All-American shows world what small town boy can do
Coming from a town with a small population, Lake Holcombe senior Tate Sauerwein doesn’t have anything to prove, but does want to show the world what he can do. Going out on a high note, Sauerwein played the final football game of his high school years, Jan. 18, as a running back in the Blue-Grey All-American Bowl at the Dallas Cowboys stadium.
He was chosen as an All-American during a Tennessee combine in July, and since then, his focus has been to get better for the bowl game, as member of the Blue Team. In his senior season with the Cornell-Lake Holcombe Knights, Sauerwein rushed for more than 1,000 yards, and was named the All-Conference Offensive Player of the Year.
He was also selected as the All-Conference Co-Defensive Player of the Year, among many other accolades.
Although it was right in the middle of basketball season, Sauerwein, accompanied by his family, made the trip to Texas, where he learned the ropes in two, three-hour practices, along with a jersey presentation, recognizing the athletes’ accomplishments to be chosen as All-Americans.
“There was a lot of stuff going on down there,” said Sauerwein. “I had to pay a lot of attention to figure out the playbook.”
Because there were so many athletes (60 or more) on the team, every drive, a new rotation came in, so Sauerwein only got in a few minutes in the opening three quarters.
“But when it came down to the fourth quarter – when it came to crunch time, pretty much, Coach said, best 11 in,” said Sauerwein. “So, that’s when I got the most playing time.”
In his time on the field, Sauerwein helped sustain a couple good drives, as well as adding yardage, including getting his team down to the goal line. He also blocked for another running back to get in the endzone.
“We won by one point,” said Sauerwein.
Overall, Sauerwein says he is pleased how he played and that numbers don’t tell the story of how he performed, as a small town boy from Wisconsin. The coach’s decision to put him in during the final quarter, speaks volumes to Sauerwein’s talent and skills.
“I think that was found out in practice, but then it showed in the game,” said Sauerwein, “when I finally actually got to carry the ball and do what I do.”
The Blue-Grey game can be watched at impactfootballnetwork.com.
Tate Sauerwein, Lake Holcombe senior, performed as an All-American at the Blue-Grey Bowl Jan. 18, in Texas. Sauerwein “came to life” in the fourth quarter for his Blue Team, after his coach recognized his talent and consistently put him in the game. Sauerwein says he hopes people have a lot of gas left in their tank to watch his future as a football player, because he is just getting started.
