NVHS's Bollweg a stereotype buster

When on Saturday Neuqua Valley senior offensive lineman David Bollweg told Yale line coach Keith Clark he wanted to play there, Bollweg promptly became Neuqua Valley's first Ivy League football player.

You know the stereotype: the big, dumb lineman.

Bollweg has the big part down pat. Playing the most important position on the line, left tackle, the all-Upstate Eight Conference pick goes 6-foot-5, 280 pounds.

But dumb? Dumb doesn't earn Bollweg's 3.97 grade-point average. Dumb's favorite school subject isn't physics.

"I haven't had much trouble getting stuff done both in the football spectrum and the academic world," said Bollweg, a two-year starter.

(Bollweg's bookend on Neuqua's line was right tackle Jeff Radek, who has committed to Northwestern.)

Bollweg sounded at least as excited at the prospect of studying at the prestigious institution as playing for it.

Mentioning that at some colleges a football player's education may "go to the wayside," Bollweg said: "I know at Yale the academics are extremely important. They're not going to let me fall behind at all."

Bollweg received scholarship offers from Eastern Michigan and Bowling Green. He earned interest from Brown, Columbia and Harvard in the Ivy League, which cannot offer true athletic scholarships.

He attended Harvard's summer football camp -- where he bumped into fellow stereotype buster Bobby Hauschildt, a guard for Lake Park -- but found his calling at Yale, which is 8-0 and seeking its second straight Ivy League title.

"Every building's almost like a castle," he said, recalling his May visit of the campus in New Haven, Conn.

Physics, football and an appreciation for architecture and history as well.

But the tipping point was the feeling he got from the Bulldogs' coaching staff.

"The coaches are awesome," Bollweg said. "They all love football just as much as they love academics."

Stereotype busted.

'Husk'

At last week's Brother Rice-Hinsdale Central Class 8A playoff football game a lone young man sat near the concession stand at a table that was bare except for sheets of paper.

The flyers included information about the late Bill Huskisson, the Hinsdale Central graduate, teacher and coach who died at 49 last fall after a two-year bout against cancer.

The table didn't seem to be drawing much traffic. It seemed in direct contrast to the man.

"He was a huge part of Hinsdale Central, not just as a coach but as a former player," said Pat Richards, a colleague in sports and academics.

"He was someone who pretty much wore his heart on his sleeve about Hinsdale Central. He touched a lot of kids."

Huskisson, who originally thought his cancer pains were due to kidney stones, Richards said, was a 1975 Hinsdale Central graduate. He was an all-West Suburban Conference football player who went on to earn All-America honors as a defensive tackle at Western Illinois.

He continued on in the sport, named the defensive MVP for the Chicago Fire in 1981 and playing for the Chicago Blitz in the USFL.

He returned to Hinsdale Central as a teacher, and coached track, football and was the Red Devils' wrestling coach from 1993-2002.

Huskisson in 1997 received a Presidential Distinguished Teacher Award. He started the Hinsdale Youth Center from scratch, bringing life to an abandoned building.

In a Sept. 29 ceremony honoring Huskisson that preceded Hinsdale Central's homecoming game, presented by his wrestling successor Jim Zajicek, Downers Grove North football coach John Wander even had his team line up at midfield to pay respect.

Zajicek also spearheaded a memorial for Huskisson, a rock that stands on Hinsdale Central's practice field as a tribute to the time he spent there.

Huskisson left behind a wife and three children. A fund at the Hinsdale Bank and Trust has been established to help their future educational expenses.

"I never met anybody who didn't like the guy," Richards said. "That's the kind of person he was. The kids truly respected him.

"He could make you laugh when you needed to laugh. He could make you cry when you needed to cry. And he could push you when you needed to be pushed."

What's up…

Lonna Moehlenkamp

Waubonsie Valley athletic secretary since 1997-98. Her two children attended Waubonsie Valley: York (Class of '90) and Kyle ('95).

What do you like about your job? "My co-workers and the coaches and the children. I love the kids.

"Working closely with athletic director Mike Rogowski and assistant athletic director Kevin Chaffee help to make things in the athletic department run smoothly. I think we make a good team."

It's an easy job, right? "I think people really don't realize what we do. There's a lot of behind-the-scenes things. Making sure we have buses. Making sure we have officials. I could just go on and on. It's not just sitting back here eating bon bons and watching the kids play. It's a lot of work, but I enjoy it."

Favorite movies: "The Wizard of Oz," "The Longest Yard."

Preferred cuisine: Italian.

Best vacation spot: "The Pacific Northwest, the Seattle-Tacoma area, and then from there we just go all over. We went into Canada this year and down into Oregon. I just love the mountains, the scenery, the fresh air."

Sports introduction: "I've loved sports all my life. I grew up listening on the radio to the St. Louis Cardinals with my dad. Growing up I was a Green Bay Packers fan. I grew up in southern Indiana, that's why the St. Louis Cardinals. But now that we live up here I'm a Bears fan."

Favorite athlete: Arnold Palmer.

Most thrilling Waubonsie sports moment: "Last season's girls soccer (Class AA state champions). That was the thrill of a lifetime. I got so sick, but I would not miss one of their games at the end of the season, the playoff series. That was such a thrill.

"I'm proud to be a part of Waubonsie Valley. I always told my sons that my blood bleeds green and gold!"