Herreras, Olson join Geneva's Hall
If anyone had taken the time to keep track, one of the great Geneva High School football statistics would be this:
The number of times fullback Joe Herrera (Class of 1979) and his son, halfback Nick Herrera (Class of 2006), knocked over defenders trying to corral them.
That style of tenacious running on the football field was a key factor that allowed this father-son combo to terrorize opposing defenses in different eras - and land them spots in the Geneva High School Athletic Hall of Fame.
Joe and Nick Herrera, along with basketball standout Mack Olson (Class of 1960), were inducted Saturday night at halftime of the Geneva boys' basketball game against visiting Quincy.
Joe Herrera lettered in baseball and wrestling, but football was his game as he earned all-state honors in 1978 and played in the All Star Shrine game in 1979. After a strong career at Elmhurst College, he had professional tryouts with the Green Bay Packers and New England Patriots.
"You want to be the hitter, not take the hit," Joe Herrera said of the basic philosophy behind his power game.
"I had two plays with coach Jerry Auchstetter, an inside trap and a veer away," Joe Herrera said.
If the ball was inside the 10-yard line, Joe Herrera was going to get the ball and everyone in the stadium knew it, said Auchstetter, who attended the game to honor a fullback who scored 48 touchdowns for him.
"He ran low to the ground and was hard to bring down," Auchstetter said. "Everyone thought he was just a power runner, but if you watched him on film, he could make a lot of cuts, too."
Nick Herrera was part of a team that brought Geneva football back to life, starting in 2003, after some lean years. He was a three-year starter, and an all-conference, all-area player twice.
In 2005, he was named all-conference, all-area offensive player of the year and all-state.
His baseball skills were just as prolific, as he played varsity for the Vikings all four years, earning all-conference three times and all-area twice. During his collegiate career at Elmhurst College, he carried a .415 batting average.
"I love baseball, but you can't surpass football Friday nights here," Nick Herrera said. "Friday nights were the best thing by far, and it was very special to be part of bringing the program to what it is today."
Nick Herrera said he got plenty of coaching from his father. "Whether I needed it or not," he added with a smile.
Olson scored 836 points for coach Mel Johnson and the Vikings in his career and also played a season at Northwestern University. A three-year starter at Geneva, he was the first junior in school history to score 400 points in a season.
In addition to using his 6-7 frame to become a great basketball player, Olson will also be remembered for his service to Geneva. He helped found the Geneva Academic Foundation and accepted leadership roles with the Geneva All-Sports Boosters.
He earned the city's prestigious Wood Award in 1993 from the Geneva Chamber of Commerce.
He died of brain cancer at the age of 54 in 1996 and the following year Geneva school officials renamed the school gymnasium in his honor. That gym now serves as the Vikings' auxiliary gym, but the basketball teams play an occasional "nostalgia" game at Mack Olson.
Olson's niece, Emma Olson, from the Class of 2006, sang the national anthem with public address announcer Kurt Wehrmeister prior to the game.
Wehrmeister came from his home in California to emcee the Hall of Fame activities. A previous inductee himself for his p.a. work at the school, Wehrmeister was instrumental in starting the Hall of Fame concept 15 years ago.