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In its second signing ever, the Catawba Ridge Copperheads had their first ever football players make their college choices official.
Quarterback Kayden Hager and defensive back Jaxen Anciso both announced their colleges Friday in the main gym at the high school, known as The Arena.
Hager,17, will be going to the University of Louisiana-Monroe in Monroe, La. The school is probably best known for its location near the famed reality TV family, the Robertsons and their show Duck Dynasty. However, the Warhawks have a pretty good football team as well and is led by recently hired head coach Terry Bowden, son of Hall of Fame college football coach Bobby Bowden.
At 5’8” 170-pounds, Hager had a dozen schools scrambling for his services as he spent a lot of his senior season scrambling and making defenses miss as his athleticism led to Catawba Ridge getting to the 4A Upper State championship. Hager plans on majoring in sports management.
A quarterback for the past two seasons at Catawba Ridge, Hager could be used in other positions in college.
“I will play where they need me,” he said. “We have a really bright future there.”
Hager credited his senior season to really helping his recruitment. The second-year player at Catawba Ridge went from co-starting quarterback his junior year to a back-up his senior year. However, that changed as the Copperheads’ starting quarterback Jadyn Davis went down with an injury putting Hager at the helm.
“My senior season really propelled me with the recruiting effort,” he said.
His numbers in nine games this past season helped as well as Hager amassed 630 yards on the ground and nine touchdowns, but also threw for 830 yards and 11 touchdowns in going 60-for-90 passing.
Anciso, 18, had numerous offers as well but decided on Catawba College in Salisbury, N.C. His other top two choices out of the 30 offers he had was Allen University and Erskine College.
“The campus was really nice and it is really close to home,” he said. “I think I can play early there and get better as a player and will get prepared for my academic future.”
A 6’1” 175-pound defensive back, Anciso plans on majoring in either sports management or engineering. A leader on defense for Catawba Ridge, he had 80 tackles and an interception in nine games his senior year for the Copperheads.
Head coach Zac Lendyak said he was proud of both players.
“It is a fantastic opportunity for them to move onto the next level,” Lendyak said. “Their leadership skills stood out the most for me this past season. We are sending off two great men.”
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep