Mashal's Senior Night will be extra emotional

If I said that Dave Mashal is the strong, silent type, it would only be a half-truth.

Strong? Definitely.

Silent? Not a chance.

Mashal, a 6-foot, 2-inch, 265-pound senior defensive lineman, is one of the big -- and I mean BIG -- reasons why St. Charles East has already clinched a state playoff berth and is one step away from capturing the school's first outright Upstate Eight Conference football championship since its split seven years ago.

"The biggest thing about Dave is his contribution on defense," said Saints coach Ted Monken. "Every team that we play is scheming everything (on offense) to make sure they take care of No. 50, and that allows for No. 33 (Adam Schaefer), 22 (Pat Friel), 35 (Mike Hoscheit), 93 (Nick Fattes) and those other guys to make plays.

"And it shows because Pat Friel has about 120 tackles on the year. Dave does a great job of making those guys better."

Mashal, a 3-year varsity player who was a member of the Saints' Class 7A state quarterfinalist squad in 2005, has demanded double-team attention by most of his opponents this season.

The strategy hasn't worked.

"We couldn't block him," said Lake Park coach Andy Livingston after his team's 30-0 loss to St. Charles East three weeks ago.

After a full week of practice, his teammates are more than happy to see Friday arrive.

"Our practices are pretty tough," said Friel.

"For our offense to go against him every day in practice, it makes us better," said Monken. "Our offensive line has to battle one of the toughest defensive linemen in the area.

"I don't know if he's the toughest defensive linemen, but he's got to be right there. I don't know if there are too many teams who wouldn't want him."

If you've ever seen Mashal play, he's an easy player to spot -- and hear.

"Dave is a senior leader who is also our emotional leader," said Friel. "He jacks us up before every game."

"I'm a high-level intense player," said Mashal, who admits that the game has slowed down now that he is a senior. "I've got to be vocal on our defense. I can be obnoxious."

Obnoxious, boisterous, whatever you want to call it, Mashal enjoys himself on the football field.

"The best part is hitting people," he said. "It's a way to release your energy."

Off the field, Mashal serves as one of the student speakers at school pep assemblies.

"It's a blast being one of the emcees," he said. "I've always been a laid-back guy."

"He's a big ham," said Monken. "He's our version of Fred Flintstone or Jackie Gleason."

On the field, he's more like Mike Singletary or Brian Urlacher.

"He's got a motor and kids follow that," said Monken. "He plays from snap to whistle every down and kids see that -- and they're fired up to follow his lead."

It will be easy for Mashal to get pumped up before Friday night's cross-town clash with St. Charles North.

"It's our last conference game, it's against St. Charles North and we've got an opportunity to win our first conference championship," said Mashal.

It's also Senior Night, an event that undoubtedly will add to Mashal's pre-game emotional state.

"Senior Night will be the hardest for me," said Mashal, whose dad, Joe, passed away unexpectedly five years ago when Dave was a seventh-grader attending Wredling Middle School.

At any age, the death of a parent is an extremely difficult experience. I had just turned 23 years old when I lost my father to lung cancer in the fall of 1984.

It's not easy -- or fair.

"I think of him all the time," said Mashal, who has a tattoo with his father's name on his right arm. "He used to come to all of my games. We were real close."

Mashal credits playing football as something that has helped him through the toughest times.

"Through sports, I've made a lot of friends," he said. "And then I don't think about it as much."

Mashal will be accompanied by his mom, Laura, during Friday's Senior Night festivities.

"We have grown closer together since my dad died," he said. "She has always been there for me -- even when I didn't always see it."

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