‘Bago Alumni football team kicks off against Sterling Aug. 5

The 2016 Winnebago Alumni game is set for Friday, Aug. 5, with the kick-off at 7 p.m. against Sterling High School alums. The game was originally to be played against Byron High alums, but their team didn’t pan out and Sterling was able to step up and fill the gap.

Winnebago players have been practicing since April and are looking forward to the game. The following is a list of players on the team.

Player            Grad    Age    Pos
Abate, Adam 2014 20 DT
Amdal, Eric 1987 46 P
Booth, Michael 2016 18 G
Bushman, Michael 2000 34 RB
Carlson, Greg (C) 1995 39 QB
Connolly, Dylan 2016 17 DT
Cowman, Matt 1995 39 TE
Cunningham, Charles 2005 29 DE
Ford, Nick 2000 35 DE
Gustafson, Jason 1997 37 CB
Hamilton, Bret 1990 44 WR
Hanners, Benjamin 2016 17 WR
Harms, Jeremiah 1994 40 CB
Heinen, Mitchell 2013 21 QB
Hinde, Justin 2014 19 CB
Hunt, Mike 2014 20 P
Lolling, Corbin 1997 36 TE
Luethje, Joey 2014 21 WR
Matranga, Mike 2000 34 DE
Mcmahon, Joey 2014 20 FS
Mercer, Jonathan 2002 33 WR
Ray, Kyle 2000 34 OL
Rigsby, Phillip 2014 20 WR
Swigart, Brandon 2010 23 G
Thomas, Bryce 2014 21 DE
Thorn, Nathan 2014 20 FB
Viel, Tom 1990 44 OT

Team captain Greg Carlson wants to make this a reunion of sorts, where players and their families can share in ‘Bago football lore and reminisce about teams and players from the past.

Anyone wanting a ticket can look up one of the players listed and purchase one, or more.

This is the third year in a row that Winnebago has put on a game through Alumni Football USA Two years ago they lost to Oregon High School and last year they beat long-time rival Pecatonica. This year will be a little different as Sterling has never really been a foe on the gridiron. It should be a good game nonetheless.

This is a fundraising event with proceeds going back to the respective schools.