Talent alone isn’t what impresses Burlington Central coach Brian Melvin about Gavin Sarvis.
There’s even more to what the senior running back/linebacker brings to the Rockets.
“Gavin literally has no fear,” Melvin said. “He takes things personally when things go wrong — as far as he’s going to fix it.”
Melvin brought up an example from a 7-on-7 tournament over the summer. The Rockets allowed a touchdown on defense. When they got the ball back, Sarvis took over.
“He went to the offensive coordinator and said, ‘Put me at wide receiver, run this play, and throw me the ball,'” Melvin said. “We threw him the ball and he scored a touchdown.
“He changed what had just happened, and the kids were like, ‘Wow.’ It’s not what he does. It’s who he is.”
Sarvis, who burst onto the scene as a sophomore, has excelled on the football field and basketball court at Burlington Central.
What he’s hoping for is a full senior season to cap off his career properly.
“I want to play as much as I can and have it be my best season because I’m a senior,” Sarvis said. “I’m healthy. I’m at 190 (pounds). I feel good.”
After the fall season was canceled by the Illinois High School Association due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Rockets only played four games during the spring.
That’s why Sarvis is grateful for every day he has on the field.
“You have to take every game for what it is,” he said. “I don’t want it to fly by. I’d like to play all the games and have as much fun as possible.”
Melvin’s hope is everyone gets the full experience of the school year and the football season after having everything disrupted by the pandemic.
How his program handled the adversity has made them stronger in his eyes.
“I think they have a chip on their shoulder after what happened to us last year,” Melvin said. “We were a good football team last year. I’m just so proud of how they handled everything. And then this summer, they were phenomenal.”
Sarvis said the 20 contact days this summer were a little strange after having a spring season, but the Rockets got in their work.
“It was like we just played football, had a two-month break and then we were right back,” Sarvis said. “We got as much done as we could.”
The Rockets had many new players to get acclimated in a short amount of time.
After graduating only seven seniors, the program’s numbers have ballooned. There are suddenly over 90 players in the program, prompting Melvin to order more helmets.
“We doubled our numbers,” Melvin said. “We knew going into last fall we were going to make a major jump in numbers because of our relationship with the Central Panthers we’ve built.
“When I saw the number, I couldn’t believe it.”
All of those youngsters will be looking up to Sarvis, a two-way, two-sport star.
His future in college could come at outside linebacker, but Melvin thinks the possibilities are endless.
“He could play anything in college,” Melvin said. “He could play wide receiver, running back, linebacker, point guard, take your pick.”
Sarvis is good with whatever opportunity presents itself.
“Outside linebacker and running back, those are the positions I like to play,” Sarvis said. “I like them both. I would be happy with either.”
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Team: Burlington Central.
Spring record: 2-2.
Offensive leaders: Shawn Adkerson, senior, QB; MJ Hansen, sophomore, OT; Nick Nuno, junior, C; Gavin Sarvis, senior, RB.
Defensive leaders: Michael Ganziano, junior, FS; Griffin Kollhoff, junior, K; Zach Lawrence, senior, LB; Nathan Majewski, senior, SS.
Playoff history: Sixteen playoff appearances, but none since 2014.
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.