Waukon football two taking their talents to Division II ...

Waukon High School seniors Abe Schwartz and Mitchell Snitker signed their respective National Letters of Intent Wednesday, February 7 to take their football talents to the NCAA Division II level of play. Schwartz inked his commitment to Concordia University-St. Paul in St. Paul, MN, while Snitker committed to Winona State University in Winona, MN. Having played together on the same team throughout their middle school and high school careers, and ultimately helping lead the Indians to the Class 2A State Championship this past fall, the two could actually take the field together again, but on opposing teams, as both Concordia-St. Paul and Winona State play in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and are on each other’s schedule each year, with Upper Iowa University in Fayette also belonging to that same conference and being an annual opponent of each squad as well. Pictured above at the Wednesday, February 7 letter signing are, left to right, Dave, Abe and Joan Schwartz, and Lisa, Mitchell, Ted and Lincoln Snitker.

Recruited as a safety in the defensive backfield, Snitker said his choice to continue his football and academic career at Winona State University “just felt right. I’ve been up there so many times and I really like their program up there.” Snitker will follow in the footsteps of another two-way football stand-out for the Indians, 2004 Waukon High School graduate Shawn Cunningham, who also played in the defensive backfield for Winona State University from 2004-2007 and earned multiple All-Conference honors and one pre-season All-American selection. Ironically, in leading the football Indians to their first-ever State Championship in program history this past fall, Snitker surpassed the single-season rushing yards school record of 1,740 yards set by Cunningham during his senior season in 2003, when he helped lead the Indians to their first-ever State Play-Off qualification in the modern era. Snitker became the first Indian to rush for over 2,000 yards in a single season, compiling 2,066 yards this past fall. On the defensive side of the ball, Snitker has also shown strong consistency, picking off six interceptions in each of his final two high school seasons for a varsity career total of 13 picks, two of which went for touchdowns. He also amassed six fumble recoveries in his three varsity football seasons, returning two of those for scores as well, and also finished within the top five on the team in total tackles in each of those three varsity seasons. Snitker plans to study Pre-Physical Therapy at Winona State.

“We are very excited to sign such a great athlete and even better young man, he will immediately add speed and strength to an already excellent defense,” Warrior head coach Tom Sawyer said of his pursuit of Snitker as a recruit for his program. “We have been watching him for a long time and knew all along that he was the ‘right kid’ for our program! His leadership and dedication to ‘team’ concepts will be a great addition to his football skills. A ‘family’ tie with former Warrior Shawn Cunningham makes it even more special! Another huge recruit from Waukon!!”

Winona State comes off a 10-2 season record last fall that included a 10-1 mark in NSIC play to place the Warriors second behind Minnesota State University-Mankato’s undefeated NSIC mark in both the overall 16-team NSIC standings and within the eight-team South Division of the conference. The Warriors qualified for the NCAA Division II Play-Offs this past fall but had their season ended with a loss in their opening-round game.

Schwartz has been recruited by Concordia-St. Paul as a quarterback, a role he has excelled in, throwing for 3,434 yards and 38 touchdowns on a 58.6 completion percentage with just 16 interceptions during his two seasons as the Indians’ varsity signal caller. He also added 674 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns on 158 carries. His 2,365 yards passing this past State Championship season were less than 100 yards shy of the Indians’ single-season passing yards school record. Also a two-way player for the Indians, he recorded 59 tackles and four interceptions while returning one interception for a touchdown during his high school career. Schwartz’s choice to attend Concordia centered around his desire to pursue a career in Sports Management. “I really like their programs up there for my Sports Management major, and I’ve always wanted to be in the Twin Cities,” Schwartz said of his choice.

“All that needs to be said is Abe Schwartz is a winner,” Golden Bears head coach Shannon Currier commented on his recruitment of Schwartz. “Great quarterbacks lead their teams to points and wins. Abe succeeded in the mission as he led his team to a state championship.” The Golden Bears come off a 2-9 season this past fall, all of those games being played against NSIC opponents to leave the Golden Bears 13th in the overall 16-team NSIC standings and seventh in the eight-team South Division of the conference.