Antioch enters Friday’s regular-season finale at 8-0 and 6-0 in the Northern Lake County Conference, with a win over Wauconda enough to clinch the league title outright. The matchup is a rematch of last season’s finale, when Wauconda beat Antioch 25-20 to secure the conference crown, the Daily Herald reported.
Senior Harrison Victor is part of Antioch’s two-way effort this season, playing defensive end and tight end. His return to the Sequoits has a history beyond the current title race: in 2015, he asked to lead the team onto the field during a Make-A-Wish visit, according to the Daily Herald.
Victor was treated for Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH), a disorder involving an excess of Langerhans cells that can damage tissue or form lesions. He received about a year of chemotherapy at Lurie and has been healthy since completing treatment, the Chicago Tribune reported. The condition is uncommon in children: the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia estimates an incidence of approximately 1 in 200,000 children and says LCH usually affects children younger than 12.
Medical context, not a treatment history
Research on LCH and related disorders has continued to develop. A 2025 review in the American Society of Hematology’s Hematology Education Program says molecular diagnostics and targeted MAPK inhibitors are reshaping care for histiocytic disorders. The review does not show that those developments informed Victor’s treatment.
The team Victor first visited also has a documented postseason past. Illinois High School Association records show Antioch beat Round Lake 27-7 in the first round of the 1985-86 (5A) playoffs, then defeated Deerfield 20-13 in overtime in the second round. Those archived results offer historical context, but say nothing about how Antioch’s 2026 record or a conference title affects its playoff qualification or seeding.
Friday’s game will close the regular season before the postseason begins. For Victor, it is also the latest chapter in a connection to Antioch football that began during his childhood treatment; for the unbeaten Sequoits, it is a chance to settle the conference race after last year’s narrow defeat.
