Suburban Life football notebook: Maison Haas makes his mark all over Wheaton Warrenville South’s Week 1 win

Maison Haas wanted to make an impact in the season opener on Saturday.

The Wheaton Warrenville South senior accomplished his goal by putting his imprint all over the Tigers’ 12-6 victory over city powerhouse Simeon.

Haas, a cornerback, played stellar at his main job with two interceptions, one pass deflection and three tackles. But that was just a small part of Haas’ outstanding performance. He averaged 43 yards per punt, including hitting two inside the 5-yard line. Also on special teams, Haas booted a 43-yard field goal, along with two touchbacks on kickoffs.

Somewhat surprisingly, Haas said he wasn’t fatigued after the thrilling home win.

”I wasn’t very tired at all,” Haas said. “I was so excited and just pumped to be on the field again with all my boys. I just wanted to keep playing.”

Wheaton Warrenville South Sean Norris said Haas’ all-around game was inspiring.

”Maison is a great young man, a tough competitor and he worked very hard to get to this point,” Norris said. “He’s not just a kicker and punter, but he’s a football player who impacts the game in every aspect and loves to compete. He’s a great leader with high character. We expect him to continue to impact the defense and special teams and compete every time he crosses the line.”

Haas downplayed his role in the hard-fought victory, mentioning his teammates for all stepping up following an injury to starting running back/linebacker Matt Crider earlier in the week.

”I felt personally nothing I did was like a surprise to me in a way,” Haas said. “I felt so confident in only only myself but in my team that we were going leave everything on the team. We had a great scheme for Simeon’s offense…I knew that we had to make a mark on who we are as a team, and I think we did that. But the job isn’t finishing. We need to get into every single week with that mindset and we can never be satisfied.”

Haas said he started kicking and punting in his freshman year, noting his progress was speeded up by his soccer background.

”I was always a soccer player going all the way back to elementary school, but I put that aside to pursue football,” Haas said.

LeFevour back at Benet

Former Benet star quarterback Dan Lefevour is patrolling the sidelines at his alma mater. After a successful and record-breaking career at Central Michigan, Lefevour had playing stints in the NFL and Canadian Football League. Lefevour, a 2005 graduate, joined the Benet football staff as a quarterbacks coach.

”It’s truly and honor and privilege to be asked to coach somewhere where you had the opportunity to compete as an athlete yourself,” Lefevour said in a school release. “It makes me feel old to even say this, but it has been over 18 years since I represented the Redwings on the court or on the field. As soon as I stepped back on campus for football practice, all those memories from nearly two decades ago came flooding back like they were yesterday.”

Extra points

York quarterback Sean Winton had a memorable debut in Friday’s 35-17 win over Glenbrook South. Winton had big shoes to fill in replacing two-year starter Matt Vezza, who helped lift the program to unprecedented heights. Winton completed 13-of-17 passes for 277 yards and three touchdowns. His chemistry with Luke Mailander was another key element for the offense, with Mailander catching seven passes for 221 yards and a TD. Chris Danko hauled in six passes for 60 yards and two touchdowns.