EPCHS Alum In The Spotlight: Keyshawn Carpenter, Class Of 2014

EVERGREEN PARK, IL - The most successful back-to-back seasons the Evergreen Park Community High School football program has had this century came in 2012 (9-4) and 2013 (10-1). Keyshawn Carpenter, a running back who would later go on to play NCAA Division III football and coach in Division I, was a catalyst for both squads.

Carpenter returned to EPCHS over the winter break for a tour of his high school alma mater while visiting family and friends in Evergreen Park.

“I made great friendships here (at EPCHS), including many of my closest friends to this day,” Carpenter said during his visit.

The 2014 Mustang alum recently completed his second season as an assistant coach for NCAA Division II University of Minnesota-Duluth. The school’s athletic staff moved him from running backs coach to tight ends coach before the 2021 season. He said it was a move that helped him gain experience aimed at his goal of becoming a high school football coach.

“From the running backs standpoint, that’s what I know best,” Carpenter said. “Coaching tight ends was a new challenge I took on for myself to advance my knowledge of the game, and I learned a lot from it.”

While he enjoys his time in the Gopher State for now, Carpenter said his next goal is to get a master’s degree by enrolling in a graduate assistant program. At some point, he said he would be happy with a return to EPCHS as a coach.

“I have the passion to get back involved in the community,” he said.

It would be a return to the program he starred in from 2012-2013, having played for the Evergreen Park Mustangs for two seasons after his freshman and sophomore years donning another Mustang uniform in the area at Morgan Park High School.

His two seasons at EP were “awesome,” he said.

“Once I got here, losing wasn’t an option,” he said. “We went into every game expecting to win. Coach (Dan) Hartman and the assistant coaches brought a good collegiate scheme and did a great job.”

Since his EPCHS graduation, Carpenter said the school has done “a great job committing to excellence,” pointing out in particular the school’s construction of new athletic fields and success in athletics and non-athletic programs alike.

Carpenter continued his football career at the University of Wisconsin-Stout, a NCAA Division III school.

“It was a place where I felt reminded me a little of Evergreen Park in some ways,” Carpenter said. “I had a chance to play a lot of football, and we had success in winning the toughest conference in Division III handedly.”

Carpenter credits his early football inspiration to his father, Karlton Carpenter, who broke the all-time Southern Illinois University rushing record while playing for the Salukis from 1995 to 1998.

“I wanted to be like my pops,” he said.

Now, it’s Carpenter who hopes to inspire current and future generations of young football players.

“Age 15-20,” he said. “That’s the time of your life when you can go one of two ways: either set yourself up for a successful life or make bad decisions. My passion has always been working with the youth and helping them make the right decisions.”