It’s not uncommon for a high school football player to play on both sides of the ball when he’s the star of the team; especially when his team has low numbers the likes of what the Sacred Heart Saints had this year, averaging between 11 and 18 players for games.
What is uncommon however, is a star player playing nearly every position during a season, from quarterback, full back, tail back and offensive line on the offensive side of the ball to linebacker (strong, weak and middle) as well as interior and exterior lineman on the defensive side of the ball and both special teams, kick off and kick return.
But that’s exactly what grade 12 Sacred Heart Saints star Brody Kormos did throughout the 2015 season, while playing nearly every minute of every game in his final high school football campaign. “Brody played a super season for us and it was probably one of the best he’s played. He led the team all year and rarely left the field,” offered Kormos’ high school football coach Trent Senger. “He played pretty much every position except wide receiver and defensive back and he got stronger as the year went on while playing positions he wasn’t quite familiar with.”
One such position was the quarterback position; a role that Kormos never thought he’d ever play, but when Senger came to him with an hour left in practice the day before a game and asked him to be the quarterback Kormos, who always puts the team before himself, agreed to play the position, although he wasn’t quite sure about the coach’s decision. “I thought he was crazy, really,” said a laughing Kormos when looking back on the situation. “I’m not really the quarterback type, but I figured ‘why not? What’s the worst that could happen?’ so I decided to give it a shot because that’s what the coach thought would be best for the team.”
Senger also felt that putting Kormos at running back and on both sides of the line was something that would benefit the team as well; and while some of the moves might not have paid off, Kormos still believes that getting the opportunity to play positions other than his usual linebacker position was nothing but beneficial for him. “It’s a lot different playing the other positions because I’ve basically been a linebacker for my whole career, but it’s been a good learning experience,” offered Kormos, adding that while it’s been fun, playing on both sides of the ball continuously was also extremely exhausting. “It’s fun and it’s good to be able to do all of that in one game, but it’s definitely tiring as well.
“You do get pretty tired and beat up and by the fourth quarter your body is definitely starting to hurt. It definitely makes you tired but you have to do it for the guys so you keep going.”
Throughout the season rest was not to be found for the grade 12 student-athete, but now he has ample time to rest as his Saints have officially finished their season after a 14-14 tie with Broadview this past Thursday and according to his coach, the only reason he’s resting is because they’re making him. “We’re going to give him two weeks off now and kind of force him to take some time off,” offered Senger, adding that they’ll then focus on getting Kormos into better shape for the spring and junior tryouts. “He’s got a couple of tryouts coming up in the spring so we’ll work real hard for that and hopefully he’ll be one of those kids that will get to play a little bit of football after high school.
“That’s his goal in life, to play football at either Junior or at University and we’re going to do everything in our power to keep him in shape and help him get to where he wants to go.”
As for Kormos, he’s unsure where he’ll end up. But one thing is for certain: he doesn’t want his football career to end just yet. “I love it. I’ve been doing it for seven years now and it’s been a big part of my life,” said Kormos, continuing, “It’s kind of what I’m known for around Sacred Heart and it’s lots of fun. It sucks that it’s coming to an end here at high school but hopefully I can keep going and play somewhere else because it’s what I’ve been doing for a while and it’s something I don’t want to stop.
“If I had a choice though, I’d probably like to go to Saskatoon because I have family there and I’d like to get into the trades doing welding, being an electrician or just doing something with my hands.”
