There’s no doubt that Vernon Hills’ Giuseppe Urso is a winning football player.

Whether the 5-foot-8, 170-pound senior is busting through defenders for rushing yards or filling gaps as a linebacker, he has made a positive impact on the Cougars in each game since the beginning of the 2023 season.

But something has been missing for Urso and the Cougars, who went 3-6 and 1-8. The team’s last winning season was in 2021.

“There’s nothing worse than going 1-8,” Urso said. “It’s obviously embarrassing. I’m proud to wear my jersey to school and don’t want people to be saying negative things about the team. We remember how last year went, and that’s not going to be how this goes.”

Urso has received encouragement from Chicago Bears running back Travis Homer, who lives next door.

“We were pretty

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