No shortage of college-bound football players
The football beat goes on.
Basically a year after Daily Herald 2008 Tri-Cities All-Area Football Team co-captains Michael Ratay of Geneva and Jordan Roberts of Aurora Christian decided to play at Grand Valley State and Wheaton College, respectively, another slew of seniors is finding their way.
A rarity occurred in Batavia, coach Mike Gaspari said - no Bulldogs from the Class of 2010 are going to play football at the next level. Given the quality youth in Batavia that should change.
Geneva has several recruits. 2009 All-Area captain Michael Santacaterina will be a preferred walk-on at Northern Illinois University, joining scholarshipped All-Area linemen Frank Boenzi.
Ratay will reunite with Geneva quarterback Brandon Beitzel at Division II king Grand Valley State while linebacker Bret Shannon takes to the Air Force. Offensive lineman Ben Humbert will play at Augustana College, and coach Rob Wicinski said a couple other Vikings are still making up their minds.
The faces of the resuscitated Wheaton Academy program, receiver Anthony Ritchie and quarterback Brian Pell, of St. Charles, on Wednesday were visiting Grove City College, a DIII school in Pennsylvania. Wheaton College remains a possibility for Ritchie.
Kaneland coach Tom Fedderly said two-way lineman Eric Dratnol may go to Augie, while tough receiver-defensive back Ryley Bailey looks toward University of Wisconsin-Platteville.
No college-bounders at Aurora Christian, according to athletic director Don Davidson. New Aurora Central Catholic coach Brian Casey reports that defensive end Robert Reier is headed to UW-Platteville, while Alex Schaefer and Ryan Reichardt are deliberating.
Big Ryan Lovelace of Marmion will be a preferred walk-on at Wyoming, reports Cadets coach Dan Thorpe, who added that linebacker Bobby Winkel has the same status at Northern Illinois. Speedster Matt Pircon is being heavily recruited as a swimmer by Wisconsin, Ohio State, Eastern Michigan, Michigan and USC, Thorpe said, and other Cadets footballers like Alex Karas, Mike Gallaway and Adam Andras will be playing DIII football somewhere.
West Aurora's Leon Spears, who led all area running backs in yardage, is leaning to Illinois State according to Blackhawks coach Buck Drach. His two big offensive linemen, Matt Gorges and Michael Kim, both interest Quincy College and the University of Dubuque, with Millikin also a possibility for Kim.
There's a state of flux in the city of St. Charles, at least on the North side. Tuesday morning North Stars coach Mark Gould said left tackle Mark Mautone was deciding between Bemidji State and Butler. Right tackle Ryan Brown, 6-foot-7, is waiting to decide between Western Michigan and Northern Illinois, where he'd be a preferred walk-on.
At St. Charles East, nose tackle Jon Voytilla intends to play at Eastern Illinois University. Defensive back Matt Payne will thrill all those fans of former Green Bay Packers kicker Chester Marcol by playing at Hillsdale College in Michigan.
All over the mapBob Mamminga grew up in Batavia and was a 1998 graduate of Batavia High School. Now he teaches music at St. Francis High School in Wheaton, and among other tasks directs the energetic and often goofy-hatted St. Francis Pep Band at home basketball games. A four-year member of the Marching Illini himself, Mamminga has built St. Francis' Pep band from six to 10 musicians playing at games in 2004 to about 70 this year. The unit is as likely to play a contemporary hit as it is eager to bolt into Blue Oyster Cult's "Don't Fear the Reaper." Sidelines loves music, so we asked Mamminga to name his top five influences and to explain their sway on him.1) Wynton Marsalis: "A master of two musical genres in classical and jazz. As a trumpet player, I heard the album 'Carnival' as a kid and was absolutely blown away (by) his mastery of the horn."2) Counting Crows: "'August and Everything After' is my favorite album of all time. In my opinion, nobody conveys their personal side better through music than Adam Duritz. 'Mr. Jones' is why I picked up a guitar, and I find myself playing 'Holiday in Spain' and 'Raining in Baltimore' constantly on the piano."3) Van Halen: "Similar to Marsalis, I was in awe with (guitarist Eddie Van Halen's) 'Eruption' and his solo in Michael Jackson's 'Bad.' The combo of Eddie, Alex and Michael Anthony is a pretty impressive group no matter who sings."4) Miles Davis: "'Kind of Blue' is such a classic jazz album and 'So What' was the first solo I transcribed on trumpet, making me aware of how simple yet genius Miles was in his use of Modal Jazz."5) Chicago: "While not as influential as the other four, Chicago combines all the things that I love, in great horn playing, classic melodies and great rock music."Honorable mentions: The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Maynard Ferguson, Dave Matthews Band.Bad news, good newsIn December, Mike Curry resigned his position as Aurora Central Catholic head varsity football coach after meeting with school administration. This Saturday, though, he'll be inducted into ACC's Alumni Athletic Hall of Fame. The ceremony will take place at 7:15 p.m. before the boys varsity basketball game against Immaculate Conception. ACC's winningest football coach with 101 wins heading the Chargers, Curry already is in the Illinois High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame, a 2007 honoree."I'm honored that they're going to go ahead with this," Curry said over the phone Tuesday. "Frankly, it's like the Football Coaches thing - I didn't want to make a big deal about it."Frankly, though, why not, because the man with the mustache is a credit to ACC. As athletic director Mike Armato spelled out in the release announcing Curry's induction, the Chargers' former 23-year head football coach served a spell as ACC's athletic director, coached baseball and track, and has taught English and history. Curry presently teaches history and chairs ACC's history department.Curry's wife of 35 years, Liane, will be at the induction, and though the coach said one of them may have to work, he's got four children - all ACC grads - who should be there, too.Now, to work on that speech."Five, ten years down the road if I'm still kicking I'll appreciate it a lot more," he said. "I'm humbled and honored that they're going to do this."