Edd Noonan has kept his goals simple for the upcoming Shrine Bowl on Saturday.
“I want to try to make Emporia proud,” the former Emporia High running back said.
It might be the last time that the hometown fans will be able to see him play at Welch Stadium.
Noonan, who signed in the spring to play football at Emporia State, said Monday that he would instead attend Coffeyville Community College next year to play football.
“I visited a few JUCOs, and I really liked that one the best out of the JUCOs I visited,” Noonan said. “It was nice, and I like the players down there.”
Noonan, The Gazette’s All-Area 11-Man Player of the Year last year, rushed for 1,405 yards and 14 touchdowns as a senior at EHS.
A major reason for the decision, he said, was the opportunity to be able to play right away.
ESU football coach Garin Higgins typically red-shirts freshmen in their first year.
“Sitting out a year would be kind of tough for me, I think,” Noonan said. “Maybe just getting on the field a little bit would help.”
Noonan said that Higgins told him that after a year, the back could return to ESU and receive the same offer he would have had this season.
Still, Noonan could decide to stay two years at Coffeyville, or he could go in another direction completely.
“They (ESU) would still be an option after I got done with Coffeyville, but who knows, maybe something else will open up for me, too,” Noonan said. “So I’ll just kind of keep my options open.”
So far, Noonan said he was enjoying his Shrine Bowl experience.
The team attended the Shriners’ Hospital in St. Louis last week.
“It was a good time going to see all the kids,” Noonan said. “You don’t really realize what all they can do until you go up there and see them.”
As far as the game goes, Noonan said he was hoping to get a few carries to showcase what he could do.
Who knows? It might be the last time he gets a chance to run at Welch Stadium.
“Definitely I want to have a positive game — not a bad game,” Noonan said. “It’d be nice to have that.”