Blake Stefanek is not just your run-of-the-mill multisport athlete at Reavis. The senior takes that term to another level.
Just in the fall, Stefanek is a key defender on the soccer team and a standout kicker for the football team. In other seasons, he plays basketball and baseball. And, oh yeah, he plays percussion in the band year-round, too.
A typical day for Stefanek in the fall? There’s hardly a minute when he’s not busy.
“Some days, I have baseball workouts in the morning, then school, then football practice, then soccer practice,” Stefanek said. “Then I go to band practice from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., then homework when I get home.
“It’s definitely a lot, but I feel really proud of it. I’m thankful for my parents for helping me along the way and my friends who are always there for me.”
Stefanek does much more than just show up, too. He thrives in everything he does.
On the soccer field Thursday night, he provided his typical strong defense and scored a very atypical goal to lead the host Rams to a 4-1 South Suburban Red win over rival Argo in Burbank.
Jesus Pantoja, Galileo Figueroa and Erik Romero also scored for Reavis (9-5-2, 7-0-1). Vlad Yaremkiv, Javier Solis and Jaythan Araujo each added an assist.
Guillermo Vazquez scored for Argo (3-7-5, 3-3-2), while Derek Cornelio made seven saves.
Vazquez scored in the 17th minute to give the Argonauts a 1-0 lead and the game was tied 1-1 at halftime after Pantoja answered for the Rams.
But Stefanek fired up the Rams for a dominant second-half performance, according to Figueroa and Reavis coach Mark Gniadek.
“Blake’s a competitor,” Gniadek said. “He knows how to compete. He competes at a high level in multiple sports. Winning, he knows how to do it. When we’re losing and trying to play from behind, he knows how to do that. In the second half, he won every single ball that went at him. He made huge stops on some talented players.
“He was definitely the spark.”
And Stefanek even got in on the scoring in the most unexpected way. He took a throw-in 30 yards away from the net and heaved the ball toward the goal, where it went off Cornelio and into the net to give the Rams a 3-1 lead with 26 minutes left.
“It’s really fun because, playing defense, you’re always stopping them from going in,” Stefanek said. “When you have the chance to score, it just feels so good. I’ve definitely never scored a goal on a throw-in like that.
“That’s a first. I can check that off my bucket list.”
When it comes to his bucket list at Reavis, there’s not much Stefanek hasn’t checked off. He’s done it all and he hasn’t thought about quitting anything, even when it’s not easy.
“It’s definitely hard,” Stefanek said. “It’s stressful. I’m trying to be there for both soccer and football as much as I can, and I’m thankful for the coaches here for letting me do all the stuff that I do.
“It takes a toll on my legs because every day I’m kicking, no matter what. Playing games Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday … it’s crazy. But I love it.”
Stefanek started kicking for football as a freshman and has blossomed to the point where he’s receiving Division I interest. He visited Eastern Illinois last month and has an upcoming trip to Akron.
“When I was in eighth grade, they had a soccer player kick for football,” Stefanek said. “I thought, ‘That’s so cool. I want to be able to do that.’
“It’s not easy as people think. It’s definitely different than kicking a soccer ball. But I got used to it.”
And Stefanek’s soccer teammates have become accustomed to him dominating there.
“Blake is like an enforcer in the back,” Figueroa said. “He gets the back line straight. He talks a lot. He’s my enforcer and I love having him back there.”
