Griffith’s Mason Litke has an inkling that focusing on linebacker instead of running back has worked out well, both for him and the team.
The litmus test has been simple.
“I feel like it was more of them trying to find people to fill spots, and they’ve seen just my build, really,” Litke said. “They just said, like, ‘That kid can make a good linebacker.’
“Well, obviously I’ve been doing OK. I haven’t gotten moved yet.”
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No, Litke has not. In fact, the 5-foot-8, 180-pound senior has been a mainstay on the inside for the Panthers (9-0), who are ranked No. 9 in the Class 3A state coaches poll and will travel to Merrillville to play No. 3 Andrean (8-1) in a Class 3A sectional opener on Friday night in one of the marquee matchups in the area, if not the state.
Litke has racked up a team-high 104 tackles with 10 for loss and a sack. He has also demonstrated a nose for the ball with team highs of five fumble recoveries and five forced fumbles.
Litke, who has run for one touchdown on two carries, was a junior varsity running back as a freshman and sophomore before coaches informed him during the summer before his junior season that he’d be switching to linebacker.
Litke had 40 tackles with five for loss and two sacks last season as well as 68 rushing yards and a TD on eight carries. He had 87 rushing yards and two TDs on 19 carries as a sophomore.
Griffith coach Phil Mason appreciates the way Litke has handled the process.
“He kind of did the whole JV thing the right way,” Mason said. “He led our JV group not only as a sophomore but as a junior. Even though he played a lot of varsity as a junior last year, he still had that role.
“Now he’s just emerged as really our defensive leader. He has done everything that we could’ve asked a kid to do in a program to emerge and become a great player as a senior.”
Mason added that Litke is among the players who were instrumental in the Panthers’ containment of top running backs such as Lowell’s Tymothy James, Wheeler’s Levi Murray and Calumet’s Bryce Brandon.
“I’m definitely coming up as, like, the so-and-so leader, one of the leaders,” Litke said. “It’s definitely made me mature a lot more, really focus on more of my assignment, where I should be fitting up on the offense.”
Senior lineman/tight end Zavion Brown has noticed Litke’s growth.
“He’s definitely a leader now,” Brown said. “Last year, we had another linebacker. This year, he’s definitely stepped up.”
Litke also wrestles for the Panthers. He reached a semistate at 165 pounds in February and hopes to advance in the state meet in the upcoming season.
Litke said he has enlisted in the Marines and is scheduled to head to basic training in South Carolina in July before going through his job training.
“There’s been a few military people in my family, and this is what I wanted to do since middle school,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to go in the military. People would always ask me, ‘What would you want to do?’ I always said, ‘I just want to go in the military.’
“Over the summer, I met with all kinds of different branches, and it was really just the Marines that kind of stuck with me.”
Litke began playing football when he was 5 years old. That journey will end whenever this season ends.
The Greater South Shore Conference South Division champion Panthers have been building toward the game against Northwest Crossroads Conference champion Andrean, which won the Class 2A state title last year.
Mason coached Andrean for eight seasons, a tenure that included the Class 3A state title in 2013 and a runner-up finish in 2014. The Panthers, who won the 4A title in 1997, completed their first undefeated regular season since 2005 and are seeking their first sectional title since 2008.
“It’s exciting,” Litke said. “We’re all excited for Friday. We feel amazing. We have a strong belief in us winning. Can’t wait to see what happens.
“I feel like it hasn’t fully hit me yet that this time next year, I’m not going to be playing football. I have a bad feeling that whenever our season ends, it’s just going to all hit me at once. It’s just going to not be the funnest time.”
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Litke paused and then added, “But hopefully it’ll be Thanksgiving in the Dome.”