Let’s do a quick roll call on some family members of Brother Rice’s Charlie Stec.
His father, Greg, played at Lyons before heading to Notre Dame. His uncle, Ted, played at Lyons and Miami of Ohio. His brother, Louie, played at Nazareth and was teammates with injured Minnesota Vikings quarterback JJ McCarthy before playing in 27 games at Iowa.
And his cousin, Grant, who played at Jacobs, is a freshman tight end for Wisconsin.
You might say the deck was “Stec-ed” for Charlie to find success in the sport.
“I grew up around football,” he said. “I knew I was going to play football. I started playing flag football in preschool and with pads in second grade.
“My family members all had an influence on me, but my dad had the most. When I was a little kid, he taught me what to do to be a tough football player and have a good motor.”
The senior defensive lineman put that motor to use Saturday when his high school career came to an end with a 12-7 loss to Fenwick in a Class 7A first-round playoff game at Triton in River Grove.
The 6-foot-4, 230-pound Stec recovered a fumble in the first quarter and made numerous stops for short gains or losses to lead Brother Rice (6-4).
The Crusaders’ lone score was a 1-yard touchdown plunge by junior quarterback CJ Gray in the second quarter minutes after KJ Morris brought back a punt to the Friars’ 13. Donovan Brown also had an interception against the Friars (8-2).
Charlie Stec, an Orland Park resident, will likely follow his family members by playing college football as Kent State, Marshall and Western Illinois have made offers. The CCL/ESCC Blue co-Lineman of the Year, who is looking to major in aviation, has his eyes on being a cargo pilot.
Brother Rice coach Casey Quedenfeld has appreciated Stec’s work the past two seasons.
“Charlie’s been doing a fantastic job,” Quedenfeld said. “He grew and came along his last season, and since Week 3, he has really done a great job and continued to get better and better.
“He’s going to do great things at the next level.”
Brown said he will miss playing football with Stec.
“Charlie brought everything — energy, intensity … when he makes a play, his energy transfers to all of the other defensive players,” Brown said. “He’s phenomenal. I love Charlie.”
It was a roller-coaster season for the Crusaders, who opened up with a 50-0 victory over Phillips but then lost 34-27 in overtime to Marist, lost 14-7 to St. Rita and lost 28-21 to Loyola.
After that, however, Brother Rice ran the table in the regular season with five straight wins, including a 16-13 stunner over Mount Carmel.
“During the losing stretch, we knew we were a good team, so the energy never left us,” Brown said. “We got on the same page and got better each week.”
That includes Stec, who moved to the area from downstate Chester in eighth grade and played with the Orland Park Pioneers.
He has no regrets about playing for Brother Rice, even though he had other choices.
“I was thinking about going to Nazareth like my brother did,” Stec said. “But I wanted to make my own path. It was still fun for four years. We had a pretty good streak going on this year.
“It didn’t end the way we wanted it to, but life happens.”
Still, Stec wants to keep playing the sport for at least another four years.
“I like to take out my anger on the field,” he said. “You get to hit people, and outside of football, that’s illegal. What we do in football isn’t legal in the streets.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
