Former Geneva football players plan to stay in touch
Forget that it might be hot, and these boys aren't getting any younger. Nothing's going to stop Geneva High School football alumni from getting together at 3 p.m. July 26 for the annual alumni football game on the high school practice fields.
They won't be banging heads with helmets and pads, as they are wise enough to make it a one-hand touch contest. But organizer Mike Fields tells me there have been a few casualties in the past, and they are like badges of honor for these fellows who redefine man/child. "Last year not only did the alumni have a great time but there were a couple of injuries that can be filed as stories along with their great touchdown catches and runs from the past," Fields said.
"We had a broken ankle (Derrick Swanson, All-State running back Class of '86), and a torn Achilles tendon (Tad Hemming, Class of '75), along with multiple scratches, but these men would tell you the injuries occurred on a touchdown play each time."
If former star quarterback Jeff Cesarone, a Geneva Hall of Famer, decides to play, everyone else will be glad it is one-hand touch. I witnessed an amazing play, standing on the sidelines as a young sports editor 25 years ago, when a Plainfield free safety came in untouched on a blitz and hit Cesarone at full speed - and was dropped like he hit a brick wall. Cesarone didn't flinch and completed a pass.
Tough on ladies: Trying to convince ladies that playing in a tournament at Pottawatomie Golf Course in St. Charles would be fun and rewarding has always been tough.
About 28 years ago, when I was reporting on Pottawatomie pro Jim Wheeler's first years here, it was obvious he really wanted to encourage ladies to enter his city tournament.
He never could attract a lot of players, but this is the first year the event was canceled.
Many women are not interested in a competitive event, but now there's a new problem: Time becomes a bigger factor as more women are not only working these days, but working two jobs to keep pace with an economic world gone bonkers.
It might be time for the event to become a ladies "Tri-Cities Challenge," with an invitation going to ladies in Geneva and Batavia.
More change at station: It won't be the same around the Geneva police station. As if losing Police Chief Bill Kidwell to retirement wasn't enough change, now 30-year veteran Joe Frega also plans to retire, effective Saturday.
My service club will be anxious to welcome Frega, who was second in command at the station, back to our morning meetings. He rarely was able to attend in the past.
We're mostly glad to hear Joe is on the mend from a recent bout of cancer treatments.
Narrow gap: Be sure to lower your speed if driving on Fabyan Parkway near the Mill Creek Drive stoplight. Work on the road and bridge has resulted in a narrow strip past cement barricades.
It's as tight a passage as I've seen in some time. So be careful there.
dheun@sbcglobal.net