Football adversaries to unite at Winona St.

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For the last two football seasons, Prairie Ridge’s Collin Corcoran and Crystal Lake South’s Brad Walovitch have known one another as rivals.

They’re about to get much closer.

The two Northwest Herald All-Area first-team selections will sign their NCAA national letters of intent next week with Division II Winona (Minn.) State. Corcoran was a linebacker on the Wolves’ Class 6A state championship team; Walovitch was a standout all-around player for the Gators’ Class 7A playoff quarterfinal team.

“We were up there the same weekend,” Corcoran said. “It will be kind of fun knowing him. I’ll have to get to know him better now since he’s from South.”

Corcoran (6-foot-4, 220 pounds) led Prairie Ridge (13-1) in tackles (104) and had a team-high 11 tackles in the state title game victory over Peoria Richwoods, 35-14. He was an Illinois High School Football Coaches Association Class 6A All-State selection.

Walovitch (5-11, 180) was an All-Area pick at defensive back where he had seven interceptions for one of the area’s staunchest defenses. He also averaged 37.8 yards a punt, kicked 35 of 39 extra points and nailed a 51-yard field goal on his 18th birthday to beat Cary-Grove, 10-7.

Corcoran, a three-year varsity starter, also was looking at Football Championship Subdivision schools North Dakota State and Southern Illinois and D-II schools Bemidji State and Grand Valley State. He visited Bemidji, Grand Valley and Winona and canceled other visits when he committed last weekend.

“The coaches seemed like a tight-knit group of guys,” Corcoran said. “Coach [Tom] Sawyer has been there for 17 years.”

On his visit, Corcoran talked to former Prairie Ridge quarterback Bryan Bradshaw, a sophomore for the Warriors who started the last four games of last season.

“It’s good to know they’re doing something good, and he likes it there,” Corcoran said.

Winona has topped Walovitch’s list of prospective schools for two years.

“We took a tour the summer before my junior year and saw 15 to 20 colleges,” Walovitch said. “This has kind of been my goal for where I wanted to play. The last two years, this has really been my target school.”

Walovitch gives the Warriors some versatility because he also played wide receiver, punted and kicked. He was a two-year varsity starter at defensive back for the Gators.

“[The coaches] said whatever spot I was highest at on the depth chart, I could play there first,” said Walovitch, who added the plan was for him to red-shirt as a freshman.

Walovitch considered D-III schools Augustana and St. Norbert, but Winona always was his favorite. He attended a football camp last summer in Vernon Hills, run by Winona State coaches, where he was able to establish a stronger relationship with some Winona coaches.

Eastland to be inducted: Johnsburg boys soccer coach Rob Eastland will be inducted into the Judson University Athletic Hall of Fame on Friday for his soccer playing days at the NAIA college in Elgin. The ceremony will take place at the Holiday Inn Northwest in Elgin.

Eastland played center midfielder at Judson and is the Eagles’ career assists leader. He was selected Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Year in 2000 and helped the Eagles to 92 victories in his four seasons.

Eastland grew up in England and looked for summer soccer camps in the U.S. He picked Judson out of the five potential camps. At that camp, Judson’s coach offered Eastland a full scholarship.

“I used soccer to get an education,” Eastland said. “You couldn’t do that in England.”

During his career, the Eagles won the CCAC for the first time and also won a National Christian College Athletic Association tournament championship. Eastland was even prouder that the Eagles made it to an NAIA regional his senior season.

“That was a tougher route,” Eastland said. “It feels good to help build a foundation to where they’ve gone now. They’ve had a lot of success.”

Eastland also teaches at Johnsburg High School, where he started in physical education. Now, Eastland chuckles when he talks about the subject he teaches – U.S. history.

• Joe Stevenson is the 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.