Rising from the shadows: Despite adversity, Chicago's The Noble Academy football program fights for a better future

After years of struggles and a three-year shutdown of the program, Griffins football pushes ahead with grit, talent, and lessons in life

The Noble Academy, located on Chicago's north side, has - like many of its players - shared struggles over the years. From 2019 through 2021, the school didn't have a football program. Now, three years in and under a new head coach, they're hoping to have the right mix to turn things around. / Leon Hill

Some football programs are born in tradition. Others are forged in adversity.

At The Noble Academy in Chicago’s Near North Side, the Griffins fall firmly into the latter category. After being shut down for two seasons (three if you count the Covid year) and struggling to find their footing in recent years, the team is now emerging as a resilient underdog, driven by a coach who knows firsthand the power of second chances and young men determined to prove themselves.

From Recruit to Mentor

Leon Hill didn’t follow a traditional path to coaching. A former national recruit out of Leo High School in 2009, he initially signed with the University of Illinois but says he lacked the maturity to manage the responsibilities that came with that status. He eventually played four years at Glenville State in West Virginia, starting at right tackle, and even had workouts with NFL teams before playing arena football with the Charlotte Energy/Thunder.

Now at Noble Academy, Hill uses those experiences to guide his players.

“My mission is to pass those lessons on,” Hill told High School on SI. “Many of our kids in Chicago face challenges that can pull them off track. I’m honest with them about my own mistakes, both as a player and as a young man, because I don’t want them to repeat them. I tell them to stay focused, stay consistent, and never look back.”

One win doesn't constitute a turnaround, and Hill will be the first to tell you that. He knew there would be struggles when he took the job. But this wasn't about him. He wasn't trying to take a plush job just to springboard himself to the next level and the next stop. This job, this chapter of The Noble Academy, is about more than football.

Even now, Hill says he'd prefer questions and attention go toward his players. It's about them. This is their plight. The turnaround, as it happens, will belong to the young athletes who grinded in the summers of their youth to prove to the world that they exist, they matter and they can make a difference on and off the field no matter what circumstances they face.

“One of our star players came to practice with all his clothes stuffed into a garbage bag," Hill said. "He had just been put out of his home. I saw the pain in his face, but he looked me in the eyes and told me: ‘Coach, I won’t miss practice. I’ll be here.’

"For a 16-year-old kid to carry that weight and still show up with dedication to his craft, it humbled me and reminded me why I do this,” he added.

Reviving the Program

The Griffins football program has endured a lot over the past decade. Going 4-4 in 2017 and 5-3 in 2018 - its last winning season - under Fil Velgach, the program shut down from 2019 through 2021. It returned in 2022 under coach Bryan Ayala, then shifted back to Velgach in 2023 before going back to Ayala in 2024. Hill’s arrival in 2025 marks the start of a new chapter and, hopefully, some stability.

“With the leadership of our athletic director and the hard work of our coaching staff, we brought it back,” Hill said. “What I see in this group of young men is special. They are talented, hardworking, and hungry to prove themselves.”

Heart and Soul

At the center of that effort is senior running back Jaizon Balthazar, the team’s “heart and soul,” according to Hill. Balthazar's journey reflects the resilience Hill wants to instill in the team.

“My football journey started in the 6th grade playing flag football, and it just became a part of me,” Balthazar said. “Covid started and we had a year off of school. All I was thinking about was football."

As if there wasn't enough already, the Covid shutdown brought even more adversity to the table.

First 3 game highlights dropping soon 🔥💪🏽 Got a couple snaps of me at RB & Safety — stay tuned! 🏈 pic.twitter.com/RjBqRufnxI

— jaizon Balthazar (@Jaizon_B) September 9, 2025

"After Covid, I joined football again and was motivated to lose weight because I became bigger while I was in the house," Balthazar said. "Coach Hill gave me all the motivation to play again after people just looked down on me. He developed me not just as a coach but as a mentor to become the football player I am today.”

Balthazar also described how football helped him navigate other personal challenges.

“I had things going on in my household which caused me to step up and be a man," Balthazar said. "I had to find somewhere else to be myself, and I did. I came to football and told my team and my coach about my struggles, and they’ve motivated me to keep pushing and don’t give up on yourself no matter what you’re going through because God will always be with you.”

Rising Stars on the Field

Alongside Balthazar, the Griffins have several players with collegiate potential:

Daekwon Hodges (6-foot-4, 190-pounds, jr., DE/LB)

Jerry Blue (jr., WR/RB)

Jovon Wilder (6-2, 330, fr., NG)

Jayden Davis (soph., WR/S)

Ammikhi Akitah (jr., DB/WR)

Amari Williams (sr., QB/WR)

Malik Clark (6-1, 270, sr., OL/DL)

“These young men will be recruited and are key to our program’s future,” Hill said. “They’ve transformed as athletes and young men, and I believe their stories are worth telling.”

Early Signs of a Turnaround

The Griffins have started the 2025 season with encouraging results:

Week 1 vs. Rowe-Clark: 20-0 win

Balthazar: 107 rushing yards, 1 TD; 2 receptions, 65 yards, 1 TD

Amari Williams: 171 passing yards, 2 TDs

Jerry Blue: 2 receptions, 55 yards, 1 TD

Week 2 vs. Bogan: 20-6 loss

Balthazar: 35 rushing yards, 11.7 YPC

Williams: 160 passing yards, 1 TD; 40 rushing yards

Jerry Blue: 5 receptions, 80 yards, 1 TD

Malik Clark: blocked punt, caused fumble

Through two games, the Griffins have outscored opponents 26-20 - already a third of last season’s offensive points total. By comparison, Noble was outscored 128-8 through the first two games of 2024, including a 72-8 opening loss to Burbank St. Laurence. The win in the 2025 opener was their fourth consecutive victory across seasons.

The Road Forward

Hill believes this is only the beginning.

“Winning our first game this year, I truly believe we’re building toward an underdog season,” he said. “More importantly, we have players who are ready for the next level, and I want them to have the exposure and recognition they deserve.”

Senior quarterback Amari Williams (3) guides the offense during its 20-0 season-opening win against Chicago's Rowe-Clark. / Leon Hill

For Balthazar and the Griffins, the focus remains simple: stay humble, work hard, and prove that this reborn program belongs on the Chicago football map. That continues this week against Chicago Academy/Disney II at 3 p.m. Saturday.

“As a football player, my goal in high school is to make it to the next level regardless of what it takes,” Balthazar said. “As a young man, my goal is just to graduate and really get myself ready for the next chapter of my life outside of football.

"I want to be remembered as a leader and as a person who was always there for my teammates, someone they could either talk to or seek for wisdom,” Balthazar added.

That last sentence is the message Hill came to The Noble Academy to deliver. It seems the young men under his watch have taken it to heart.

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