By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Longtime Hayden football coach Bill Arnold is a proud graduate of Benedictine College, playing quarterback for the Ravens in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Hayden product Carter Charvat will play for the East in Saturday's Kansas Shrine Bowl before heading to Benedictine College. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
But when it came time for standout Wildcat lineman Carter Charvat to pick a college, Charvat said Arnold didn't try to influence his decision.
He didn't have to.
"He did tell me it was a great school, but I already have some family connections there -- my brother (Mason) goes there right now -- and they had the major I wanted (mechicanical engineering) and I could play football, too, so it just all worked out,'' Charvat said.
A three-sport athlete, Charvat helped lead Hayden to the Class 3A state championship game last fall, earning All-Shawnee County Top 22 and All-Class 3A recognition. Charvat was in on 117 tackles as a senior, including 71 solo stops and registered eight sacks and four tackles for loss while intercepting two passes.
Charvat also helped the Wildcats advance to the 3A state tournament in basketball and was a standout thrower in track and field, qualifying for the 3A state meet.
Charvat said that after he took everything into consideration, Benedictine was a relatively easy choice.
"It just made sense,'' Charvat said. "The whole community and family is what I was looking for, going from a close-knit community in high school to a close-knit community in college.''
A 6-foot-2, 220-pound lineman, Charvat said he feels like going through the Shrine Bowl training came and playing for the East in Saturday night's game at Emporia's Welch Stadium will help get him ready for the start of Benedictine's training camp in August.
"Last week I was at our weights and conditioning and all of that, but this -- some actual hitting -- will definitely give me a head start for football season because nobody else is hitting right now,'' Charvat said.
Charvat is one of six Shawnee County products who will suit up for the East Saturday night along with Hayden teammate Finn Dunshee, Seaman's Callen Barta, Shawnee Heights' Christian Gonzales, Washburn Rural's JC Heim and Rossville's Barrett Lietz.
Barta will play collegiately for Kansas State while Gonzales and Heim will play at Washburn University, Dunshee plans to run track at Texas Christian University and Lietz will attend Kansas State.
Washburn Rural coach Steve Buhler and Shawnee Heights' Jason Swift are serving as East assistant coaches.
