PIASA - Senior Lane Gage had to miss the first couple of weeks of the 2022 football season, not because he was injured, but because he was graduating from U.S. Basic Army Training in Fort Benning, Georgia.
This was something Lane decided he wanted to pursue during his sophomore year. He noted that his uncle was in the Army and that it had always been a dream of his to go into the military.
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His uncle, Kyle Johnson, is a sergeant in the U.S. Army at Fort Campbell. He was Lane's inspiration to get involved. Lane and his uncle are very close.
Because he was off preparing to serve his country, he didn't have enough practices mandated by the IHSA to hop straight onto the field and play in games.
He eventually got enough practice in and made his way back into the starting lineup for Southwestern's football team where he plays running back.
Last Friday, he did his part in beating the at the time 5-1 Vandalia Vandals by a score of 21-14. The win brought the Piasa Birds up to 3-4 on the season and kept their playoff hopes alive. Gage is an Altonized Community Federal Credit Union Male Athlete of the Month for the Piasa Birds.
"I'm just really proud of these boys and everything they did today," Lane said about his teammates after the big win in the team’s Homecoming Game.
Not only is he playing football and heading into the National Guard, but he'll be playing two other sports his senior year. He also plays on the school's basketball team and runs track and field in the spring.
When asked how he finds the time for all that he credited it to his parents and his personal mindset.
"My parents do a lot for me," he said. "Just keeping a straight mind and staying out of trouble, that gives me a lot of time to focus on school and get that done first."
Lane has his priorities set and the full support of his family, friends, and coaches.
Head football coach Pat Keith called Lane "an overall great kid" and wishes him luck on his ventures.
With Piasa's playoff hopes high, Lane and the team head to Hillsboro this Friday to take on the Hilltoppers at 7 p.m.
When Lane is finished with his senior year at Southwestern, he plans to go back to Fort Benning in the summer of 2023 for Advanced Individual Training (AIT).
He's currently undecided on where he wants to attend college but definitely wants to go somewhere with an ROTC program where he can become an officer.
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