Clyde's Cole Schwochow wants to make football team, family proud in big ways
Cole Schwochow wanted to have something to talk about at high school reunions.
"Remember when you scored two touchdowns and we won a playoff game your senior year?" Schwochow will now be asked rhetorically in 2038.
Schwochow wants more. Still, finding the end zone with a 25-yard interception return and 57-yard reception is quite a conversation starter, if not resumé builder.
Schwochow had 109 yards on four catches in a 63-35 victory over visiting Firelands in Division III's Region 10 in the first round. Six-seed Norton (9-2) visits the three-seed Fliers (8-3) in the second round Friday.
"I wanted to make a name, come back in 10 years and say, 'This is what I've done,'" he said of his general philosophy. "It's not just getting my name out, but performing for my team and my family. I proved this season that I improved drastically and put in the work in order to get my name out there."
Schwochow's pick-6 capped the scoring.
"Coming in with the wing-T, we didn't know how many possessions we were going to get. Those [three] turnovers were big for us. [Mine] was the fullback out of the backfield, on an out route. I was sitting underneath. We expected it all week.
"I sat on it and took it to the house."
Jay Plummer (60 yards) and Brennan Wilson (26) also caught scoring passes from Abe Morrison.
"Abe is a great quarterback," Schwochow said. "He trusted me. He threw the ball up, I cam down with it and outran everyone. I'd been struggling with the deep ball. I've worked on the deep ball in practice. I found a nice tune with Abe.
"It's been an emphasis for me. Routes after practice with Abe, working on my footwork and going up to get the ball. Always looking for extra work."
Jayvin Sheffield scored from 40 yards, Chancy Miracle from 12 and Plummer from 2 for the Fliers. Clark Norman rushed for two short scores.
"You have to keep on the gas pedal," Schwochow said. "I enjoyed when Brennan went up and got that ball in the end zone," Schwochow said. "A sophomore on the big stage. He took a hit on the fall. He'll be OK."
Wilson wasn't alone.
"We don't like to use the excuse of inexperience," Schwochow said. "We don't have too much playoff experience [on the roster]. We got our feet in the water, if you lose you're going home, it's a different feeling here."
Schwochow played special teams as a junior. He was a backup receiver in garbage time.
"The senior class was a huge group," he said. "I'm not ashamed of not playing until my senior year with how good that group above me was. I've been watching [graduates] Brady Wilson and Andrew Kauble. I was anxious, after the first play it free-flowed from there and I've been getting better."
Schwochow adds 40 tackles and another interception as a defensive back.
"I knew how much work I'd put in," he said. "I expected big things, but I'm proud of where I am and everybody on the team is doing above what we all imagined. We've surprised ourselves. Coming in, we were young. The first few games, we used inexperience.
"As soon as we got rolling, that blew out the door. We can win these games no matter what."
He has more than twice as many catches as his nearest teammate, at 50, for 706 yards and four scores. He caught two touchdowns in a 34-16 victory over Toledo Scott in Week 5, after Clyde trailed 16-14.
"My favorite was a catch against Scott in the third quarter," he said. "We'd struggled and it put us ahead by two scores. Those touchdowns gave us some energy."
Schwochow followed the advice of apparent workout guru Miracle in the offseason. He gained about 30 pounds to close to 180.
"He taught me about getting in the weight room and getting stronger and being mentally strong," he said. "Chancy did a number with that. What to eat, what to work, how many times per day. Stuff like that. He has a different mentality.
"He has discipline nobody else has his age. Even when nobody wants to, he tries to make himself that little bit better. He's out there not just for himself, but for his brothers and his family."
Plummer forced Schwochow to change his mindset to include internal bravado.
"We'd go at it at practice and he'd tell me, 'Man, you have to be the one, you have to be him,'" Schwochow said of Plummer's confidence message. "Now, I go out thinking I have to make a play, I'm here for a reason. There's not time to be nervous, but there's time to perform when you're in the spotlight."
Norton, which lost one game in overtime, won its last six games, allowing no more than 14 points and scoring at least 35 five times.
"We want to play how we play," Schwochow said. "Speak with good plays. As a team, we have an equal idea that we have each other's backs 24/7 and that we talk with how we play."
Earn the next paycheck doing as much as you can, with a focus on team results. That goes for more than football in Schwochow's life.
He's taking three college courses online, in addition to high school calculus, which is like a college course for most of us. He has a 3.7 grade point average, dabbles in National Honor Society and spends as much time as he can with friends and family.
"I'm always very busy with my academics," he said. "With school and sports, it's a tough time getting to bed on time. On a good day it's 11. On a bad day it's 3. It's a big range, there are a lot of things I might have to do."
Who knows, Schwochow might include: One touchdown on each side of the ball in high school playoff game, on a future job application. Looks like he'll get his name out either way.
mhorn@gannett.com
419-307-4892
Twitter: @MatthewHornNH
This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Clyde's Cole Schwochow leads football team in all receiving categories
