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Slovak ladies donated to the Catherine McCauley House

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Names and Faces

<p>For the past four seasons, a big part of the Wilkes football program has been Jason Ugwu, who has manned the defensive end position.</p><p>He&#8217;s been such a force that offenses have made to avoid the 6-foot-1, 235-pounder, who is a two-time All-MAC Honorable Mention and a four-year starter who has piled up 14 career career sacks.</p><p>Thing is, Ugwu compiled those stats while playing just one year of high school football at Perkiomen Valley.</p><p>Born in Nigeria, Ugwu&#8217;s big frame caught the attention of the school&#8217;s football coach, who approached him about playing football as a senior.</p><p>&#8220;When he asked me to play football I actually thought he meant futbol, not American football,&#8221; Ugwu said. &#8220;So for two days I was working out I thought I was working out with the futbol team. I didn&#8217;t think I was working out with the American football team. Then we had a 7-on-7 in the gym on a Thursday and I though &#8216;I don&#8217;t think I&#8217;m playing soccer.&#8217;&#8221;</p><p>The only background he had in any sport prior to playing American Football, was participating in youth football (soccer) in his home country. So it took some time getting used to, but it eventually led to bigger things.</p><p>&#8220;That&#8217;s all I was used to playing and when I got here that&#8217;s all I played up to my junior year in high school when I decided, let me give football a try,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I always had an interest in playing American football, but my mom never supported it, even now she&#8217;s not a big fan, but she came to my senior game.&#8221;</p><p>Still Ugwu stuck it out and used that playing time to earn an opportunity with the Colonels. He got off to a fantastic start in his career with a team-high six sacks 16 tackles for a loss as a freshman making coaches clamor at the potential he brings to the table.</p><p>Then injuries started to take a toll. While his stats aren&#8217;t eye-popping, keep in mind that not only was the senior fairly new to the sport when he got to Wilkes, he missed six games and dozens of other plays in his career due to multiple injuries.</p><p>&#8220;If he didn&#8217;t have all those bumps and bruises, he&#8217;d probably be one of the most dominant players in the league,&#8221; Wilkes coach Trey Brown said. &#8220;He&#8217;s got that type of potential.&#8221;</p><p>But that&#8217;s not something that Ugwu looks back on.</p><p>&#8220;I try not to think about woulda, coulda, shoulda&#8217;s because they keep you in regret,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I think everything happens for a reason. As long as you make the best of the situation you&#8217;re given you don&#8217;t need to reminisce on things that could have happened.&#8221;</p><p>When the Colonels (1-8 overall, 1-7 MAC) travel to face crosstown rival King&#8217;s (3-6, 3-5) on Saturday, Ugwu will be a defensive player that the Monarchs offense and coaches will be watching closely.</p><p>Meanwhile, Ugwu will have his hands full trying to bring down King&#8217;s quarterback Tom Hehre, who has not only passed for over 1,000 yards this season, but has also ran for a team-high five touchdowns.</p><p>Even though the Colonels have struggled this season, it would mean the world to Ugwu to go out as a winner in the rivalry game.</p><p>&#8220;King&#8217;s is always a good game. It&#8217;s been a long season. To get one last win for the guys I came in with, we want to start getting this program heading in the right direction as well,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I think this program could be very good in a couple years and I would love nothing more than being a part of it by kickstarting it in the right direction with this game.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Wilkes defensive end Jason Ugwu works his way around a Misercordia guard during last week&#8217;s game. The senior has 10 tackles for a loss and 3.5 sacks this season for the Colonels. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_jason_ugwu2_faa.jpg</photo0><caption0>Wilkes defensive end Jason Ugwu works his way around a Misercordia guard during last week&#8217;s game. The senior has 10 tackles for a loss and 3.5 sacks this season for the Colonels. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Dave Rosengrant</p><p>drosengrant@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>20th Annual Mayor&#8217;s Cup</strong></p><p><strong>Who:</strong> Wilkes (1-8 overall, 1-7 MAC) at King&#8217;s (3-6, 3-5)</p><p><strong>When</strong>: Saturday at noon</p><p><strong>Where:</strong> King&#8217;s College&#8217;s McCarthy Stadium, Wilkes-Barre Twp.</p><p><strong>What to know</strong>: The Colonels own the advantage in the series winning 13 of the 19 previous games. But the Monarchs are looking for their third straight win in the series. The only other time King&#8217;s has won three consecutive years was from 2000-02. &#8230;Wilkes is trying to snap a seven-game losing streak, while the Monarchs have lost two in a row.</p><p><strong>TV:</strong> The game will be televised live on FOX 56</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Dave Rosengrant at 570-991-6398 or on Twitter @tldrosengrant</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Jason Ugwu goes from newcomer to force on Wilkes’ defense