Hudak, Parker Have Oilers Waking up the Echos

WHITING – When Adam Hudak arrived at Whiting last year, there wasn’t much on the table for the once-proud Indiana small-school football power.
The program that won mythical state championships in 1948 and 1954 and finished as the Class 2A state runner-up in 2015 was leaking oil into Lake Michigan, just a block from Ray Gallivan Stadium.
Even the classic walking tacos at the concession stand weren’t tasting as good lately.
Hudak is the fourth coach the Oilers’ senior class has had. Whiting had won just eight games over the previous three seasons.
And there were more kids playing lawn darts at the park than suiting up for football.
“We had a lot of work to do when I got here,” said Hudak, who has also coached at Lake Station, Wheeler and Hammond Central.
“When I coached at Lake Station and Wheeler, I hated coming here,” Hudak said. “I hated the stadium. I hated the fans. I hated the train. They were rolling, and we couldn’t beat them.”
The Oilers carry a 3-2 record into Friday night’s homecoming game against Calumet, which enters at 4-1.
When Hudak arrived at Whiting, he quickly noticed senior two-way lineman Shakur Parker. Parker was one of the first players to introduce himself, reaching out his huge hands to greet the fourth head coach of his high school career — a career that hadn’t amounted to much success to that point.
“As the losses came, our roster dwindled,” Parker said of the period before Hudak arrived. “Everything changed immediately when (Hudak) came. He told us what we were going to do and how we were going to do it. We worked hard on our speed and we worked hard in the weight room.”
“Four days a week we’re in the weight room,” Hudak said. “I’d never done that before. But I like where it’s taking us, and it will continue.”
The Oilers’ run-dominant offense has scored more than 50 points in each of the last two Fridays.
Hudak credited Tom Davenport, a member of Whiting’s 2015 state runner-up team, for taking over the weight-training program his father, Chris, ran during the program’s glory days.
Parker has provided plenty of muscle of his own.
In August, he broke Tom Davenport’s school bench-press record of 375 pounds. Parker can squat 505 pounds and deadlift 545.
You can gain a lot of yards running behind a horse like Parker, who is drawing plenty of college attention.
Calumet College, which will begin NAIA football next year, has offered Parker, along with Carroll College and several Division III programs.
Parker grew up in East Chicago but played youth football in Chicago with the Southside Wolfpack. His brother, Thomas Jones, was an all-city running back in Chicago and inspired Shakur to reach for the stars.
Parker and his senior classmates are 0-3 in homecoming games. He had heard about Whiting’s rich football history and wished the program hadn’t fallen on such difficult times.
Then Hudak arrived.
Parker said the new coach changed everything.
Hudak also credits Whiting Superintendent David Verta, a standout quarterback for the Oilers in the late 1990s, for putting an emphasis on turning the program around.
Whiting now has a middle school program after struggling to maintain one for three years.
The numbers are rising.
Julian “JJ” Madrueno has rushed for 640 yards and seven touchdowns. Romeo Rosario has added 257 yards and eight touchdowns.
Hudak played for Kirk Kennedy at Lowell in the 1990s, when the football wasn’t exactly flying through the air.
It was ground-and-pound football.
Rosario also has an offer from Calumet College.
“I haven’t won a homecoming yet,” Parker said. “But we’re better. We want to get one.”

By Steve Hanlon
Heartland Sports Network