In a class by himself

Maine South running back/defensive end Matt Perez is the 2009 Sun-Times Player of the Year.
(Sun-Times Media)

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The legend of Matt Perez continues to grow.

Maine South’s dynamic 5-11, 205-pound running back/defensive end plays five games with a broken hand and rushes for more than 300 yards in two of them. He is stricken with the flu, missing classes and practice, but plays both ways on game day. And, unbeknownst to his coaches, he’s playing with a broken toe.

‘‘A lineman stepped on my toe in practice the day before the New Trier game,’’ Perez said. ‘‘I’ve been playing for the last five weeks with a broken toe. I can’t bust a move on the dance floor.’’

But the Sun-Times Player of the Year for 2009 doesn’t have any trouble busting one move after another on the football field.

‘‘I never saw anything like it,’’ Loyola coach John Holecek said after watching film in preparation for Saturday’s Class 8A semifinal against Maine South. ‘‘Against Glenbrook South, he ran through seven or eight or nine tacklers [on a 45-yard touchdown run]. It should make every highlight film.’’

Said Maine South coach Dave Inserra: ‘‘Nine different guys put a hand on him, a couple guys twice because of his zig-zagging and cutbacks.

‘‘He is the best player I have ever coached. What makes him special? He has the combination that every running back wants: power, speed, balance, agility, vision and explosiveness.’’

Perez follows former teammate Charlie Goro, marking only the second time since the Sun-Times Player of the Year award was introduced in 1951 that players from the same school have won back-to-back. Al MacFarlane and Jim Grabowski of Taft won in 1960 and 1961, respectively.

It also is the fifth time a Maine South player has been honored, more than any other school. Perez and Goro were preceded by Sean Price (2003), Jason Loerzel (1994) and Tom Spotts (1967).

‘‘Indiana is getting a steal,’’ said Randy Taylor, the football recruiting coordinator for Chicago-based National Collegiate Scouting Association, who has been evaluating talent for 30 years. ‘‘Perez could play on either side of the ball. He understands the game. He plays with his hair on fire. Put all his numbers aside, he has the toughness to play with a broken hand. He can make plays that you would expect of faster kids because of his football IQ. He has instincts that other kids don’t have.’’

He certainly didn’t look the part as an incoming freshman. The 5-8, 150-pounder admitted he didn’t like weightlifting. Two weeks before the season began, he was a backup.

But coach Jason Kacprowski took the youngster under his wing. Now Perez’s summer weightlifting workouts are stuff of legend. He power cleans 335 pounds, a school record.

‘‘If I’m not getting stronger, someone else is. If they are bigger than me, they will win,’’ he said.

So Perez retains his edge. He shuns personal glory for team success. Maine South has won 26 games in a row and is seeking its second consecutive state title. Along the way, Perez has rushed for 3,771 yards (10.1 per carry) and 51 touchdowns and has amassed 5,473 all-purpose yards (11.6 per touch) and 63 touchdowns.

Winning the Player of the Year award puts Perez in an elite class. But he still hasn’t rushed for more than 2,000 yards in a season, something his father, Dave, accomplished as a two-time All-Area star at Glenbard North in 1976 and 1977.

‘‘I like to joke with my dad,’’ Matt said. ‘‘He likes to say he was bigger, faster and stronger than me. I tell him to kiss my [championship] ring. Hopefully, two of them.’’