Batavia senior kicker Alec Crum traded football for football and emerged as a key cog on their special teams.
BATAVIA - Alec Crum had one more year to give football a chance. Crum, a senior at Batavia, played varsity football his junior year. He has played soccer all his life, but credits his father for encouraging him to try soccer for the first time. "I think he knew," Crum said at Batavia's media night before the Class 7A state final vs. Mount Carmel on Saturday in Champaign. "He knew it was right for me and I think it was something I had to go through. At the beginning of the summer, Crum jumped at the chance to attend the Batavia football summer camp. [Coming from] [football], it was kind. like, "Oh, it's just Crum. He's just a hitter, but when I started playing more and hitting more shots, I became one of the family," Crum said. "...I saw an opportunity for a soccer summer camp and [thought] I wanted to try it because I could use my soccer skills to kick." "It's funny because the last couple of years we've had some kids come out of football," said Batavia special teams coordinator Billy Colamatteo, referring to past players like Ben Holcombe. "Crum's dad, Mick, worked in our [Batavia Youth Football] program ... he told me last year, 'I think my son is going to play football next year.' leg," Colamateo said. "All I'm telling you. he's: hit the ball far ... everything goes to him. He puts in all this time and effort [and] does it [for a time]. Going to your first college game (last August) and kicking a field goal is a big deal; especially here. We trust him and the kids trust him." That decision ultimately turned into a win for Batavia as Crum enters Saturday's game
2-
5 on extra points and
-7 on field goals. Crum scored 5
points for the Bulldogs. and has 21 rebounds. It will be critical in our court position.", said Colamateo. Crum's role on Saturday could be pivotal in terms of changing positions or finishing the offense with a strikeout. "I've had some tough games — a lot of good games — but I think I'll pull it together," Crum said. "I've been training really hard this week. I think I can do it for this game." Crum missed a field goal in the final minutes of Batavia's doubleheader win over Hersey in the second period a few weeks ago, but that's just an example of the next-game mentality Crum needs to show. "Every time I miss, I think, 'I just have to go back and go to the next one and do the next one,'" Crum said. Whelpley continues to play Swiss Army Knife Charlie Whelpley will almost certainly be around. football one way or another. Whelpley, a junior from Batavia, simply has a lot on his plate with the Bulldogs in caps. Sometimes, he has junior quarterback Ryan Boe to keep him mentally in check as he juggles all the roles. "He gets me on the right track," Whelpley said. "I'm just trying to succeed [where I have to]." Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com Batavia's Charlie Whelpley tries to tackle Lake Zurich's Nathan Breeman during the Class 7A football semifinals Saturday at Lake Zurich. (Joe Lewnard) Whelpley entered the season hoping he could just keep the role of traditional quarterback and rusher Ryan Whitwell. "But then I guess I started opening my box," Whelpley said. That box has expanded to do almost everything: catch passes, run the ball, tackle, throw passes and punt. Whelpley has 3
8 passing yards, 85 receiving yards and is the team's leading receiver with
and 511 receptions. However, punting is not a new role for him as he punted throughout high school moving up to college. "One thing that gets overlooked about Charlie is that his hang time is unbelievable [and] we don't get a lot of big wins," Colamateo said. "Which is so important. But, Charlie, he plays rugby, bats regularly. He's just an incredible athlete."
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