After all that training, Stevenson's Weisman's a hit

Crunch! Bam! Zap! Pow! Bang! Crash!

Mark Weisman used to fear having to feel what those words sound like.

Back in grade school, during his earliest years on the football field, he hated contact. He wanted to avoid it at all costs.

A running back, he ran from contact just as hard as he ran to the end zone. Sometimes harder.

"I was always the little skinny kid who just ran around people because I didn't like the contact," Weisman said. "I didn't want to get hit."

Then Weisman got to Stevenson High School, and reality set in.

The Patriots have long had the reputation as a tough, gritty, run-right-at-you, through-you, and over-you football team. Bill Mitz, a former hard-nosed offensive lineman who has been the head coach at Stevenson for 28 years, has built a powerhouse using primarily the grind-it-out, run-it-up the-gut method.

"I saw how Stevenson's offense was and how everyone just runs up the middle right at people and I knew that I needed to be a lot more hard-nosed and that I couldn't run from contact," Weisman said. "I decided I had to work out a lot more."

Three years later, Weisman, a senior fullback who has gained nearly 85 pounds of muscle since his freshman year, is to contact what Brad Pitt is to Angelina Jolie, and vice versa. It's hard to imagine one without the other.

Weisman, who has already parlayed his physical transformation into a Division I opportunity, is known as much as anyone in Lake County as a contact back. The Air Force recruit takes hit after hit while forcing his way through the heart of any and every defense.

His spectacular game last week against Lake Forest epitomized exactly the kind of football player he has become.

Weisman carried the ball an incredible 46 times for 275 yards, both career bests. Even more impressive, he rarely left the area between the hash marks, where the hits are nearly impossible to avoid.

"When I was a freshman, I weighed like 145 pounds. I was a little guy. But I've gotten a lot bigger over the years," the 6-foot, 230-pound Weisman said. "As the (Lake Forest) game was going on, I didn't even realize I had that many carries. I've grown to love the contact."

The Patriots are certainly loving Weisman.

Although he is quick to credit the offensive line as well as his lead blocker, running back Matt Harris, for his success, Weisman has been the engine in Stevenson's strong start. The Patriots are 4-0 heading into tonight's North Suburban Conference Lake Division tilt against 2-2 Lake Zurich.

Weisman has already rolled up more than 600 rushing yards this season.

"We could very well see a couple of games like (the Lake Forest game) out of Mark this season," said Mitz, who made Weisman a starter as a sophomore. "We've had some great players in this league over the years and he's right up there.

"The amazing thing about what he did (against Lake Forest) is that on our last touchdown (in the fourth quarter), he blocked for Matt Harris and he pretty much just flattened the linebacker, put him on his back. And at that point, Mark had already carried the ball like 42 times. He's got amazing endurance and durability. I think a lot of that comes from his work ethic. He's one of those guys who just loves football and is a work-a-holic about it."

Like many elite athletes these days, Weisman goes above and beyond team workouts.

He works out with a trainer in Deerfield, sometimes after he's already gone through a two- to three-hour practice at Stevenson. And he also does plenty on his own.

One of Weisman's favorite activities is running hills.

"It's this hill in Northbrook off of Sanders Road. I think it's a sledding hill," Weisman said. "(Teammate) Erick King, found out about it from his dad (former Chicago Bull Stacey King).

"Over the summer, I'd go two to three times a week. It's tough, but it's a really good workout."

Running hills in the suburbs used to be the workout of choice for late Chicago Bears running back Walter Payton, one of the greatest players in the history of the NFL.

Weisman says there's something else he's taken from Payton's playbook.

Payton, the focus of many defenses, was known to make a point of popping up quickly from any hit, even the fiercest.

It was his way of being intimidating.

"It's kind of (a mind game)," Weisman said. "I like to get up as quick as I can every play. They think they just hit me really hard and knocked me down. But I get right back up."

That grit and determination will come in handy next year at Air Force.

Air Force also runs an offense that relies on a gritty fullback who can consistently pound the ball up the middle for a few yards here and a few there.

"When Air Force got the tape on Mark, they were sold," Mitz said. "They wanted him right then and there."

Likewise, Weisman was quickly sold on Air Force.

He's always been intrigued with the idea of serving his country. And while he thinks the military system will be grueling at times, he likes the challenge.

The cherry on the sundae was when he heard about the offensive mentality at Air Force. He knew he had found the complete package.

"They've used the fullback for years and I really like that," Weisman said. "I love running up the middle. I like getting the big yards, too. But running up the middle is just as satisfying. I like the third downs, third and shorts, fourth and shorts. Those plays can be the most important plays in a game. I like getting those.

"I think Air Force liked that about me. That's how their fullbacks run. They're hard-nosed and I think they saw that in me."

It took a while, but eventually, Weisman saw that in himself.

pbabcock@dailyherald.com