Call him double duty.
Ben Alvarez returns for his senior season at Yorkville, once again ready for a starring role on both offense and defense at fullback and middle linebacker, respectively.
It’s a good starting point for the Foxes, who are No. 3 in the Beacon-News/Courier-News preseason rankings. Because No. 13 is basically going to be everywhere.
“I don’t know how we can ask any more of him,” Yorkville coach Dan McGuire said.
After graduating four starting defensive linemen, including three who move on to play Division I in Andrew Laurich (Colorado State), Jake Davies (Wyoming) and Andrew Zook (Lindenwood), McGuire will be asking for more from Alvarez in another capacity.
“Probably the biggest change would be asking him to be more of a leader,” McGuire said of his three-year varsity standout. “Not that he wasn’t a leader last year.
“We just need him to help out some of our younger kids, just being more vocal while doing what he already does.”
No problem, according to Alvarez, who is obviously well suited for the role.
“I love it,” Alvarez said. “Whatever (McGuire) says, I try to do.”
The 6-foot-2, 225-pound Alvarez has averaged nearly 50 tackles the past two seasons while serving primarily as the lead blocker for Yorkville’s running attack.
Last season, he averaged 5.6 yards a carry with 123 yards on 22 attempts, scoring two touchdowns. He added another TD on a special teams fumble recovery in the end zone.
“It’s super fun playing on both sides of the ball,” Alvarez said. “It’s kind of a conditioning thing, too, so I had to condition more to be ready for it.”
That doesn’t seem to be a problem.
Last winter, Alvarez won the Class 3A state championship at 220 pounds in wrestling and helped lead the Foxes to a fourth-place finish in the dual team state meet.
Junior defensive back Luke Zook joined him with a third-place state finish in wrestling. Five players on this year’s football team wrestled — Cameron Peach, Sebastian Westphal, Dominic Recchia, Dominick Coronado and Jack Ferguson.
“There’s no one else out on the mat with you, no one else to blame,” McGuire said. “It also teaches you leverage. I think a lot of wrestlers stay on their feet a lot better in football than some of our other players.
“It also helps with tackling because you’re learning technique with your hands that helps you keep people off you while building hand strength and awareness.”
Being an excellent student is paying even more dividends for Alvarez as well.
After his sophomore season, Alvarez received the first of at least a dozen scholarship offers. Central Michigan came in first, and several others from the Mid-American Conference, Army and most of the Ivy League followed suit.
“Getting those early looks was definitely a cool thing for me,” Alvarez said.
He committed in June to Harvard, where he’s thinking about majoring in economics.
“Whatever I do, I should be in good hands,” Alvarez said.
He thinks the same is true for the Foxes.
“We’ve got some underclassmen stepping up,” Alvarez said. “We have big shoes to fill losing a D-line like that, but I think we’ll be just fine.”
Senior offensive lineman Logan Brasfield, a Coastal Carolina recruit in his third year on varsity, also could play a lot both ways.
Also on offense, senior quarterback Michael Dopart shared duties but took most of the snaps last season. He returns along with receivers Dyllan Malone and Dominick Coronado.
“Both receivers played well for us last year,” McGuire said. “I’m really looking for them to take a step forward.”
Two-way senior Josh Gettemy, a mainstay at linebacker, made three starts at running back last season for an injured starter as the Foxes reached the Class 7A quarterfinals before losing in overtime to state runner-up Batavia.
On top of that, Yorkville added field turf this summer.
“It was good to see what our potential was last year,” Alvarez said. “It’s going to be a big deal to see if we can match it.”
Quick Facts
Team: Yorkville.
2022 record: 10-2.
Offensive leaders: Dominick Coronado, senior, wide receiver; Michael Dopart, senior, quarterback; Dyllan Malone, junior, wide receiver; Roary Mezger, senior, offensive lineman.
Defensive leaders: Logan Brasfield, senior, defensive lineman; Josh Gettemy, senior, linebacker; Gage Range, junior, defensive back; Luke Zook, junior, defensive back;
X-factor: Ben Alvarez, senior, fullback/middle linebacker.
