Playoff football teams beware: Strange things have been known to happen on Halloween.
It’s a bewitching time that conjures up the unforeseen and things that go bump in the night.
It’s a spooky mix of sports and superstition for a team like Lincoln-Way, the No. 2 seed in Class 6A.
“It’s real scary thinking how we would feel if we lost,” Knights quarterback Cory Paus said of his team’s Friday night game against Lake Park. “There’s going to be a lot of fans in costumes, and it’s the kind of night where something special could happen.”
Paus is an avid trick-or-treater who hopes to do a little postgame door-to-door soliciting–if his team wins.
“Maybe I’ll go as a southern California surfer dude,” said Paus, who has committed to UCLA. “I’ve been a clown before, a California raisin and Luke Skywalker. One year, I was a beautiful Friar Tuck.”
There is one place Paus and his costumed buddies will not go near.
“Right down the street from where I live in New Lenox is this house with a very scary barn,” Paus said. “I’ve seen bats in that barn. There are broken-down go-karts all over the yard. Sometimes you see kids running around during the day, but it’s always real quiet and kind of weird at night.”
Providence has a 6-foot-7-inch, 235-pound defensive end nicknamed “Franken-Steinbach” for being such a nightmare to opposing teams.
“I think it’s going to be weird playing on Halloween night,” said Eric Steinbach, who leads the Chicago area with 15 sacks. “I’m just hoping something strange doesn’t happen, like us losing to Riverside-Brookfield. But, Halloween is the night for weird things to happen.”
Steinbach, who dressed as a gorilla in 8th grade and was the Incredible Hulk when he was 6, said he will forgo any trick-or-treating this year and focus on his playoff assignment.
“I’m just glad we’re playing on Saturday,” said Marian Catholic coach Dave Mattio. “Everybody becomes vulnerable at this point, and to play on Halloween night . . . whew.”
Providence coach Matt Senffner said he’ll never forget the Halloween nightmare of 1976. His Celtics had to leave New Lenox early on a Wednesday for a 2 1/2-hour bus ride to Geneseo, only to endure a 36-6 first-round playoff loss.
“Our worst fears came true,” Senffner said. “Geneseo had this running back named Wayne Strader, and he ran all over us.
“It’s Halloween, and something bad could happen. You worry about your best player getting hurt or maybe a bad punt snap that costs you the game. All that stuff is scary.”
Equally unsettling is the playoff pressure.
“There’s the finality; it’s like death,” Senffner said. “If you don’t win, it’s all over–pack up the equipment. That’s a scary thing.
“I’ve seen kids who lost a playoff game sit in the locker room and sob for half an hour. These kids are having so much fun, and when it ends, it’s like reality sets in and they have to go on with the rest of their lives.
“In a way, it becomes like the Peter Pan phenomenon. The kids don’t want it to end because they don’t want to grow up. You want to delay it as long as possible.”
Palatine quarterback Sergio Lund isn’t going trick-or-treating, even though his team doesn’t play until Saturday against Larkin.
Instead, he and Pirate defensive end Dave Kiehn will spend Friday evening at the high school handing out goodies to little ghosts and goblins.
“The idea is to provide a safe place for little kids in the community to come for trick-or-treat,” Lund said. “I volunteered to help the National Honor Society students with this project. We’re trying to have a positive impact, and there are times when you’ve got to give something back to the community.”
That doesn’t necessarily mean Lund is stuck with a sugar-free Halloween.
“I’ll just have my little brother Andre and little sister Pami do the trick-or-treating for me,” Lund said with a laugh.
And if they don’t want to share their sweet and gooey harvest?
“I’ll just have to talk them into it,” he said.
Siaka Massaquoi’s most memorable Halloween took place several years ago when he masqueraded as an old-time newspaper boy.
“I put on this old, crumpled hat like cab drivers used to wear,” said Massaquoi, Evanston’s game-breaking running back, whose team plays host to Zion-Benton Saturday. “I pulled up my jeans real high and wore these long socks. Wow, the things you’ll do just to get some free candy.”
