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Former St. Edward players flourishing at Dubuque

Two former St. Edward football players have reunited to create plenty of headaches for opponents.

Maurece "Mo" Herrion, who played his final two seasons at Larkin after transferring from St. Edward, is a 5-foot-11, 217-pound junior running back, while Dwayne Allen is a 5-11, 185-pound sophomore running back for the NCAA Division III University of Dubuque (Iowa) squad.

Through the team's first for games, Allen has run 71 times for a team-high 469 yards and 2 touchdowns and is averaging 117 yards per game. Herrion has run 55 times for 349 yards and 3 touchdowns. He's averaging 87.2 yards per contest on the ground. Dubuque, which was ranked nationally at one point, is 3-1 heading into its game at home Saturday against Buena Vista University.

"We bring out the best in both of us," said Allen. "We're competing for the starting spot. We do battle in practice. I'm more of a cutter and he's more of a truck. He's taught me a lot of things. We've run the ball effectively the first four games and both of us work well with our offensive line."

Allen said his focus this season has been on staying in the moment each game. "Right now, when I get the ball I try to make the most of it whether that's a 5-yard run or a 20-yard run," he said. "I try to make the best of it every time."

Allen added having a year of experience at the collegiate level has made all the difference in the world.

"I'm more confident than I was last year," he said. "I got the jitters out of the way last year."

Allen, a product of the local Elgin Bears youth team noted the difference between the high-school game, where he's only two years removed, and the college one is substantial.

"I went to St. Ed's homecoming game last week," he said. "It's interesting how the college game works. It's way faster right from the kickoff. The players hit harder, the games last longer and the wear and tear on your body is a lot different."

Herrion, who is 75 rushing yards away from 2,000 for his career and has 25 touchdowns, enjoys the backfield partnership he has with Allen.

"It's been a great combo of me and Dwayne," he said. "It's really good. We're like lightning and thunder. It's exciting to see us do so well. I enjoy watching Dwayne run. He makes the big run and I try and match that and keep the flow going."

Herrion took a trip down memory lane regarding his Dubuque career thus far. "Freshman year I didn't get a lot of playing time," he said. "One of the tailbacks got hurt and I was third- or fourth-string. I got in there and had a pretty good game. I had 125 yards and 3 touchdowns. We played Wartburg, which was No. 6 at the time, and I had 4 touchdowns. Each year I've gotten better and better. This year I had my longest run of my career here (68 yards). I'm known more as a power guy, but I was able to put on the speed after the play. It was a really good accomplishment."

Herrion also had the opportunity to play for a final time against former St. Edward teammate Mikey Castoro when Dubuque faced Loras College earlier this season. Castoro is a 5-9, 170-pound senior wide receiver for Loras. In 4 games, Castoro has caught 13 passes for 201 yards and 2 scores. He's averaging 15.5 yards per reception and has a long catch of 35 yards this season.

"We talked before the game and wished each other best of luck," said Herrion, a criminal justice major at Dubuque who would like to become a police officer, perhaps back home in Elgin after college. "It was nice to play against Mikey one last time. Over the years before we would play, in the weeks leading up to the game we would talk and see how our seasons were going. We'd always end up mentioning Coach Ro (St. Edward coach Mike Rolando)."

Herrion, who gained a team-best 827 yards as a freshman with 14 TDs and 751 yards and 8 touchdowns as a sophomore (two-time All-Iowa honorable-mention selection), said playing at the collegiate level always was a dream for him. "When I was younger, I just went with the flow and would see how I progressed," he said. "The first couple years I played football, I didn't understand it. It wasn't until I started playing with the South Elgin Patriots (youth program) that maybe I thought I could make something out of the sport, but I was not sure I'd ever be playing in college."

Allen, a former honorary co-captain of the Daily Herald's Fox Valley All-Area football team who is studying human-resource management but is looking into changing to accounting next semester at Dubuque, feels the same way as Herrion.

"Back then it was all a dream. I didn't think of a future like this," said Allen, who ran for 323 yards and 4 touchdowns last year and racked up 430 kickoff return yards as well. "You can get everything you wish for as long as you work hard for it. All the work I put in over the last decade made this become a reality. All that work led to me playing college football."

Off at College wants your help: Send information and/or statistics on Fox Valley-area athletes playing collegiately to Mike Miazga at mjm890@gmail.com.

Larkin graduate and former St. Edward player Mo Herrion is a junior running back at the University of Dubuque. Photo Courtesy university of Dubuque
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