Since he plays on offense, defense and special teams, Reavis senior Connor Whalen rarely comes off the football field on Friday nights.
On Saturday morning, when he first gets out of bed, he feels the results of playing 100 or so snaps.
When asked if he feels like an old man, Whalen said, “All the time … all the time.”
But the pain is temporary.
“You don’t feel anything until you wake up the next morning,” he said. “Then, I’m very sore. After I eat in the morning, I do some stretching and I’m good.”
The way the 6-foot, 190-pound running back/linebacker sees it, that pain is a small price to pay for the fun of being able to play football.
“I would just say stepping on that field for Friday night lights with fans everywhere with a packed arena is an amazing feeling to have,” he said. “It’s like, ‘Wow, I’m playing on this football field.'”
Whalen also is excited about the opportunity to show what he can do the rest of the way for the Rams (3-3, 2-2).
Last season, Whalen didn’t see much playing time. He missed his sophomore season with an injury. He hopes to draw college interest but doesn’t have a ton on tape yet.
Before this season, the only film he had to offer was from his freshman year.
“This is my comeback season,” he said. “I have a few highlights now, and at the end of the year, I’ll have a full highlight reel.”
Assistant coach Tony Pape, who starred at Hinsdale South and played in college at Michigan, believes Whalen can catch recruiters’ attention. Whalen has a nibble from St. Norbert.
“I like his toughness,” Pape said. “He’s dedicated and he’s watching film all day. He has a desire and will to work to try to win football games for us.
“He’s super tough, and we love handing him the ball between the tackles. He puts his foot down and breaks arm tackles, and he’s a lot of fun to watch.”
In a 14-6 South Suburban Red loss Friday to Eisenhower in Burbank, Whalen finished with 65 yards on 20 carries.
Pape said the game plan for the Rams was to keep the ball out of the hands of the explosive Cardinals on offense.
In a scoreless first half, Reavis ran off 31 plays to Eisenhower’s nine. Whalen ran 11 times.
After qualifying for the playoffs five out of six years from 2014 to 2019, the Rams slipped to a 3-6 record in 2021. The Rams have three more games this season, all on the road.
Six wins guarantees spot in the postseason. Five wins requires enough opponents’ victories to qualify.
“After the Eisenhower game, the coaches talked to us and said we will make the playoffs as long as we don’t worry about the past,” Whalen said. “We’re going off that.
“We’re just focusing on the next few weeks. We can’t change what happened in the past, and we have to lock in even more and just play as hard as we can.”
The Rams will put that to the test, traveling Friday to Oak Lawn, followed by T.F. North on Oct. 14 and Richards on Oct. 21. Oak Lawn and T.F. North have a combined 1-10 record.
Richards is 4-2 and unbeaten in conference, but Reavis’ three losses to Stagg, Evergreen Park and Eisenhower have been by eight points or less.
“It’s hard to lose like that, but you can’t do anything about it now,” Whalen said. “You have to just move on. Shake it off and go into next week even stronger.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.