At 20, video still full of shock and awwww

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The SouthtownStar held its annual All-Area High School Football Award Banquet Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2010, at Georgios in Orland Hills. | Art Vassy~Sun-Times Media

Updated: January 23, 2012 12:18AM

Twenty years in, our annual All-Area football team video — or, more accurately, its production process — still has the capacity to surprise.

This time, the moment came Halloween morning in the theater at Lincoln-Way East High School, where football stars from across the Southland gathered to film some of the many bits that help make up the featured entertainment at our football banquet.

The banquet was Wednesday night at Georgios in Orland Hills. At this writing, some hours before the doors were to open, I can guarantee the highlight of the highlights.

To honor our generous, long-term sponsors from Pepsi, three players from Thornton were charged with lip-synching to Michael Jackson’s reworked classic, “Billie Jean,” used a quarter-century ago in a commercial for the soda.

Damien Bell hadn’t even heard the complete song. But when the cameras started rolling, he and teammates Charles Knowles and Nathaniel Whittington showed more moves than Thornton graduate and Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antwaan Randle El ever has on the field — or in his own hilarious All-Area video outtakes from the 1990s.

If Bell, the front man for the trio, doesn’t have a future in football, he may in choreography.

“As soon as the music started, we knew what to do,” Bell said smiling.

In just one take, they left everybody in awe — including the new producer brought in for this year’s video.

Frankfort resident Colin Gaynor, 20, came into the world not long before the first All-Area video and is the youngest of four producers to elm the project. But he brings plenty of experience to the job.

“For the past two years, I’ve done the Lincoln-Way East football highlights video,” said Gaynor, a graduate and former football player at the Frankfort high school and now a student at Joliet Junior College. “It takes a lot of time, but it’s all worth it when you see it at the banquet.

“But the SouthtownStar’s video is different. You’re dealing with the 50 best players in the south suburbs and there’s so much material to get in the video, including Pepsi commercials.

“I guess I knew this was going to be different when we had all the players arrive at 8 a.m. on Halloween at Lincoln-Way East. That was cool.”

Cooler, I think, is that the video honoring local kids is now being worked on by local kids. Assisting Gaynor was the Lincoln-Way East television crew, under the supervision of sponsor/teacher Dan Galligan.

“Our kids film all kinds of school activities, whether it’s football, basketball, wrestling or graduation,” Galligan said. “We had nine kids helping with the All-Area filming and I liked how they captured the spirit of what was going on. This was a great experience for our kids.”

The lead cameraman during the filming was junior Sean Wybourn, of Mokena. He wants to study film in college and has an ultimate goal of producing a movie in Hollywood.

“I’ve always liked using a camera,” Wybourn said. “When I was five, I was taking pictures at weddings using a Polaroid.”

With this project, Wybourn was fascinated by who was standing in front of him.

“One of these All-Area players is probably going to make it to the NFL, but you just don’t know which one,” Wybourn said. “For some of the players, it was tough for them to loosen up and say their lines. But they all tried their best.”

You could say the same for all who’ve had their hand in two decades of banquet videos. Even if, on occasion, our best has no doubt violated federal copyright laws.

(Yes, we have grabbed a few highlights without asking. And some songs. And a Ferris Bueller clip or two. It’s all great fun — and none of it tops the great reaction we get from showing the players’ baby pictures.)

Larry Connor, who worked in the audio visual department at Homewood-Flossmoor High School, was our technician in the first two years.

Raising his hand to take over this time-consuming task for the third year was Herb DeYoung, of South Holland. He had produced Thornwood sporting events for a local access cable channel when he decided to help us with our football and basketball videos.

A kind and patient man, DeYoung was a godsend for more than a decade. He helped create memories for hundreds of All-Area athletes.

DeYoung finally turned over the All-Area reins to Vincent Moore, of Richton Park, who brought more than the necessary energy, passion and determination that are required to master this task. He never let us down.

This year, we decided to share the All-Area journey with Lincoln-Way East.

No doubt, any applause earned Wednesday by Damien Bell belongs equally to those Griffins.