ROCKTON — Hononegah celebrated the college signing of another student-athlete after school Wednesday, and senior Gabe Kohl’s ceremony followed the usual format.
The difference in this event was the audience. In addition to teammates, other athletes and coaches there to congratulate the defensive end choosing to play football at Wisconsin Lutheran College, the back of the room was filled with well-wishers from his other passion. the music and theater departments.
Truth be told, while the 6-foot-1, 250-pounder was Special Mention All-NIC-10 for the second straight season for the 11-1 Indians, he was All-State when it came to singing in competition.
“I’m really going (to WLC) with my priority being to further my education in music,” said Kohl, who did just as much research on the music department as he did the football team.
“I’ve known since my sophomore year that I wanted to go into music so I have been looking at schools that have the best music programs,” Kohl said. “The (WLC) music education program is great and their theater program is very good as well. I even went to one of their concerts and it was truly phenomenal.
“It is going to be a little bit harder for me to balance sports and music in college because of the football workouts, but I will find a way.”
As a football player at Hononegah, Kohl was a late bloomer.
“I didn’t even play football until my freshman year mainly because my mom didn’t want me to get hurt as a kid,” Kohl said. “My freshman year I came in, went out for the sport and it was life-changing. When you start playing the game, the way everything is drawn up and how it all comes together and makes sense is pretty amazing.
“I was lucky to have some outstanding coaches. I didn’t feel that far behind when I started, but getting used to playbooks and understanding plays took a little while. Once I started getting it, it was like second nature.”
Hononegah head coach Brian Zimmerman said Kohl was a quick learner and thrived after switching from linebacker to the defensive line. This past season Kohl had 29 solo tackles and 33 total tackles, including seven for losses. He recovered a pair of fumbles.
“He’s a tremendous person and he’s been phenomenal for the team,” Zimmerman said. “There isn’t anyone I trust more. The thing I’ll remember most about Gabe was that I saw him before a game saying a little prayer with a small group of guys. Before long he had everyone on the team doing that. That to me is more important than anything else.”
At WLC, he will join another Hononegah grad, Colton Heinrich, who is an offensive lineman for the Warriors as well as a choir member. They were 4-6 on the gridiron last fall, playing in the Northern Athletics Conference. Rockford University is also a member.
Kohl has certainly been able to balance his two passions at Hononegah. In the fall, he has been devoted to football, but when the season is over, his extra curricular work has been on the stage in Hononegah’s productions of “Beauty and the Beast” and “Mary Poppins.”
“I’ve pulled some people from football to come do choir,” he said. “I’m sort of the guy who does the instigating.”
On March 15, 16 and 17, musical theater fans will be able to see Kohl portray Gomez Addams in the high school’s musical adaptation of “The Addams Family.”
“It’s a great part, and I am very excited about it,” Kohl said.
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