By Dan Wiederer
STAFF WRITER

  With the Naperville Central band playing and the student body cheering, he walked into the gym for Tuesday's pep rally blending in among the rest of the football players. The name on the back of his jersey said "Small," but his shoulders and his handshake were quite contradictory.

  Redhawks freshman Eric Small, one of two underclassmen to play on the varsity squad during the regular season, finds it hard to believe he's headed to the state championship game.

  "This is great," Small said. "This has been a great experience for me, playing with all these good athletes and playing with all these great guys."

  His teammates agree. They have welcomed the young fullback with open arms since he joined the varsity in Week 7.

  "It had to be a little nerve-racking for him," said left guard Brendan Baskin. "But for us, there wasn't much adjustment. Even though he's a freshman, he puts the time in and does his work. I know it's not normal for a freshman to be up on the varsity, but I think Coach Bunge recognizes his talent and his hard work and he's here for the good of the team."

  As a sophomore, Baskin had a chance to dress for the 1999 state championship game and be on the sidelines with his older brother Don. It's a moment he'll never forget.

  "I was on the scout team for the playoffs, and we basically were always just getting our butts kicked," Baskin said. "But being on the field with my brother for that moment was an awesome thing."

  Saturday's game will give him an opportunity to play and share the spotlight, and Baskin is excited.

  "This is unbelievable," he said. "I'm in the same position my brother was in and I'm experiencing exactly the same things he went through two years ago. We worked so hard for this that now that we've made this run we deserve it."

  Baskin's also excited for Small, who in no way will be just another bench warmer during Saturday's title game with Downers Grove South. Small joined the varsity in October, a couple weeks after the injury to Kyle Griffith, and made his first start in last weekend's semifinal win over Wheaton North. The 6-foot-1-inch, 210-pound fullback carried the ball five times for 15 yards last week, including a 3-yard gain on a critical fourth-and-1 play with Central trailing 14-0 in the second quarter.

  Small, who got the start last week because of an injury to senior Kyle Schueler, will see the field plenty Saturday.

  "We like to use two fullbacks because it's a pretty physically demanding position," said Redhawks coach Joe Bunge. "Eric's done a nice job back there, and he's only a freshman. He's going to be something. He's something special right now."

  Small needed time to adjust to the speed of the varsity game and the size of the players, but he says his camaraderie with his older teammates has been a pleasant surprise.

  "At the beginning, it was kind of hard for me," he said. "The game's still a lot faster. The players are much bigger and more intense. But the guys have always been really nice to me and have made things so much easier on me."

  Added Baskin: "He's the nicest kid ever. He's younger than us but he's certainly not that much smaller. A lot of times when you bring the younger guys up, they have a tendency to be cocky or whatever. But he's the first person to congratulate you on the field or say 'hi' to you in the hall. He's just a great guy."

  When Central won the '99 state title, Small was there in the stands at Memorial Stadium.

  "It was exciting. I was in seventh grade," he said.

  Saturday, he'll play for his own state championship ring.

  "It's kind of surreal for me to think about that," he said. "I can't wait to be down there."

   11/23/01