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Glenbard West grad Bowen back on the football field

On Tuesday Matt Bowen wrote an article for ESPN about Atlanta Falcons receiver Julio Jones, available to his 71,600 Twitter followers.

Later that day he gathered his four young sons to watch football game film of Riverside-Brookfield.

Bowen has found his sweet spot.

A 1995 Glenbard West graduate, former Iowa Hawkeye and seven-year National Football League defensive back, Bowen relishes his first full season as a defensive backs coach with IC Catholic Prep.

It satisfies a desire as a family man — his own and within the community where he lives — and at least partially soothes an itch he hadn't scratched since his last game with the Buffalo Bills in 2006.

“As a former player you miss the competition so much, and drastically miss it. Nothing can replace it,” said Bowen, an all-state player for Glenbard West his senior year, and the St. Louis Rams' rookie of the year as a safety in 2000.

Not even the acclaim he's gained in stints as a pro football analyst for the Washington Examiner, Chicago Tribune and Sun-Times, Bleacher Report, Pro Football Weekly, roles with The Score or describing Illinois High School Association football championships on television — or even in his current, full-time ESPN gig.

In Kankakee for IC's season opener at Bishop McNamara, Bowen regained the edge.

“My heart was racing,” he said. “I haven't experienced that since I played in the NFL.”

After his playing career, which included seasons with St. Louis, Green Bay, Washington and Buffalo, the inevitable followed.

“You drift,” Bowen said.

For stability his wife, Shawn, suggested Matt return to school to expand his horizons. He earned a master's degree in writing and publishing at DePaul, which allowed him to better express what IC coach Bill Krefft called “football knowledge next to none.”

Professionally it worked. Personally it lacked.

“I still felt there was something missing, something that would give me that energy, give me that drive again,” Bowen said.

A “great friend,” IC linebackers coach Mike Calcagno, invited him to Knights football summer camp in 2014. That led to a part-time assistant role Bowen has expanded to full-time status this season, sharing secondary duties with veteran Knights assistant Jim Kenneally.

Why not do this at Glenbard West? Bowen still loves the alma mater, respects coach Chad Hetlet and the Hilltoppers' brand of football. Elmhurst, however, is now his home. That connection was important.

“A big part of what we believe as a family is being part of a community, being part of an Elmhurst school, an Elmhurst community. To work with kids from the community was a big thing for me,” he said.

It's huge for Krefft.

“Having Matt Bowen has made me a better coach, it's made us a better program, it's made the kids better. He's made IC a better place,” Krefft said.

“If I were to give him a compliment he'd like more than anything else, the kids love him.”

When Bowen describes the difficulty of covering Keyshawn Johnson or tackling Eddie George his intent is not to impress the high schoolers or prove his bona fides. Football, he said, is fundamentally the same when you're talking alignments and formations.

“The game of football can be very complicated but not if you teach it the right way,” he said.

At this point assisting a program and a coach in Krefft whose contagious energy makes it easy to go to practice every day — most appreciative of the opportunity he's been given, Bowen calls the IC grad “my guy” — Bowen doesn't see IC Catholic as a steppingstone to a college job or even for another high school.

This symbiotic relationship brought practical knowledge to the Knights and new life to an old pro.

“I'm 38,” Bowen said, “and I'm starting a new adventure in life, one my family supports and one my family wants to be a part of, and I can't wait to see where that road goes. I can't wait.”

Quote of the year

Here's a great quote gleaned from Mike Eaken's Daily Herald story on last Saturday's 32nd annual Palatine Invitational boys cross country meet. York, which over recent seasons has not met its own lofty standards, won the meet. Dukes coach Joe Newton called the performance “a revival.”

“I'm 86,” Newton said, “but today I feel like I'm 52.”

Incidentally, at 52 Newton's squad won the 1981 Class AA title with 44 points. It was the best score since 1952 and wouldn't be surpassed until 1999 when Eureka won the Class A title with 32 points and York won AA with 24.

Big Ball, big bucks

Last week we mentioned Metea Valley's Big Ball Soccer Tournament on Saturday to raise funds for research of spinal muscular atrophy. It was a big success, drawing more than 400 participants and spectators to Naperville's Players Indoor Sports Center — about 150 more than had been expected — and making more than $35,000.

This effort began as the combined effort of Metea student and SMA patient Angie Lee and her neighbor Kyra Scadden, a former Mustang, when both were little girls. Seeking to raise funds to combat SMA, what started out with a penny drive has grown each year. According to figures on the Angie's Hope website, adding Saturday's haul they've now raised $187,528.

Green and Gold standard

Waubonsie Valley will induct two individuals and a team into its Athletic Hall of Fame at halftime of Friday's homecoming football game against Wheaton Warrenville South.

Michael Bowden seemed to earn as many honors as he struck out batters in baseball. The 2005 Baden national high school pitcher of the year as a senior, he threw 2 no-hitters, one a perfect game. In 2005 he compiled an earned run average of 0.41 toward his varstiy ERA of 0.91 and 28-5 record while also setting six program hitting marks. Boston's 2005 first-round draft pick, from 2008-13 Bowden played in 103 games with the Red Sox and Cubs. He finished this season with the Minnesota Twins' AAA affiliate in Rochester, New York.

Mike Rogowski was Waubonsie Valley's second athletic director, following Dick Kerner. From 1995-2013 “Rogo” presided over 79 Upstate Eight Conference championships, 72 sectional titles and 13 of Waubonsie's 18 state-trophy teams.

The Warriors' 2007 girls soccer team was one of them. The only mar on coach Julie Bergstrom's schedule that spring was a scoreless tie in the fourth game of the season against Naperville North. Led by players such as Bri Rodriguez and Vanessa DiBernardo, Waubonsie went 30-0-1 and beat Fremd 4-0 in the Class AA championship to become Waubonsie's first team champion in school history.

Speaking of Waubonsie Valley, on Wednesday Southern Illinois University announced Warriors graduate Justin Walker as director of operations for the men's basketball team. A former assistant at Waubonsie and Moraine Valley Junior College, last season Walker was the Salukis' graduate assistant.

doberhelman@dailyherald.com

Follow Dave on Twitter @doberhelman1

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