Chase Sobolesky scored 55 points off the bench for Centralia boys basketball this past winter.
Chase Sobolesky, who recently transferred to W.F. West, racked up nearly 1,000 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns for Centralia this past fall.
Chase Sobolesky didn’t have a choice, he was destined to play football.
His whole household is big into sports, including his two older brothers, one younger brother and his mom, Shannon, a sports fanatic, who was a volleyball standout at Centralia. His grandpa, John Sobolesky, who played football for Winlock, is the one who helped get him into football, however.
“My grandpa loves football and he calls us a baby if we don’t play it,” Chase Sobolesky said. “He says we’re not a man if we don’t play it.”
Sobolesky turned from baby to man quickly. The sophomore, who transferred from Centralia to W.F. West two months ago, went from varsity kicker his freshman year with the Tigers during the 2018-19 year, to the featured running back this past fall. It wasn’t a steep learning curve either.
Sobolesky, who’s played football since third grade, rushed for nearly 1,000 yards and 11 touchdowns on just over 100 carries to earn second team all-2A Evergreen Conference honors while helping the Tigers claim a No. 4 seed in the district playoffs.
His big brother, Colby Sobolesky-Reynolds, who made The Chronicle’s and Olympian’s All-Area football teams his senior year in 2018-19 as a first team all-EvCo defensive back while racking up 65 tackles, has been a huge help in Chase’s football development.
The two brothers played together on varsity that year with Chase earning the varsity kicker spot as a freshman, which proved crucial to Chase learning the work ethic needed to be successful.
“I was happy to play with him,” Chase said.
Colby, who also saw playing time at running back, taught Chase how to locate open gaps and running lanes and how to be patient when rushing. After practices and games this past season, with Chase as the newly-starting tailback, Colby would offer tips and suggestions to help his little brother improve.
“Sometimes I didn’t know the plays, not gonna lie,” said Chase, who also played running back in eighth grade. “So he’d have to help me.”
It paid off.
Sobolesky helped the Tigers jump out to a 5-2 start this fall after a 2-7 finish in 2018-19, highlighted by a 186 rushing yard effort on17 carries during a 25-22 win over Black Hills in week six. And the speedy 5-foot-10, 165-pound back can also haul in passes out of the backfield as he had four catches for 63 yards during that victory. He finished the season with nearly 400 yards receiving.
Football’s not even his favorite sport. Basketball is and it’s the sport he’s been playing the longest, since he was five years old. He was on the Tigers’ varsity basketball team this past winter as well, notching 55 points off the bench in role player duty. He also plays for a select team from Centralia during the summers.
“It’s a fast-paced game and I just like the competition,” Sobolesky said.
He would love to play college baseball but realizes his best chance is to play at the next level is in football. He was also planning to play baseball this spring for the Bearcats but wasn’t sure if he was eligible to play varsity with the transfer rules. Playing since fifth grade, he was a junior varsity center fielder and pitcher for the Tiger last spring with four pitches: a fastball, curve, changeup and knuckle.
With spring sports shut down indefinitely, he’s been lifting weights with his own set at home and going for runs around his Centralia neighborhood. He’s also been playing video games with his brothers.
“You don’t get to see your friends or do much because you don’t leave your house, really,”
he said. “It’s just been, basically, boring.”
Even his transition from Centralia to W.F. West has been put on hold. It was a tough decision to leave the Tigers, where Shannon and Colby starred and graduated from.
“I love Centralia but I had a lot of problems going on there,” Sobolesky said. “It wasn’t a good fit for me. There were a lot of issues that were happening and I couldn’t handle it anymore. Centralia will always be my home, but it’s hard because there were a bunch of kids who weren’t very helpful.”
Now he’s looking forward to a new chapter as a Bearcat, which will now restart this fall, hopefully. He knew a few kids from W.F. West before he transferred and is most excited about contributing to the football squad that went 8-2 last year. So far, the W.F. West kids have welcomed him with open arms.
“Honestly, it’s been great,” he said. “They’re really nice people. Since I’m from Centralia, I thought there was going to be a lot of tension but they were very open. It’s nice being there.”
