It isn’t often that a kid excels in all three major sports at at any school in the area. So imagine how rare that feat is at a school with nearly 3,700 students.
Warren senior Jack Wolf will be at the center of Blue Devils athletics all year, but football is up first and the team where he will make the largest impact. Warren opens the season ranked No. 7 in the preseason Super 25.
“It’s a challenge,” Wolf said. “But I’ve grown up playing three to four sports so it has always been normal for me. I love it, everything to do with it. I feel that it makes me better in all of the sports.”
Wolf is the starting quarterback, one of 19 players who started multiple games last season returning for Warren coach Bryan McNulty. He’s also a key member of the basketball and baseball teams.
“We are expecting [Wolf] to have a really big year,” McNulty said. “He’s the barometer of our offense. How he goes, we go. Obviously we have [running back] Aaron Stewart but Jack is the centerpiece of it right now. He can do a little bit of everything. People don’t realize he’s the second fastest kid on the team.”
Wolf started last season, but the Blue Devils were a run-heavy offense.
“The offense overall has progressed a lot,” Wolf said. “With the passing game we’ve put in and the things that we’ve worked on there is another level I know we can get to.”
The defense has been the backbone of Warren football for years. But when the Blue Devils’ offense can run and pass, they can challenge the area’s handful of elite teams.
“Last year we rushed for almost 2,000 yards,” McNulty said. “We have three wide receivers back, three on the offensive line so we are in pretty good shape there. So we’ve been throwing the ball around a lot this summer.”
Stewart ran for 1,683 yards and 19 TDs last season. He averaged seven yards per carry.
“Our passing game has really improved,” Stewart said. “Last year we were very run dominant. We’ve done a great job expanding our game. We’re good at everything now.”
Warren returns three starters on the offensive line and three wide receivers to go along with Stewart and Wolf, who is tasked with turning the experience into points on game day.
“As the quarterback you are thrown into a leadership position,” Wolf said. “But that’s something I feel I’m naturally gifted with. I can help get guys going when they’re down. I can keep guys up. Bringing the energy is the most important thing. That’s how I try to lead.”
Junior defensive backs Chris McBride and X’Zavion Montgomery lead the defense with senior linebacker Jayden Johnson.
“We can all ball,” Montgomery said. “Being part of this defense is a blessing. We are ready to come out and show everyone what we can do.”
The Blue Devils were 9-3 last season, losing 24-0 to Lincoln-Way East in the state quarterfinals. The Griffins have knocked Warren out of the playoffs the past two seasons.
“We have a great deal of respect for Lincoln-Way East,” McNulty said. “It’s always a physical game. But we have to take a step forward and build. We have to handle the big boys. Lincoln-Way East and Loyola are really, really good teams. So our kids have had that on their mind all off season.”