Wheeler junior running back Levi Murray is by no means looking ahead.
But this postseason is shaping up to be especially meaningful for the 6-foot, 200-pound Murray and his teammates. He missed both sectional games last year after suffering a concussion in the regular-season finale against Griffith, the de facto Greater South Shore Conference South championship game.
“I’ve never really competed in a postseason, so that’s what I want right there,” Murray said. “I want to feel the feeling of the playoffs, like win or go home, have that adrenaline.”
The Bearcats (5-0, 1-0), who are averaging 44.2 points scored and 5.6 points against, will hit the teeth of their conference schedule Friday with a game against West Side, with another potential conference-deciding matchup against Griffith looming at the conclusion.
But Wheeler also figures to be squarely in the mix for a Class 2A sectional title, particularly with 2025 2A state champion Andrean moving up to 3A. The Bearcats, whose past two seasons have ended at the hands of the 59ers, have won just two sectional titles in their history, most recently in 2011.
“We have a hunger for the season,” Murray said. “We’re all motivated — great chemistry, great bonding, great coaches. We’re hoping for a sectional, win our first regional for our school, and we want to make a deep playoff run.”
Murray should be instrumental in that effort. He has rushed for 870 yards and 19 touchdowns on 102 carries this season.
“It’s just trusting my guys, being patient for the holes to open up,” he said. “My line’s doing great right now — I have to give a lot of credit to them — then just trusting in myself. Once I hit that hole, make a move, outrun, hit harder. It’s just going out there and being me.”
Wheeler coach Josh Wissing, a longtime college and high school assistant in his first season leading a program, has liked this version of Murray from the outset.
“He’s awesome,” Wissing said. “When I first got here, he just screamed leadership. He does everything we ask him to do and more. He’s just a guy that everybody looks to. He’s great in the weight room, out of the weight room, on the field, off the field, in the classroom. He’s the whole deal.
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“It’s hard not to give him the ball. We’ve probably worked him a little more than what we probably should early, but especially when we get close to the goal line, it’s like he’s going to break three tackles and get in the end zone somehow. He’s that type of player. He got that way because he works his butt off in the weight room. He’s a strong kid, and he runs that way. You can just tell that he’s very confident in what he’s doing because of the work he’s put in.”
Wheeler junior linebacker/H-back Noah Helmer has seen those efforts too.
“Leadership, for sure,” Helmer said. “He pushes everybody, in the weight room and on the field. He pushes me every day to be better and everybody on the team. We all have a lot of trust in him. He’s very reliable for us.”
Helmer also joked about the numbers Murray has been putting up this season.
“It’s crazy,” he said. “I know we put out a graphic about his fantasy points for the week. He’s having himself a time, and hopefully he can run like that the rest of the season. I know he can.”
Last season, Murray’s first as a starter, he finished with 1,254 yards and 18 TDs on 162 carries, posting at least 115 yards in each game except one in which he tweaked his left ankle and was removed as a precaution. He has taken additional steps this season.
“I’ve gone to a bunch of camps,” Murray said. “They’ve told me what I need to work on, and I worked on that — lots of speed and agility, strength workouts. Our coaches have really worked with us to get us ready for the season and our style of playing.”
Murray recalled the play on which he suffered the concussion against Griffith, the only game in which he did not score at least one TD.
“I broke a tackle to the outside, I saw this guy and looked, and I don’t know why, but I turned my whole body, and it was just straight helmet to helmet, and that shook me,” he said. “It was a learning moment, though. I think I would’ve outran him because he had just a straight-on angle, and I turned into it.
“It’s like I kind of wanted the contact and tried to break the tackle. But it’s also like, don’t turn straight into the guy, you know?”
Murray has also been getting some reps at defensive end this season. Playing a few series a game, he has recorded nine tackles with two sacks .
“It’s completely new to me, but I’m loving it,” he said.
Murray also competes in track and field as a sprinter and long jumper, mainly as a means to help his football game. He said his “first sport ever” was soccer. His father Bryan, who teaches at Wheeler, is a former soccer coach at the school and led the girls team to back-to-back Class 1A state runner-up finishes in 2017 and 2018.
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Murray is the second youngest among six brothers and has a large extended family.
“I have a lot of supporters,” he said, before continuing with a smile. “After the game, it takes a while to get pictures with everybody.”