When Lyons receiver Travis Stamm caught a slant pass from longtime friend Dominic Pisciotti and dragged a would-be tackler into the end zone for a touchdown on Sept. 6, it was noteworthy in more ways than one.
That reception was a key play in Lyons coach Jon Beutjer’s first game at Red Grange Field against his alma mater, Wheaton Warrenville South, which he led to the Class 6A state title in 1998.
It was also the 110th catch of Stamm’s four-year varsity career, breaking the program record held by 2018 graduate Brandon Fischer.
And it was the first touchdown pass that Stamm caught from Pisciotti, a fellow senior in his first season as the Lions’ starting quarterback.
“It was awesome,” Stamm said. “To be the first touchdown that I catch from him on varsity, it was a long time coming, and we spent so many years talking about the opportunities that we’re going to get when we come up here.
“Just to be able to be out there with my friends, people I grew up with like him, it’s super special, and I couldn’t wish for anything better.”
These are heady times for the 6-foot-2, 175-pound Stamm and the Lions (4-0). The Illinois State commit holds multiple program records: career catches (120), career receiving touchdowns (22), single-season catches (57), catches in a game (15) and touchdown catches in a game (3) as of Sept. 26. He also has 1645 career receiving yards, needing just 65 yards to set that program record.
“He’s earned that all-time receiving record,” Beutjer said. “That’s really special for him. He’s worked really hard, and he’s one of those kids that really pushes himself all year round, lifting and running. He’s one of our captains, and he’s really close with Dom too.”
Indeed, Stamm and Pisciotti have known each other since third grade, when they became teammates in the Lyons feeder program.
“We were actually competing for a quarterback spot,” Pisciotti said. “Then we found out that Travis was a lot better than me with the ball in his hands. We put him at receiver and defensive end, and he took off.”
Stamm has been running routes ever since, often at a level ahead of his peers. Beutjer instantly recognized Stamm’s talent and put him on varsity as a freshman.
“He was ready when he was a freshman,” Beutjer said. “I remember his first touchdown was right here (at Bennett Field) against Leyden on a post.
“He’s so special. He’s tall. He can run. He runs great routes. He’s got great hands.”
Those hands are unusually large, which might explain Stamm’s immediate success as a freshman. He made two catches in his first game and scored his first touchdown in his second game.
“I got hurt Week 6 that year, but I got to learn a lot of great things, and I got to play with a lot of great guys,” Stamm said. “You learn a lot about yourself and varsity football when you’re 14 years old playing against 18-year-olds.”
Stamm was a quick study. As a sophomore, he had 43 catches for 632 yards and 11 touchdowns. He added 57 receptions for 789 yards and nine touchdowns during his junior season, when he was the West Suburban Conference Silver Division’s co-offensive player of the year.
All of that production came with Ryan Jackson, who plays at St. Thomas, as his quarterback. Now Stamm has Pisciotti throwing to him. They’ve connected on 16 passes for 198 yards.
“It’s hilarious because we come out here and bust our butts in practice, go out there on Friday and we get to make plays, and on Saturday we’re hanging out talking about it,” Stamm said. “It’s really cool being on both sides of that — getting to be the person out there making all the plays with him and then getting to look back at it and go, ‘Wow, we really did that.’”
Stamm and Pisciotti are making it look easy.
“He’s got clean release, clean routes, and we have the chemistry,” Pisciotti said. “It’s been like that since we were little. We’ve always had that connection.”
Which is one reason Stamm loves playing receiver.
“Once I moved away from being quarterback, I was just making plays with the ball,” he said. “I’ve kind of got big hands, and then once you catch it, I just like making moves with the ball.
“It’s easy to like receiver when you’ve got good quarterbacks who can actually get you the football.”
Stamm’s first quarterback was his mother, Cindy, who was a manager for the Lions in the 1980s and is a science teacher at the school. In an effort to burn off some of her son’s energy, she started throwing footballs to him in the family’s living room when he was a toddler. She recalls aiming for a picture on the wall and Stamm leaping to catch the ball before landing on the couch. The couch took a beating, but the picture and the rest of the furniture stayed intact thanks to Stamm’s catching ability.
These days, Stamm’s mother sticks to cheering from the stands as well as helping organize the Lions’ after-practice dinners on Thursdays. Stamm is hoping there will be much more to cheer about, and not only individual accolades.
“I haven’t thought much about individual (legacy),” Stamm said. “As a team, I want to walk out of here with this being the best team we’ve ever had.
“I believe I’ve been a part of the best team we’ve ever had two years ago when I was a sophomore, when we made it to the quarterfinals and lost to Loyola in a tight game. I talked to some of those players on Loyola who ended up winning a state championship, and they said we were the toughest team they ever saw.”
Lyons has never advanced to the state semifinals. Stamm is aiming to change that.
“I think we’ve got a group of guys this year that can be that caliber of a team,” he said. “If we just put our right foot forward every single time, we’ll be right there.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
