Don't let the scowl fool you, this SHG star is having fun in his final football season

Under the helmet and hidden by an intimidating snarl, Cory West is having fun.

The Sacred Heart-Griffin senior middle linebacker left enough bruises around the Central State Eight Conference last year, with 128 tackles, as the Cyclones went 12-2 and finished second in Class 4A to state champion Joliet Catholic.

West, who was named to the Illinois High School Football Coaches Association all-state team in 2021, made the move from outside to middle linebacker for his final season, added about 20 pounds — almost all muscle — and is on pace to shatter his tackles number from a year ago with 52 through four games.

But West said his focus this year was more than the wins and each opponent.

More:The 8 biggest surprises midway through the football season around Springfield

“Enjoy every moment because this is my last year,” West said. “Especially with the other seniors on here, I want to take it in with all of them and of course win a championship and get a ring.”

He said his in-game scowl belies how he’s really feeling and said he’s having fun.

“We’re enjoying it. We have our game face on; once we’re locked in, we’re locked in,” West said. “We just have to flip a switch.”

SHG (4-0) hosts Decatur MacArthur (3-1) at Ken Leonard Field at 7 p.m. Friday.

Ken Leonard, the state’s winningest football coach, says West stands out physically.

“Cory is an exceptional athlete. Cory went to Western (Illinois University’s) camp and I just can’t believe no one’s offered him a scholarship at I-AA (FCS) or Division II because he’s a legit 4.4 (in the 40-yard dash) guy,” Leonard said.

“At Western’s camp, he was the fastest kid in the camp and runs 4.4. Western said, ‘He wasn’t big enough.’ He’s a 2% body fat, he’s a wrestler and he’s a killer out there. He’s just a tough kid and a great kid. He’s going to make somebody at the college level a really good football player. He’s all muscle.”

Good role models

Following in his brother Peyton West’s footsteps, Cory West also wrestles. Peyton West, who finished second in the Class 2A state wrestling meet at 160 pounds in 2017, was The State Journal-Register's Large School Wrestler of the Year as a junior at Springfield High. He’s now the SHG head wrestling coach. Last season, West qualified for the Class 1A state tournament at 182 pounds.

It’s been a steady diet of football and wrestling since West was young.

More:Predicting every Illinois high school football game in the Springfield area for Week 5

“I’ve been a football player ever since I was a booger-picker,” he said with a laugh. “I’ve looked up to my older brother. I learned a lot from him, being in his shadow.”

West also saw the example laid out by Reese Edwards, Mason Clem and Kadinn Morris, who all graduated from SHG in 2021. Like West, Edwards and Clem were top defensive players and wrestlers; Edwards is a redshirt freshman on the Illinois State football team, Clem is a redshirt freshman on the Ohio University wrestling team and Morris is a redshirt freshman on the Western Michigan football squad.

“When I was a freshman, I always looked up to Reese Edwards, Mason Clem and Kadinn Morris,” West said. “Ie looked up to them and had the same mindset, same everything.”

Family of tough guys

In the offseason, West was sharpening his physical tools.

“I was working on my conditioning. I’d run a mile and then I’d try to scream plays because when you’re dead tired, you’ve got to scream plays,” said the CS8’s leading tackler. “I was also working my weight because they moved me to middle linebacker.

“Last year, I weighed roughly 180 and this year I’m 200 exactly. So I was trying to gain weight, get stronger, just pretty much get better overall. The other day, I gained 20 pounds on my bench press. I was benching 355 and I can definitely feel when I’m going against the big guys on the offensive line.”

Despite all his accolades, West isn’t resting.

SHG and tons of talent: What to know about Central State Eight football for 2022

“Individually, I’m trying to improve everything; no one’s perfect,” West said. “Anything I can do to make myself better, I’ll do it. I’ll take any advice.

“I even watch NFL games to try to teach myself how they play. Just anything. I want to make some noise, especially for these seniors.”

Leonard said, like Peyton and their dad, Mike West, Cory West is built similarly.

"Peyton was a hitter,” Leonard said. “The whole family, they’re tough north-end guys. His dad was a really good football player at Lanphier. They’re wrestlers and I want them on my side.”

Contact Ryan Mahan: 788-1546, ryan.mahan@sj-r.com, Twitter.com/RyanMahanSJR.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: SHG linebacker, wrestler follows in footsteps of athletic family