Small body, great feats

The 5-9, 152-pound football player received all-statehonors as a junior.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
GIRARD -- It's hard to ignore his size. It's hard to ignore his statistics. It's hard to ignore his impact.
Girard High senior wide receiver Dustin Helle is just plain hard to ignore.
"Dustin's a playmaker," Indians football coach Bud McSuley says. "He always seems to make the first person miss. When we call his number, we know something good's going to happen."
Helle, a three-year letterwinner, earned all-state honors last year with some pretty staggering numbers.
He caught 45 passes for 1,200 yards -- almost 27 yards per catch -- with 11 touchdowns, 142 yards rushing and a kick return average of 25.1 yards.
"I didn't expect to be all-state," Helle says. "That was a pretty high honor. When something like that happens, you have to set your goals even higher."
But Helle's most surprising numbers might be his height and weight -- he's only 5-foot-9, 152 pounds.
"Next to my name on the all-state list was [Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary's] Lebron James. You've got 6-7 next to 5-9," Helle says with a laugh.
Visible Indian
Helle, the most visible member of Girard's high-flying spread offense, scored on 21- and 62-yard touchdowns in a 19-0 win over Niles last week. The Indians went 8-2 last season, including 6-1 in the Trumbull Athletic Conference, were the league's highest scoring team and made the playoffs.
But after losing all-state quarterback Randy Mason and running back Jon Hepfner to graduation, there was a temptation to think Girard would have a down year.
Think again.
"Losing Mason was of course a big loss," Helle says. "But we've got guys stepping up. I remember looking up to the seniors when I was a sophomore so I'm trying to do some of the things they did and lead on the field.
"I don't get loud, but I lead by example," Helle said.
This summer, the Indians' quarterbacks and receivers met at least twice a week to work on routes and timing. Because Girard's offense puts such a heavy burden on the quarterback, the workouts helped first-year starter Matt Zuppo get more comfortable.
Zuppo, a junior, completed 6-of-12 passes last week for 133 yards and two touchdowns.
Other options
Helle gets the headlines, but he's not Zuppo's only option. The Indians have four other good wideouts -- seniors Nick Shirey, Victor Mills and Je'riel Harrison and junior Nick Canterino.
"Our offense is built on quarterback progression, so we try to get mismatches and the quarterback reads the defense," McSuley says. "Dustin just seems to get open."
Helle doesn't shy away from double teams, knowing that if he gets the attention, other guys are free to make plays.
"The best thing is that our coaches design the offense to fit our players," Helle says. "If we had an unbelievable running back, we'd probably run more.
"I think if I had been at Girard four years ago, I wouldn't have had as many opportunities as a receiver."
McSuley's goal every season is to win the TAC -- Girard came up short to undefeated Hubbard last year -- and make it to the playoffs.
The Indians are one of the preseason favorites in the league, but there are still some doubters out there.
That's just fine with their standout receiver.
"We like being the underdog," Helle says. "When no one expects you to win, it's even better when you do."
scalzo@vindy.com