Former Storm, Red Devils still suiting up for football

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Mother Nature has made a turn toward fall too quickly to what we call around the Midwest as simply football weather.

Here’s a look at some area athletes on the gridiron and that other long athletic field called a soccer pitch.

One common denominator for the football players is that many wore the Columbia and Navy of the Bureau Valley Storm. As many as five former Storm players are still suiting up along with a pair of Hall Red Devils.

• Garrett Barnas, an all-state and all-American quarterback in his days at Bureau Valley High School and Harper College, is now a second string safety for Northern Illinois. He made one tackle in the Huskies’ 38-3 romp over Western Michigan in DeKalb Saturday and had another tackle in Week 2 vs. Western Illinois. He did not see action against Wisconsin, Purdue or Idaho.

The Huskies (2-3) are idle until traveling to Toledo Oct. 17.

• Senior Josh Coyle is the starting left tackle for the Quincy University Hawks. The Hawks have had a tough season, falling to 1-4 after Saturday’s 51-0 loss at the hands of 12th-ranked St. Xavier in Chicago. The Hawks return home Saturday to face Grand View in Mid-State Football Association Midwest League action.

• Preston Jones, a teammate of Coyle’s on Bureau Valley’s 2004 state runners-up, is also playing his redshirt senior at Augustana College. He is No. 2 on the Vikings’ depth chart at linebacker. Jones has played in three games with three tackles. The Vikings (3-1) beat Elmhurst 21-3 in their CCIW opener last week and play at Wheaton Saturday.

• The 2008 co-BCR Players of the Year have taken different turns this year as college freshman. Big Nate Swanson, Bureau Valley’s standout lineman, has walked on to the University of Illinois football team. He dresses for home games and is planning to redshirt.

Classmate Josiah Johnston did not make the team at University of Wisconsin-Platteville, but according to a school official, still figures in the Pioneers plans for next year. Division III schools are not allowed to redshirt like at Division I and II, so Johnston is not allowed to practice with the team this fall or he’d burn up a year of eligibility.

• Two members of last year’s Hall Red Devils have graduated to the collegiate ranks. Brian Nolasco (Spring Valley/Hall) is a freshman back-up DB for Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa where the Kahawks improved to 3-1 with last week’s 38-7 win over Dubuque.

• Vito Lenhart of Dalzell, who blocked for Nolasco at Hall, is a freshmen lineman for Illinois Benedictine University in Lisle. The Eagles took down defending Northern Athletics Conference champ Aurora 21-14 last week to improve to 2-2.

• Matt Morman (Bureau Valley), a junior defensive back had three tackles for Monmouth College in last week’s 59-0 route over Grinnell. He has 24 tackles, in all, in a reserve role off the bench, fourth high on the team. The Fighting Scots (5-0) put their unbeaten string on the line in today’s homecoming game vs. St. Norbert.

Garrett Youngren, a freshmen receiver from Princeton, is biding his time behind a group of seniors on the team. He will be joining the Monmouth basketball team when football is over.

Soccer

Like Bureau Valley in football, Princeton has been the breeding ground for college soccer players. As many as six PHS products are kicking the black and white ball around this fall.

• Former Tiger Bryan Jackson is a senior defender/midfielder at Monmouth College. He has started eight games for the Fighting Scots (2-7).

One of Monmouth’s two wins came over MAC rival Knox College, a 1-0 victory Sept. 26 in Galesburg. Opposing Jackson and the Scots was former PHS teammate Jarod Jaggers, a senior midfielder for the 3-8 Knox Prairie Fire. Jaggers has made 11 starts with four goals this spring as Knox’s second leading scorer.

• The 2009 BCR Players of the Year are getting their kicks at the junior college level. Matt McClure is freshman at Heartland College in Normal and Sara White is a freshman at Illinois Central College.

Other PHS products suiting up are Daedra Ackerman (ICC) and Lyndsay Nguyen (Heartland).

If you have college updates, e-mail it to khieronymus@bcrmews.com.

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