A trio of local high school football players will be going to Pittsburg State in Kansas next year. Chase Carney from Fayetteville was an All-Conference performer as an offensive lineman.
“Ever since I was a little kid that's something that I dreamed of,” said Carney. “To now be able to go through with it is a life-long goal.”
Jared Murphy was a Class 4A All-State selection as a defensive lineman as a senior at Prairie Grove High School in 2012. He recorded 100 tackles (33 solo) with nine tackles-for-loss and helped the Tigers post a 12-1 record and reach the Class 4A state semifinals.
“It was important to the school and to my mom and coach just for the recognition of the hard work we put into it, so it's pretty exciting,” said Murphy.
Then there’s the 6 foot 7 monster, offensive tackle Jacob Ralph from Shiloh Christian. He might see playing time right away.
“I'm looking forward to going up there and hopefully being a huge benefit for them,” said Ralph. “They're actually looking for me to start. They're putting a lot of pressure on me already. I think I'm up for the challenge and I'm ready to be up there already.”
Pittsburg State is a good Division 2 program. They won the National Championship in 2011.