Andrean's Zurek wrote quite a story this fall for 59ers

MERRILLVILLE | Mason Zurek is a sports writer. One of the best for Andrean's award-winning newspaper -- "The Acropolis."

The senior at the school on Broadway did not write columns, though.

"People said I was too opinionated," Zurek said with a chuckle.

But he did write game stories about the autumn that Andrean's football team enjoyed. From memory. He was Andrean's star tailback.

"I never quoted myself," Zurek said again with a smile. "That was my chance to give back to my teammates. I wrote about them. I couldn't do what I did without a great offensive line, my fullback, all of them."

After going undefeated in the regular season and winning the program's first Northwest Crossroads Conference crown, Zurek is The Times 2011 Offensive Player of the Year.

He carried the ball 161 times for 1,304 yards and 22 touchdowns. He was a player worth writing about.

"Mason is a great, but quiet kid," Andrean coach Phil Mason said. "He was a scout player as a sophomore and got the crap kicked out of him every day. He had a great junior year but we lost a lot of talent to graduation.

"So we put everything on his shoulders and he was phenomenal for us."

At first glance, Zurek doesn't look like a super freak when carrying the ball. Like his personality, he was quiet on the field. Tough as nails, but as silent as a church mouse.

"Whenever I scored I just flipped the ball to the official and ran off the field," Zurek said. "It wasn't about me. It was about the team. We are a family."

Zurek owns a 4.2 grade point average and Harvard is planning on bringing him out east to the Ivy League school. If not, Ball State has offered him a preferred walk-on position.

That's what rushing for 2,842 yards and 41 TDs will do over two years will do. Plus, the 59ers played in several blowouts this season where carries were extremely limited.

"He easily could've rushed for a lot more and scored a lot more," Mason said.

Zurek is from a big sports family. His mother, Stacy Zurek, coached women's basketball and volleyball at Purdue Calumet. His dad, Robert, was a state-qualifying swimmer at Highland back in the day.

So why not the Speedos?

"I wasn't built to be a swimmer," Zurek said. "But my parents have always been supportive of me. I can't thank them enough."

So he started playing football in second grade. Twice, he advanced to the Pop Warner championships with the Tri-Town Raiders.

Family is what football is all about to Andrean's No. 38.

"I had so much fun coming out every day," he said. "My teammates are the best friends I've ever had. I could not have done anything without them. We bonded."

Of course as every sports writer knows, not every story ends with a happy ending. Andrean had won four straight Class 3A sectional titles. The 'Niners dropped to 2A this fall and the road looked paved with gold.

But on Oct. 21, bright orange pot holes blew the tires off Andrean's limo. Wheeler shocked the host 59ers 12-7 in the sectional opener.

When your team has eight turnovers, it's difficult to write a great lede. OK, impossible.

"Part of me wants to chalk it up to bad luck," Zurek said. "Part of me says Wheeler came to play football and they won the game. Yeah, we outplayed them. In a lot of areas.

"But football is 90 percent mental and 10 percent physical. We didn't deserve to win."

Zurek is a member of a another important group, the National Honor Society. He is also president of Andrean's German Club. But being a sports scribbler is one of his biggest joys, off the field.

And his comments go along with who he is, off the field.

"I was able to give back to my teammates when I wrote stories about them," Zurek said. "I want to thank every coach I've ever had. Without their guidance there's no way I could've accomplished what I did."

Yes, Zurek is smart. He doesn't plan on going into journalism. He sees a future in law awaiting.