From Gridiron To Mat
Illinois-bound Dergo also excelled in football
Most of the nation’s top wrestlers have that year-round pedigree. But John Dergo of Morris (Ill.) High is a different breed.
Because wrestling has been just a four-month sport for Dergo in high school — even though he learned the sport early from his father, Morris head coach George Dergo — John Dergo hasn’t become a household name in wrestling circles just yet. On the football field, however, he left his mark as no other Illinois player has in recent years.
Dergo did it all — literally — for an undefeated Morris team that won the Class 6A state title Thanksgiving weekend. Not only was he the Redskins’ record-setting tailback — becoming only the second player in state history
to rush for more than 3,000 yards in a season — he was the team’s second-leading receiver, the leading tackler as a linebacker on defense, and the placekicker and punter as well.Named player of the year by the Chicago Sun-Times, Dergo was at his best in the quarterfinals Nov. 11. Playing in front of a home crowd estimated at 10,000 — the stands on both sides of the field were filled less than 15 minutes after the gates opened — Dergo rushed for 354 yards and four touchdowns, then added two fourth-quarter interceptions in his own end zone to rescue a 28-21 victory over Joliet Catholic Academy, at the time ranked No. 7 in the the USA Today Super 25. It was Morris’ first victory over Joliet Catholic since 1923.
In Morris’ 14-9 state title victory over Normal Community High, Nov. 26, Dergo rushed for 206 yards — giving him 3,010 for the season — and scored his 52nd touchdown, setting the state single-season record. That touchdown also was the 110th of his career, extending his state record, and he also was the game’s leading tackler with 14 tackles (eight solo).
As a kicker, he averaged over 35 yards per punt this season and made two of three field-goal attempts, including a 37-yarder. He scored 52 of his team’s 67 touchdowns this season.
But that’s all in the past. The Class AA 171-pound state champion as a junior and third in state as a sophomore, Dergo has put his football career in the trophy case for good. He signed a national letter of intent to wrestle for the University of Illinois last month. He was a perfect 44-0 as a junior and enters his senior season with a career record of 110-3. Although the 171-pound weight class is loaded in Illinois this season, Dergo aims to make that everyone else’s problem.
Recently, Wrestling International Newsmagazine (W.I.N.) caught up with Dergo for this candid interview.
WIN: In the South, where I live, football is life. But probably nobody here could understand how big high school football is in M
orris. Can you explain what high school football is like in that town?Dergo: Everyone in town knows about it. If you’re a football player here, all eyes are on you. You can’t get in trouble here; people know who you are. You’re pretty much expected to play football here in Morris when you come into high school. The big question is, ‘Hey, are you a football player?’ That’s a big thing. We get thousands of fans at our games, supporting us 100 percent.
WIN: I covered a couple of high school playoff games there in the 1980s and it was quite an atmosphere. I’m sure it’s pretty much the same way today. You have a player on your team, (Clemson-recruit) Jamie Cumbie. He’s from South Carolina, which is as passionate about football as it gets. What does he say about how Morris compares?
Dergo: He couldn’t believe it. He came here his sophomore year, and he got accepted by all of us, all the rest of the team. He couldn’t believe how crazy things are, how much people are into the football team here, how much more of an opportunity he had than he did at his old school to prove how good he was. He found out that people here really take football seriously, that they’ll help you out and they’re behind you.
WIN: What was the atmosphere like for the Joliet Catholic game?
Dergo: When we were coming out of our locker room, like we always do, we had to have a pathway roped off for us because there were so many people there. You got out there, sometimes it was so loud you couldn’t hear the signals, or the snap of the ball.
Before the game, when we were in the gym stretching out, we looked out and all we could see was people running to the stands as fast as they could so they could get decent seats.
WIN: How old were you when you started wrestling?
Dergo: I started wrestling in my Dad’s (spring) tournament that he has here in Morris when I was two.
WIN: Your dad has been your coach ever since you started, and you come from a wrestling family. What was learning your wrestling at home like?
Dergo: You know, at home it’s not really so much about the sport. At home, my dad just taught me to do whatever I want to do and if you put a lot of heart into it, you’ll be good at it. That kind of carried over into wrestling. He got me into it, got me to really like it. But he stayed on me, got me working hard to develop a good work ethic. I have to be around it 24/7, but he’s always helped me with whatever I needed, so it’s worked out real nice.
WIN: What’s your playing weight for football?
Dergo: Right now, I’m about 188 pounds. I started the season at about 193.
WIN: Is it hard to keep the weight on during football season?
Dergo: Yeah, it is. We’re always out running, working out, doing drills. We’re out there a long time sweating.
WIN: Some kids may overtrain and spend a lot of time cutting weight, but you have a different situation. You play football for a team that goes deep into the playoffs every single year, and you never come off the field — you’re getting hit on every play. As beat up as you get, do you need some recuperation time before you start wrestling?
(You can read the rest of this article by subscribing to W.I.N. Magazine. Either contact our office at 1-888-305-0606 or subscribe through this website by selecting the “Subscribe” section on our front page.)