Knoch duo football building blocks
JEFFERSON TWP — Knoch seniors Dakota Bruggeman and Luke Kroneberg will get a fresh start on the football field next fall — literally.
The pair will continue their academic and football careers at Alderson-Broaddus College in Phillippi, W.Va. The Battlers fielded a football team last fall for the first time since 1930.
Playing primarily against junior varsity teams, A-B posted a 9-2 record in its debut season. This year, the Battlers will play an independent Division II schedule before moving into the newly formed Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC) in 2014.
“It's an ideal situation for both of these guys,” Knoch coach Mike King said. “It's Division II football, they're serious about building a program there and they came after Dakota and Luke hard.”
The 6-foot-4, 205-pound Bruggeman was recruited as a quarterback. He threw for 1,264 yards and 10 touchdowns last fall in leading Knoch into the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs.
“We consider Dakota to be the real deal, the total package,” Battlers coach Dennis Creehan said. “He's one of 14 serious recruits we're bringing in. He's big, strong, fast and can throw the ball a mile.
“We're not bringing this kid in to watch. We want him to play.”
Bruggeman also received interest from Concord, Kent State, Ohio University and Eastern Michigan. He had an opportunity to join Penn State as a preferred walk-on.
“I came really close to doing that,” Bruggeman admitted. “When you're a kid growing up playing football, you dream about playing in a major college stadium and none is bigger than Beaver Stadium.
“But if I went to Penn State, I might never get the chance to play football. At Alderson-Broaddus, I have a chance to be the starting quarterback as a freshman and that's my goal.”
The 6-foot-1, 215-pound Kroneberg was among the Knights' leading tacklers at linebacker. He caught 25 passes for 379 yards as a tight end as well.Geneva, Lake Erie and Mount Union were among the other colleges looking his way.“I like the idea of being part of starting something,” Kroneberg said. “It's Division II football and I've got a good chance to play right away.”Alderson-Broaddus had primarily freshmen on its roster last season. The team had roughly 120 players, but not all were recruited.“Since we were starting up a team, we opened the doors to anyone who wanted to come,” Creehan said. “A lot of people think they can play college football. Once they get out there, they see how difficult it is.”Alderson-Broaddus football was club status last year, meaning that all returning first-year players have redshirt freshman eligibility.This year's schedule features games against opponents from nine states: New York, North Carolina, Indiana, Virginia, Kentucky, Georgia, Florida, Ohio and Tennessee.“That's another perk to going there,” Bruggeman said. “Boarding a plane as part of a football team and seeing other parts of the country will be a great experience.”Creehan has 41 years of coaching experience at nine different locations. His most recent stop was West Virginia Wesleyan an d two of those players came to A-B with him.“Besides those guys and about five junior college transfers, we're all freshmen and sophomores,” Creehan said.“Coach Creehan emphasizes we'll be on the ground floor of making history,” Bruggeman said. “We'll be the first Alderson-Broaddus team to do this, to do that ... Over the next four years, we want to lay the foundation for a dynasty.”Kroneberg cautioned that there is still work to be done to get on the field for the Battlers.“They did pretty well last year and there's a lot of people coming back,” he said. “I want to be a starter right away, but it's going to be tough.”
