St. Francis senior lineman Jaylen Torres is the 2025 Kane County Chronicle football Player of the Year

St. Francis two-way lineman Jaylen Torres, who controlled both sides of the line of scrimmage and helped the team to its first state title since 2008, is the Kane County Chronicle football Player of the Year.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:05):
Saint Francis senior lineman Jalen Torres is the twenty twenty
five Kane County Chronicle Football Player of the Year. This
article is being read by an automated voice brought to
you by Everlett. Jalen Torres has always been someone looking
for a challenge. It's something that Saint Francis Senior has

(00:25):
done for as long as he can remember, from playing
up a grade level in football during his childhood to
hitting the wrestling mats with bigger people, and in a
senior season, the six foot three hundred pound lineman had
to face one again, going back to the offensive line
after initially entering the season focused on playing on defense.
But was he worried about being on the field for

(00:47):
every play. Sometimes I'd get a little tired, but I
would always push through it. Torres said, I just knew
in my head that this was my last year, and
in two years if I didn't, I'd look back and
say why was I trying so hard? So I knew
I had to give it my all. His all proved
to be plenty, and then even more. Torres, an Aurora native,

(01:09):
and Linden would commit put up eye popping numbers on
both sides of the ball. He finished with one hundred
and fourteen tackles, twenty nine for loss in ten point
five sacks on defense, and added sixty four pancake blocks
for an offense that recorded over five thousand yards of offense.
Along with earning Class five A All State honors for
the second straight season, he also played a crucial part

(01:32):
in the Spartans winning the Class five A state title,
just their second boys state title in school history. Considering
the accolades, Torres has been named the twenty twenty five
Caine County Chronicle Player of the Year. Just to watch
his growth and his leadership over these last four years
have been amazing. This year, Spartan's coach Bob McMillan said,

(01:52):
especially when you have a kid walking up to you
and just telling the coaches that he's willing to play
anywhere for us, it just shows the type of mature
that he has as a player. And his play on
the field is also second to none. While a defensive
play certainly played a factor in the team's success, it
was the play on the offensive line that proved vital
come playoff time. It all came to a head in

(02:13):
the Class five A state title game, where the Spartans
rushed for five touchdowns in a thirty nine thirty five
victory over Providence. I got on the offensive side of
the ball again to initially help the run game out,
said Torres, who spent most of his junior season playing
on the offensive line. Once that run game really opened up,
it really helped us throughout the playoffs. The state title

(02:34):
was the program's first in football since two thousand and eight,
and for Torres, it finally came after the four year
starter had suffered three straight losses in the state semi
finals in the years before. It's just the story of
what Saint Francis is about. It's about the process, McMillan said.
We were able to go out there and mold a
young kid when he walked in here four years ago

(02:55):
into a dominant football player. And that's just a testament
of our our coaches and his determination to do what
he needed to do in the off season and on
the football field to have success. When you got a
guy that trusts in the process and does everything he
can to get ready and prepared for the season, you're

(03:16):
going to have success. Despite his smaller six foot frame,
Torres used his background as a wrestler to his advantage
on both sides of the ball. The wrestling helped a
lot on both sides with the leverage, because that's really
what the line is. The lower man wins all that,
Torres said, So that really helped in general. And then
it also really helped with my hands because we hand

(03:36):
fight a lot in wrestling, and it just helps my
hands be fast and strong. A two time All stater
in the winter, Torres's prowess showed most when dealing with
double teams on either side of the line. He was
gaining two and three guys blocking him and opening up
things for our linebackers and other defensive linemen, but still
able to make plays. McMillan said. He really showed all

(03:59):
the no matter what position, that if you give it
your all, then you're going to have success. After finishing
wrestling season, Torres will head to Saint Charles, Missouri to
start his college football career with Lyndenwood. I'm probably going
to miss that last home game we had, Torres said,
walking out with the band playing us out as a team.
McMillan knows that the Lions are getting a steal of

(04:22):
a commit. There's no one else that deserves the honor
more than Jalen McMillan said, he was the epitome of
doing everything you can to win a football game, and
if he was three or four inches taller, he'd have
every school in the country coming after him because of
how dominant he is.