Help is on the way.
That’s the good news for West Aurora with the addition of Lesroy Tittle, a senior transfer who started at linebacker for three straight Class 5A state championship teams at Nazareth.
Tittle expects to contribute on both sides of the ball for the Blackhawks.
“Basically, I’ll play wide receiver and running back on offense and defense,” Tittle said. “I don’t really know yet.”
He didn’t start practice until last Monday, so he wasn’t eligible to play for West Aurora (0-1) in the season opener Friday because he hadn’t participated in the minimum number of required practices by the Illinois High School Association.
The 6-foot-2, 215-pound Tittle, who is listed on the team’s roster as a running back and defensive lineman, had to miss the host Blackhawks’ disappointing 56-7 loss to Hinsdale Central.
Tittle, who lives in Aurora and transferred to West Aurora late in the fall semester last year, didn’t play for the Roadrunners in their final two playoff wins. He also didn’t take part in the Blackhawks’ summer program.
“That’s a story for him to tell,” West Aurora coach Nate Eimer said after Friday’s game against Hinsdale Central. “He came to us Monday of this week and we’ll have him next week.”
During the summer, Tittle pointed out that he and his mom were considering all options.
“In the end, we trusted in coach Eimer and stayed here,” he said.
At Nazareth, Tittle played defensive end, running back and wide receiver as well as linebacker.
“He’s done a lot,” Eimer said. “We’ll welcome him with open arms. He should help.”
Indeed, he should. Tittle has scholarship offers from Illinois, Toledo, Western Michigan and Marshall. He said Michigan and Michigan State also have shown recruiting interest.
“They’re just wanting to see what I can do on the field this year,” Tittle said.
Eimer, a West Aurora alum, played with Tittle’s father Lesroy in high school and has also coached his three half brothers.
“I was having personal issues I can’t disclose at this time,” Tittle said of his departure from Nazareth. “I couldn’t really play for the team. It was a punch in the gut, but I believed in them and they knew I was there in spirit and they got it done, so I was just very happy for them.
“And when they found out I left, it was sad at first because we just know we’d ball out, no matter where we were.”
Like his father, the younger Tittle excels in track. As a sophomore at Nazareth, he took third in the Class 2A state meet.
The Blackhawks are home again for a 7 p.m. Friday kickoff against Glenbard East (1-0) in a crossover game between the last year’s Upstate Eight Conference division champions. The Rams, who won Upstate Eight East, opened with a 28-21 nonconference win over Willowbrook.
Senior quarterback Mason Atkins, a Ball State commit, looks forward to reuniting with Tittle.
“I’m real excited about him being able to get to play,” Atkins said. “I’ve been great friends with Lesroy since we were little kids. When we were younger, we played a little basketball together and some Pop Warner and middle school football.
“He’s a real energetic dude. Every day in practice, he’s the most hyped-up guy on the field.”
Tittle was with West Aurora on the sideline for the opener.
“I just hope this loss lit a fire under the team so that we can overcome adversity,” Tittle said. “For me, personally, I just want to get out there and bond with my boys on the field.
“We have a lot to learn and there’s a lot of football still to be played. It will be fun.”
And on those points, Atkins agreed.
“This first game was definitely frustrating as a team,” he said. “We’ll learn from it. I’d rather it be in Week 1 rather than one of the playoff games.”
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