DeVries selected to IHSAA Football Players Hall of Fame

   A Clear Lake assistant football coach will be among those inducted into the Iowa High School Athletic Association Football Players Hall of Fame this year.
    Jared DeVries, a  two-time All-State prep and an Elite All-Stater in 1993, led the Aplington-Parkersburg Falcons into the playoff semifinals twice and the 1993 Class 1A title.  He was an outstanding running back and linebacker with 81 career touchdowns and 545 points, still

ranking ninth on the state’s all-time best charts. He had a brilliant career at the University of Iowa, being First Team All Big 10 three times and a consensus All-American as a senior. He played 11 years in the NFL with the Detroit Lions before retiring and becoming a volunteer high school coach.
    DeVries and five others will be honored at the halftime of the Class 4A Championship game on Friday, Nov. 16.
    The other honorees include: Carey Bender, Marion (1990); Chris Coffman, Sigourney-Keota (1992);  Justin Hartwig, Valley, West Des Moines (1997); Jason Olejniczak, Decorah (1989); Rollie Wiebers, Denison (1975).  Each of the honored players had outstanding prep careers and played college football, with DeVries and Hartwig having strong NFL careers.
    Carey Bender, of Marion, was an All-State running back for the Indians and one of the leading ground gainers in Class 3A.  The “master of the cut-back,” he starred at Coe College, where he was an All-American, led the nation in rushing and was the 1994 winner of the Gagliardi Trophy (Division III’s equivalent of the Heisman).
    Chris Coffman, Sigourney-Keota, was an outstanding rusher and defensive player with All-State honors for Sigourney and Sigourney-Keota.  He racked up career totals of 5,096 rushing yards, 74 touchdowns and 490 points, each in the top three in - Read More Via e-Edition