For high school football’s big men, a challenge of their own

It was clear that Geneva sophomore offensive lineman Mark Atkins had drilled for years on technique.

Strong hand position, good bend at the waist and knee, solidly balanced, laser focused on his target.

“I’ve been training my whole life, man,” Atkins said.

He explained how he gets an edge over his opponents.

“Get as much as you can that first bite. Eat, eat, swallow. Eat, eat, swallow. You’ve just got to get in there, get down, get dirty,” Atkins said.

Huh?

In front of hundreds of his peers at Ormond Stadium on Thursday, Atkins devoured his watermelon slice down to the rind, winning the sophomore level of the most popular contest at the Battle of the Big Butts lineman challenge at West Aurora High School.

Started in 1999 by former St. Charles High School line coach Mike Powers and brought to West Aurora with Powers and now-retired head coach Buck Drach in 2006, the Battle of the Big Butts continues as a premier summer competition for offensive and defensive linemen under the direction of Blackhawks assistant football coach Mike Runge and head coach Nate Eimer.

Gaining a measure of fame when featured by Sports Illustrated in 2015, the Battle of the Big Butts is a lineman’s version of the “skilled players” 7-on-7.

Players on varsity and junior varsity levels from more than two dozen schools competed Thursday in bench press, the 40-yard dash, the medicine ball toss, an agility run, the tractor tire-flipping relay, and a five-man sled drive before the watermelon-eating contest and, finally, a tug of war.

“All the skill players get 7-on-7s, and the linemen are just there to watch them participate,” said Neuqua Valley senior defensive end Rocco Dubiel.

“It’s great that we get to do stuff. This makes me feel like an NFL player at a combine.”

Other schools offer lineman’s challenges in tandem with 7-on-7 competitions, “but this is the big one,” Dubiel said.

Batavia brought its own tent to use as a home base. Under it, sophomore coach Adam Kolowski said around 65 Bulldogs linemen participated Thursday, supported by a number of “skill guys” for a total of about 90.

“We’re usually the big spenders around here, we bring an army,” Kolowski said.

College coaches such as Don Beebe of Aurora University attended the event, keeping track of potential recruits.

Individual varsity winners included Andy Gonzalo of Wheaton North, who ran the 40 in 4.98 seconds; Cobi Spraggins of Downers Grove South, who completed the agility run in 12.73 seconds; and Juan Pacheco, who did 29 repetitions of 185 pounds on the bench press.

“It’s always fun to see people bench press, the energy is always there. When you’ve got big guys that do big reps it’s super-fun to watch,” said Wheaton North senior Aiden Varney, a returning starter at left guard.

“This is great. We come out here, we have a lot of fun, a good bonding for our teams. It really brings us together every year,” he said.

Runge had yet to complete team scoring by deadline, but West Aurora’s top varsity team won three events and finished second to Oswego in the tug of war.

But there’s a reason why Atkins and his fellow watermelon warriors drew the largest cheers.

“I think in high school sports all the way to youth sports, we’re missing the part that’s supposed to be for kids, and that’s fun,” Eimer said. “And this is fun. That’s why I think it’s so cool that we have it.”