Tinley Park Graduate Maslan Fortunate to Have State Championship Football Experience

When Steve Maslan thinks back to his first start as the quarterback of the Tinley Park football team in 1986, all he can do is cringe.

He remembers fumbling the first snap and recovering his own fumble. He recalls getting his feet tangled in the sideline chains. And don’t forget the penalty he received for having his mouthpiece dangling from his helmet instead of in his mouth.

That all happened on the first series of what would result in a 20-14 loss to Bolingbrook.

“All I could think about was, 'What did I get myself into,' ” said Maslan, who also was sacked a number of times in the setback. “I was just thinking I already went through the passing league, training and practices, so I couldn’t get out of it now. I just had a moment where I didn’t think I could quit what I started.”

It got better for Maslan. Much better.

He ended up leading Tinley Park to its first and only state football championship, but the journey to that memorable experience was rather remarkable.

“I had never played football before, other than at the park here and there,” said Maslan, who played basketball as a freshman and sophomore but didn’t play sports as a junior. “My good friend since third grade, Chris Lipinski, was the quarterback at Andrew and he was dating what turned out to be my coaches’ daughter. He was at their house one day and told (Tinley Park) coach (Lou Narish), ‘Why don’t you give Steve a chance?’

"I ended up going to a tryout and made the team. I pretty much made the team by default because they didn’t really have any other quarterbacks. It wouldn’t have happened without (Lipinski), that’s for sure. There was no way, I would’ve decided on my own that, ‘Hey, I should try out for football.’ It all happened because of him.”

Maslan proved to be a quick study.

The 6-foot-1, 165-pound senior, proceeded to complete 68-of-157 passes for 1,611 yards and 24 touchdowns.

“Steve was a decent athlete, but never played football before,” Narish said. “I told him to come out in the summer and we’d take a look at him. We told him if he wanted to stay with the team, great, but we also told him that if we didn’t think he had a future in the sport, we’d tell him that.

"There was a maturity period, but he got better and better. He had a natural ability to throw the football and was an intelligent player.”

Maslan benefited from having one of the best wide receivers in the state on the team.

Brian Wise was an all-state defensive back and standout receiver, who would go on to start 3½ seasons at the University of Iowa.

“I played quarterback my freshman year on the sophomore team and my brother was a quarterback,” Wise said. “I think it was always anticipated that I would be the quarterback, but I was resistant to it my junior year. Senior year, they tried again to get me into the quarterback position. I wasn’t dead set against it, but I wanted to be a receiver.

“I knew Steve (Maslan) from childhood, growing up we played various sports together. Football was a path he didn’t follow, but once he got out and practiced, you could tell he could throw the ball and make the calls. It was just a matter of him getting comfortable. We knew he was our quarterback and at the end of the day. He proved he was able to lead the team.”

Tinley Park's Unlikely Run to Football Title

Tinley Park had just 25 players on its roster during its magical season.

The underdog Titans, however, managed to win the SICA Green crown, finish 12-2 and beat heavily favored Rock Island Alleman 21-15 in the Class 4A championship game.

“It was sort of a Cinderella-type season,” Narish said. “We were not expected or projected to have that type of season. We had a couple special players, but everything just sort of went the right way and the kids stayed healthy. Tinley Park was not a very big school, but for one moment in time, everything fell into place.”

Wise set the tone immediately in the championship game by returning the opening kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown.

Running back Darren Foster then added a 78-yard TD run to give the Titans a 13-0 advantage just 2:34 into the game.

“That was not expected,” Wise said. “Each of us had a role to do. You can’t have success from just one person, the other 10 guys had to make blocks and open up holes. I had the easy part of just running. It was good to get the early lead and give us confidence. It gave everybody motivation and got our adrenalin going.

“I still don’t think any of us were thinking we were a state-champion caliber team that season. The one key thing we all had was the drive to be successful. (Linebacker/fullback) Eric Schultz was (an undefeated state-champion wrestler) and had drive above and beyond anybody on the team. Tom Blaha was a 155-pound wrestler playing offensive line and just had the determination and want-to. The entire team had that drive to succeed and knew what its role was.”

Maslan, who currently lives in the Northwest suburbs and is a sound designer for Resolution Digital Studios in Chicago, threw for 137 yards and a 42-yard touchdown pass to Chris Webber for Tinley Park’s other score in the title game.

“I realize now, more than at the time, how special it was to be part of a championship like that because most people go their entire lives without that experience," Maslan said. "We had good chemistry and everyone played with a lot of intensity and heart. We didn’t know our limitations and just thought, of course, we were going to go out there and win. It was a memorable experience.”

COMING THURSDAY: Log on at 6 a.m. Thursday to catch up with Brian Wise, the former Titan receiver who grabbed many of Steve Maslan's passes. What is Wise doing today?