‘Tis the season that we read about Division III football players enjoying athletic success in other sports. Like IWU’s punter-pitcher Drew Himes and place kicker-outfielder Mike Berry whose Titans are competing in the NCAA Division III Baseball tournament this weekend.

So this week’s Recruiting Recap goes out to those incoming freshmen who’ve excelled athletically on and off the football field.

Concordia-Moorhead will receive a three-sport star when Moorhead High School senior Cory Johnson enrolls at the school. Along with playing high school football for the MHS Spuds, Johnson was all-state in track and a junior hockey league prospect.

After not being selected in the recent United States Hockey League draft, Johnson decided he’ll trade in his Spuds duds for Cobbers’ maroon and gold.

“I get to play for a great program and get a great education. That made the decision a lot easier,” Johnson told The (Fargo, ND) Forum
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On a side note, Johnson’s high school mascot was a Spud? His college mascot will be an angry ear of corn? I’m bursting with bad, side order-related puns right now. We need to move on.

Another multi-sport star will suit up for the Washington & Jefferson Presidents this fall. Southwestern (NY) HS senior Matt Mazgaj, who was recently honored for his wrestling prowess, will travel south to join the defending PAC champions. According to the Buffalo News, Mazgaj was a two-time state wrestling champion in the 215-lbs weight class.

Dinwiddie (VA) HS product Khalee Prothro will attend Widener University after completing a three-sport career in high school. Prothro, who also played basketball and ran track at Dinwiddie, saw action on offense and special teams on the football field.

“I like football the most,” Prothro told The (Petersburg, VA) Progress-Index. “It gives me a chance to let out some steam.”

Meanwhile a couple programs who are never short on good recruits were named as high school players’ college of choice.

Dan Georgatos of Foothill (CA) HS will enroll at Mount Union.

Redwood Valley (MN) HS quarterback-wide receiver tandem Luke Radel and Bryan Busack enjoyed playing together so much, they hope to do it again at St. John’s University. The Redwood (MN) Gazette points out that Radel’s brother Jeff also played college ball in Collegeville.

Other recruits who’ve found a home include:

– Shorecrest (FL) HS graduate Bill Wood at Amherst.

– Cave Spring (VA) HS teammates Wade Hammes and Chaffin Scott at Bridgewater (VA).

– Johnsburg (IL) HS senior Nick Biederer at Concordia (Wis).

– Mahnomen (MN) HS graduate Levi DeVries at Concordia-Moorhead.

– Jimmy King of Hidden Valley (VA) HS at Ferrum.

– Rosewood (NC) HS quarterback Danny Langston at Guilford.

– Milton Strother of Daphne (Al) HS at Huntingdon.

– Anthony Catucci of Spalding (MD) HS at McDaniel.

– Dustin Stephens of Prairie Central (IL) HS at Millikin.

– Mount Vernon (OH) HS seniors Bobby Peck and Ty Callkins at Ohio Northern.

– Severna Park (MD) teammates Chris Anthony and Tim Hackmann at Salisbury.

Impress your friends and neighbors with your knowledge of recruits’ destinations by checking out a longer list here.

And please remember that any comments posted below with recruiting news must be accompanied by the related newspaper story’s URL. No ifs, ands or Spuds about it.

Some of Division III’s newest programs — including one that won’t play a varsity game until 2006 and another that isn’t playoff eligible until 2008 — lead the list of destinations announced by recent recruits.

Tavares (FL) High School seniors Ryan Leary and Danny McManus will enroll at SUNY-Maritime (Coach Clayton Kendrick-Holmes standing to right in photo). The Throggs Neck, Long Island-based school announced it will compete as a club team in 2005 and play a varsity schedule in 2006. Tavares teammate Matt Habermehl will attend Millikin University.

North Carolina Wesleyan, which enjoyed a 4-4 inaugural season in 2004, will get a pair of New Bern (NC) High School teammates as Joey Belviy and A.J. Glenn announced plans to suit up for the Battling Bishops this season.

Belviy led New Bern in sacks and tackles for loss last season despite standing just 5’6. “It means a lot to me because I really didn’t think I’d get the chance at first because of my height and size,” he recently told the New Bern Sun Journal.

Bradford (FL) High School’s Milton Sumpter will attend Tri-State University, which is entering the second season of a four-year transitional period in its move from NAIA to NCAA.

“I want to thank God for giving me the ability, I want to thank my parents for letting me play and I want to thank my coaches because they taught me a lot, even off the field,” Sumpter told the Bradford County Telegraph.

While Sumpter will pick up some frequent flyer miles traveling from Florida to Indiana, they won’t compare to those racked up by Joe Quinn when he leaves home in Anchorage, Alaska to attend Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.

Quinn is a two-sport athlete at West Anchorage High School where he plays goalie on the soccer team. “Goalie is kind of the closest soccer position you can get to football,” Quinn quoted to the Anchorage Daily News in this interesting feature. “It’s kind of a seamless transition.”

Of course, we’re only assuming Quinn will fly to JHU. He might choose to make the 76 hour, 4,316-mile trip by car instead.

Elsewhere:

– Paraclete (CA) HS senior Domenic Donato will enroll at Chapman.

– Stevenson (CA) HS seniors Ashton Clarke and Philip Trapp will play for Claremont-Mudd-Scripps while attending Claremont McKenna College.

– Montour (PA) HS senior Ernie Ricci goes to Dickinson.

– Highlands (OH) HS senior Chris Owens will go to Earlham while teammates Bert Bathiany and Shaun Matisak head to Ohio Northern and Weston Lawrence enrolls at Wittenberg.

– Pinkerton (NH) Academy senior Nate Gooden will attend Plymouth State.

For a list of other recruits and their college destinations, click here.

If you want to share recruiting news, feel free to do so using the comments feature below. But don’t forget that you need to post the link to the newspaper story so we can verify the information.

Otherwise we’ll make you chauffer Joe Quinn from Baltimore to Anchorage over Christmas break.