For nearly a full month we’ve enjoyed wall-to-wall college football bowl games.
And for nearly all that time, local players have been leaving their imprints on the postseason.
It started in the Salute to Veterans Bowl with Batavia graduate Jalen Buckley and Western Michigan, and it’s continued through the College Football Playoff with Penn State long snapper Tyler Duzansky, a St. Francis product.
After scanning team websites and box scores from more than 40 games, our local football players deserve a shoutout for their efforts. From the wily veterans to the newcomers getting a chance because of players departing in the transfer portal, it’s been quite a month.
On offense, Buckley got us off to a great start by rushing for a touchdown in Western Michigan’s 30-23 loss to South Alabama. For the season, the redshirt sophomore ran for 683 yards and 9 touchdowns.
Antioch graduate Athan Kaliakmanis, Rutgers’ starting quarterback who transferred from Minnesota in the off-season, threw for 237 yards and a touchdown in the Rate Bowl, but his team lost 44-41 to Kansas State.
Northern Illinois receiver Dane Pardridge, a redshirt sophomore from Marmion, had 3 catches for 59 yards and a touchdown in a 28-20 win over Fresno State in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. Aurora Christian graduate Ethan Hampton likely would have played quarterback for the Huskies, but he entered the transfer portal and will be at Illinois next season.
Other offensive standouts this bowl season included Miami of Ohio receiver Cade McDonald, a Naperville Central graduate who had 3 catches for 25 yards in a 43-17 win over Colorado State in the Arizona Bowl.
Addison West (Cary-Grove, Western Michigan), Paolo Gennarelli (St. Charles North, Army), Wes Hoeh (Glenbard West, UConn), Micah Sahakian (Prospect, Duke) and Enrique Cruz (Willowbrook, Syracuse) were among the offensive linemen contributing for their teams.
Defensively, local players were competing at all three levels. Linebacker Jaden Dolphin, a Maine West graduate playing at Northern Illinois, had 5 tackles in the bowl game. Hersey’s Jordan Hansen, a safety, added 3 tackles, including one for loss.
St. Viator graduate Jeremiah Pittman played in all 14 games on Iowa’s defensive line, including the loss to Missouri in the Music City Bowl.
In Iowa State’s 42-41 thriller over Miami, St. Charles North graduate Drew Surges snared a last-second interception to seal the win. Warren graduate J.R. Singleton and Huntley grad Chet Andrews also contributed on defense.
Illinois had a pair of local defensive players chip in during a 21-17 win over South Carolina in the Citrus Bowl. Freshman Joe Barna, a Wheaton North graduate, and Luke Zardzin, a Prospect graduate, each had a tackle.
Even special teams play saw a bunch of contributions from our guys, and not just with Duzansky long snapping for Penn State. David Olano (Naperville North, Illinois), Palmer Domschke (Neuqua Valley, Western Michigan) and Ethan Head (Wheaton Academy, Tulane) all handled various kicking duties for their respective teams.
Apologies for not including everyone here, but there are simply too many names to mention. And maybe that’s a good problem to have.
