The home bleachers were packed and the students were going crazy. It was homecoming at Pinckney and there was excitement in the air and a storm rolling into town – but first came a lightning bolt from Evan Krolewski.
The first time the junior running back touched the ball he raced 86 yards untouched for a Dexter touchdown. That went a long way to quieting the crowd and an even longer way to a 49-25 win over the Pirates two weeks ago.
“That first touchdown against Pinckney seemed a little unreal knowing coming into the game they had some big guys on the other side of the ball,” said Krolewski. “Our offensive line was able to hook everybody inside and with a good block from the receiver it made it easy for me to circle the defense and out run them all to the end zone.”
Krolewski has been out running opponents all season. He’s also been running around, through and past them as the go-to running back on a very talented Dexter offense. No. 16 has 885 yards rushing on 75 carries for an incredible 11.8 yards per carry.
The humble as he is talented Krolewski can also pass – as in passing along the credit for his success to others.
“My success has come from the offensive line and Colin (QB Colin Parachek),” says Krolewski. “It’s hard for teams to plan and try to take away both the run and pass game that have both been clearly working.
“At the beginning of the season the offense knew we were gonna score points no doubt about that. We just didn’t know how many. At this point in the season, with all the toughness and athleticism this team has, we aren’t shocked at the amount of points we’ve scored.”
Krolewski has scored nine touchdowns on the ground, including that long run against Pinckney. He also has 324 receiving yards on 22 catches and three more touchdowns.
The ultimate team player, Krolewski doesn’t care how the Dreadnaughts score – as long as they score and win nothing else matters.
“As a team our main goal before playoffs is to win out,” he says. “We need to continue to stay focused, play smart, and with aggression. That will come if we keep having strong practices.”
Krolewski played on the JV team last year but said it was great to watch the varsity reach the playoffs. “It was exciting to watch last year’s varsity team work hard and improve significantly which was the turning point of Dexter’s football program,” he said. “They set the base and we just have to continue to build on it.”
The son of Joe and Jennifer Krolewski, Evan also plays baseball for the Dreadnaughts. He is keeping his options open when it comes to life after high school.
“As of now I’m not sure what my plans are for after high school and it’s kinda sad to think about college,” he says. “I love playing football but baseball is another sport that I take seriously and enjoy playing so it will be tough to choose one over the other if I decide to play in college given the opportunity.”
He is certainly running in the right direction – just ask Pinckney.
