For the Cardinals, the last football district trophy on the shelf holds a label from 2002. That was until this fall, when Big Rapids took down Whitehall to claim their first title in over two decades.

One of the key players on this year’s team, star quarterback and safety Riley Vennix, will now look to help his future school earn their first conference championship since entering the Great Midwest Athletic Conference.

Vennix committed Wednesday to playing under the lights in Midland next fall, joining head coach Dustin Beurer at Northwood University.

“I knew that I wanted to play football at the next level probably my junior year,” Vennix said. “That was an easy decision for me but just deciding where was the hardest part. I went on a lot of visits these past few months and at Northwood, I loved it.”

When asked what made him choose to become a Timberwolf over other DII and DIII schools, the coaches were a huge swaying point.

“Their coaching staff was amazing. With how their players interacted with their coaches, I just (knew) I wanted to be a part of it. That made it easy for my decision.”

While Vennix played quarterback this past fall for the Cardinals, the senior mentioned he was recruited to play safety and slot receiver. Regarding school, Vennix said Northwood’s illustrious business programs were key in the decision-making process.

“Northwood is a fantastic business school,” Vennix said. “I want to go into business management, which really helps with what I plan to do after college: going into construction management and then hopefully one day running my own business.”

Vennix currently plays varsity basketball for the Cardinals, who currently stand 10-4 on the season. He also plans to play baseball in the spring for Big Rapids.

 

Photo credit to Vennix Photography