Warren's backs are dressed for success

Who knew I had so much in common with a 17-year-old football player?

But there I was Monday afternoon interviewing Warren senior fullback Aaron Dahlke and two of his backfield pals -- Darrien Pitts and Greg Kennedy -- and we were commiserating about clothes, shoes and dating in high school.

You see, when you're too tall -- or too short, short enough to be part of what could be the shortest backfield in North Suburban Conference history -- the world can be a frustrating, unforgiving place.

For instance, I'm having the toughest time right now finding a simple pair of black or brown shoe boots that won't break my bank account.

When you're a woman with a size 12 foot (that's 10½ in a men's shoe), shoes, especially affordable ones, aren't easy to come by.

And don't get me started on clothes. When you're 6-foot-3 and most clothing designers act as if women stop growing at 5-foot-11, clothes that fit properly are hard to come by, too.

"I cannot find clothes anywhere either. Or shoes," Dahlke agreed emphatically, making me want to slap him a high five. "Nothing fits me. I mean, nothing. Halloween is coming up and I'll try to buy a costume and there will not be one costume that fits me in the whole store.

"I'm too short and too wide to get anything."

Dahlke is 5-foot-3 and 185 pounds -- too broad and muscular to fit into pants and shirts that fit him lengthwise. So all of his clothes are oversized, baggy and rolled up.

To accommodate his extra wide foot, he buys bigger shoes that end up swallowing his already undersized foot lengthwise.

He showed me that the tips of his shoes, where the toes would normally go, were empty. When I asked him if he could stuff them with something, he said that would only make his feet even sorer.

Pain, hurting. Ah, what a segue.

"Dating is hard, too," Dahlke said with a laugh as his teammates snickered, but nodded as if they could relate. "I've been to only one dance where the girl hasn't been taller than me. With those heels on … Man, I hate those heels."

When I was in high school, I hated heels, too. Until my junior year when the boys finally started to catch up, I was taller than every boy in my class. Not good for dating.

But, hey. Tall is who I am, and short is who Dahlke, the 5-foot-5 Pitts and the 5-foot-6 Kennedy are. It can be inconvenient, but it doesn't always have to be a bad thing.

Being tall was good for my basketball career. Being short, as it turns out, has had its advantages on the football field for Dahlke, Pitts and Kennedy.

These small guys have actually played a big part in Warren's turnaround season.

After starting out 0-2, the Blue Devils have won five of their last six games, including four straight. They'll attempt to get their sixth win of the season and an automatic berth in the playoffs tonight in an NSC Lake Division battle against visiting Stevenson.

The Patriots, who are also looking for their sixth win, will have to figure out how to stop Warren's unconventional three-headed short-legged sparkplug.

Kennedy, the team's top running back, is just a sophomore. Yet he's rushed for more than 1,000 yards and 12 touchdowns.

"The first game, when I came out there and saw how big those boys were, I was like 'Oh man, I'm literally going to get crushed out here,' " said Kennedy, who weighs all of 139 pounds. "But then I got hit and after awhile, I got used to it. I'm running behind my pads, trying to protect myself. I'm doing OK now."

Dahlke and Pitts seem to be doing just fine, too. Combined, the two fullbacks have about 800 rushing yards, and they serve as Kennedy's lead blockers.

"In the game of football, you always like big and fast," Warren coach Dave Mohapp said. "Those guys are all fast, just not so big. But they're overcoming it. All three of them are very determined, intelligent players."

Indeed, they've all figured out how to make their size work for them, rather than against them. When their speed, which ranges from a 4.4 to a 4.7 40 time, isn't enough, they hide.

Almost too well, in fact.

"When my mom comes to games, she can never find me," Kennedy said. "I'm going to have to go out and buy some yellow cleats or something."

Kennedy was kidding. He wouldn't want to give up an edge. He says it's too much fun sneaking around behind his big linemen.

"I think it's almost easier to play running back when you're short, because it's harder for the defense to see you coming through the line," Pitts said. "We kind of get hidden. I think that's a big advantage for us."

Dahlke, in fact, knows it is. He relishes the mass confusion that can spread over an entire defense the moment the Blue Devils run a rushing play.

"Sometimes, when Greg is running fakes behind me and I get the ball, I can definitely see the linebackers chasing him down instead of me because they don't even know I have the ball," Dahlke said. "A lot of times, the defense can't really see you until you've broken through the line of scrimmage, and by then, you're pretty much guaranteed a couple of yards."

Short jokes are also a guarantee for Dahlke, Pitts and Kennedy. It's just like with me and the tired question of "How's the weather up there?" When you're of an extreme size, people just can't resist.

"I get short jokes all the time," Dahlke said. "I get called a midget, things like that. I'm used to it by now, though. It's kind of who I am."

"I actually don't like the short jokes," Pitts fired back. "But the thing is, I'll turn around and make a short joke to him."

Pitts points to Kennedy. The three teammates laugh. Really, what else can they do?

They can't change their height. Because as Dahlke says, "It's in our genes, I guess."

"I have a twin brother and he's 5-foot-9," Dahlke said. "That's tall for our family."

Pitts and Kennedy say they come from short families, too. However, all three remember a time when they were still pretty much on pace with their classmates.

Then in junior high, they started falling behind.

"I remember when the doctors told me I wouldn't grow anymore," Pitts said. "You know those growth charts you have with your doctor? Mine just flat-lined."

The same thing happened with Dahlke. However, his about-face was even more dramatic.

"I remember playing township football and baseball when I was younger. I was always one of the biggest kids -- hitting all the home runs and making all the big hits," Dahlke said. "People just looked at me different back then than they do now. I'm always just short to them now. They're always going to see me as a short kid.

"I think people's expectations of me were higher when I was younger because I was bigger. It's kind of frustrating because I think I'm the same person and just as good, no matter how tall I am."

It's a nice thought. And Dahlke, Pitts and Kennedy all seemed convinced of it. But college recruiters are a different story.

They often won't even consider a player of that height, no matter how fast, agile and athletic he is.

Dahlke, for one, says he hasn't received any college inquiries and Pitts says his have been extremely limited and very general. Kennedy, who still has quite a bit more prep football to play, says that because of his size, he's prepared to have college track be his only option.

"All the other teams underestimate us, so I'm sure (college coaches) do, too," Pitts said. "But look at Garrett Wolfe (5-foot-7, 186 pounds). He went from Northern Illinois to the Bears. He's short and he doesn't weigh a lot and look what he's done.

"He made it somehow. But how many other guys like him have been passed up? It's like, sometimes, these coaches don't know what they're missing."

And that's the long and short of it.