Jacobs’ Zyks to join FVC alums at Drake

E-mail this story

Print this story

Share

The Fox Valley Conference football pipeline to Des Moines, Iowa, still is pumping.

Jacobs running back Caz Zyks had no problem finding players he knew on his visit to Drake University two weekends ago. He stayed overnight with former high school teammate John McMahon, who is roommates with former Prairie Ridge quarterback Stephen Covalt.

There are eight other FVC alumni playing for the Bulldogs, who shared the Pioneer Football League title this season with San Diego. That familiarity with the program was one of the factors that swayed Zyks, a Northwest Herald All-Area first-team selection, to pick Drake to play his college football.

McMahon, a freshman offensive lineman, served as a good agent for both sides in the recruitment process.

“When they asked about me, John gave them some good feedback,” Zyks said. “I talk to him on a regular basis and he told me how they played in Africa, and how the coaches really care about you not just as a player, but later in life. It was good to hear that.”

The PFL is a league of Football Championship Subdivision schools that ranges from San Diego to Jacksonville, Fla. Unlike other schools at their level, the PFL schools do not offer athletic scholarships for football.

Some of what Zyks heard from McMahon was evident with the honor Bulldogs head coach Chris Creighton earned this year. He was given the Giants Steps Award from the National Consortium for Academics and Sports as part of National Student-Athlete Day. The NCAS awards individuals who use sport to positively affect social change, actualizing its mission.

The Bulldogs made a two-week trip to Tanzania in May to play a football game.

Zyks (5-foot-10, 165 pounds) put together back-to-back 1,100-yard rushing seasons for the Golden Eagles, who were 13-7 the last two seasons. Zyks was a huge part of the offense, rushing for 13 touchdowns, as Jacobs reached 6-0 for the first time in school history.

Drake, however, plans on using Zyks as a cornerback. He played that position his sophomore and junior seasons at Jacobs.

“I went to a camp there over the summer and they saw me doing drills and thought I could be a defensive back,” Zyks said. “I like defense a lot.”

Zyks had looked at another PFL school, Valparaiso, NCAA Division II Minnesota State and D-III Carthage before deciding on Drake, which he had visited four times, including the camp.

“I liked the campus,” Zyks said. “They were conference champions and have a real good thing going. When the coaches called me, they had things set up. It just seemed like their [recruiting] process was better than the others.”

Thinking of Judson: Paul Judson, a member of the 1952 Alden-Hebron boys basketball state championship team, was injured in an automobile accident in Florida on Thanksgiving morning and is recovering in a Florida hospital.

When A-H’s girls and boys teams play at Westminster Christian on Saturday, Warriors athletic director Rick Palmer will have players and fans sign a “Get Well” card and send it to Judson. The girls game starts at 5:30 p.m., with the boys game following.

Judson, 77, taught and coached at Dundee and at Hampshire before retiring. His twin brother, Phil, Bill Schulz and Ken Spooner, all starters on that 1952 team, still are living. A-H was the smallest school (99 students) to win the state tournament with the one-class system. The Giants beat Quincy, 64-59, in overtime for the state title.

Although A-H was the smallest school to win the title, the Giants were basically a barnstorming team that often drove long distances to play and was ranked among the top teams in the state all that season.

Palmer wants to share a bit of history with players from both schools and let Judson know people are thinking about him.

• Joe Stevenson is senior sports writer for the Northwest Herald. He can be reached by email at joestevenson@shawmedia.com. You also can follow him on twitter@nwh_JoePrepZone.