“This game will be won in the trenches” goes the old cliché extolling the value of a powerful offensive and defensive line.

And while some clichés are more useful than others (See: “He really came to play today”), this one has some heft to it in more ways than one.

Just ask the Mary Hardin-Baylor Crusaders whose offense mashed its way to last year’s Stagg Bowl behind three D3football.com All-American linemen. Or, for that matter, ask the Linfield Wildcats whose front five only allowed 13 sacks last year.

And so this week we turn our eyes to recruits who could specialize in pancake blocks and pass protection next season.

Washington University announced that Danny Luce — a 6-foot-2, 235-pound senior at Stanwood (Wash.) High School — will come to St. Louis next fall. Bears coach Larry Kindbom offered a promising review of Luce to The Daily Herald of Everett, Wash., calling him “an outstanding athlete and a very good football player.”

Of course, size isn’t everything. That’s why the Recruiting Recap smiles happily on Augustana recruit Travis Morgan who did a little bit of everything for Pecatonica (Ill.) High School. According to the Rockford Register Star, Morgan played fullback, defensive end, outside linebacker and center while weighing in at 5-10, 185 pounds.

Morgan probably won’t play all those positions for the Vikings when he arrives in Rock Island this fall.

One recruit expecting such a change is Frankie Herrera who will reportedly play safety for Texas Lutheran after suiting up as a full back and linebacker at Port Isabel (Texas) High School. Herrera told the Brownsville Herald that he’s not worried about the move since “The coach told me I (get to) hit a lot and that’s what I like doing.”

Meanwhile South Fork (Fla.) High School is dishing out recruits across Division III’s landscape. Easton Gunnoe and John LeMaster head to John Carroll in Ohio, Adam Pawlak goes to Concordia (Wis.), and Zack Brumfield is bound for Ferrum in Virginia.

Other recruiting announcements from the previous week include the following:

– Paracelete HS (Lancaster, Calif.) product Zach Anderson to Augustana

– Mike Whitmore of Rockford (Ill.) East HS to Beloit

– Joel Sienicki of Northridge (Ind.) to Bluffton

– Jeremy Winter of Madison (Wis.) East HS to Carroll

– Paul Skidmore of Arundel (Md.) HS to Franklin & Marshall

– Joseph Sinyard of Pace (Texas) HS to Hardin-Simmons

– Joel Hawkins of Fairfield (Ind.) to Manchester

– Belvidere (Ill.) HS graduate Anthony Goranson to Monmouth

– Jager (Ill.) HS graduate Kevin Conway to North Central

– NorthWood (Ind.) HS teammates Jason Hochstetler and Andrew Huber to Tri-State

– Bay Port (Wis.) HS tight end Dan Bassindale to UW-Stevens Point

Before we close, the voices of college professors past remind me to cite my sources, so thanks to Cat11 for the story on Herrera. And thanks to another Recap reader who emailed us about Iroquois (N.Y.) HS running back Steve Mamak who will lace up cleats for Muskingum next year.

If you want to join the fun by posting recruiting news, you can use the comments feature below. But you must include a newspaper URL to verify the story like these two contributors did. Otherwise it’ll disappear faster than free cake in a football press box.

For more passive forms of entertainment, here is the list of all the recruits we’ve heard about so far.

‘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.