Gridiron: A bond built in the Chaffee weight room

The older Levi McKinnie got, the closer to the line of scrimmage he got.

After starting as a defensive back, Chaffee’s three-sport star will begin his senior season as the Red Devils’ defensive end.

He earned the position during an off-season contact camp after he convinced head coach Jack Altermatt to give him “a couple reps.” In the four years, he went from strong safety to outside linebacker to now defensive end.

McKinnie said it’s been a dream of his to play this position on the gridiron, saying he enjoys rushing the passer more than anything else on defense.

“It’s the big tackles that come in the clutch, a big sack,” McKinnie said, “I’ve always wanted to be able to just get in and pressure the quarterback and I finally get to do that job.”

It was in the Red Devil weight room where McKinnie and linebacker Carter Cossou built themselves into Chaffee’s commandos.

“This is where I’ve gotten stronger over the past two years,” McKinnie said, “and it’s really had an impact on my sports career.”

“Strength, in my role as a linebacker, is a very big deal,” Cossou said. “I started working out since I was in the sixth grade and a lot of my success, I give to working out. It has helped me tremendously.”

Like many football programs, the weight room has a table that charts the top physical achievements of players past and present. Crossu earned a spot on the chart with a 480-pound deadlift.

“It was a big motivation to get on that board,” Cossou said. “It motivated me to get bigger, better, faster, stronger, really for football.”

McKinne and Crossu have known each other for years but their bond grew in the gym and now their positions align with their chemistry on the field. McKinnie said. “We feed off each other’s energy so if I have a tackle, he’s always right back there, he’s on my back, he’s got the next one. And maybe any D-end, if I can’t get an outside contain, he’s always there to clean it up for me.”

Chaffee has been slowly building as a program lately. The Red Devils are searching for their first winning season since 2017. They won only one game each year from 2019-21 but bumped it up to two victories last season.

The seniors are entering training confident that the Red Devils are primed for a breakout this year and it will be the defense that leads the turnaround.

“I feel like the defense is gonna play a big role,” Cossou said. “Our defense is going to be very solid this year.”

“I definitely feel like we’re gonna step up on defense,” McKinnie said. “I feel like as long as we all do our jobs and we go out there and play hard, I feel like it could be really good for us this year.”