Daily Herald reported that Kerwin praised Gatses' positivity in Glenbard North's classrooms and hallways, not just on the field.

Safety and tight end Cory Truty told the Daily Herald that Gatses inspired him to rejoin the football program after Truty initially did not come out for the team. Smiley, also a defensive end, called Gatses a source of energy for the entire roster.

The Panthers enter Week 9 at 3-5 overall and 1-5 in DuKane Conference play after a 33-32 loss to St. Charles North on Oct. 9, decided by a touchdown pass in the final minute, according to a Shaw Local preview. Gatses ran 31 times for 170 yards in that game, according to the Daily Herald. Shaw Local listed his season total at 1,251 yards, slightly above the Daily Herald's 1,236-yard figure; the discrepancy was not explained.

Glenbard North, a Class 7A quarterfinalist in 2025, travels to Wheaton North on Friday, Oct. 16, at 7 p.m. The Panthers beat the Falcons 39-20 last season. Wheaton North enters at 5-3 after dropping three straight conference games.

Gatses told the Daily Herald he still has plenty of energy after playing offense, defense and special teams: "After a game I want to play another one."