County alums shine in NFL
A couple of former county superstars had some big accomplishments in the national ranks in 2023.Back in February, the Kansas City Chiefs won Super Bowl LVII, 38-35, over the Philadelphia Eagles. When that happened, Edgewood Academy alum Prince Tega Wanogho Jr. became the first former Wildcat to win the Super Bowl.Originally from Nigeria, Wanogho Jr. transferred to Edgewood Academy and graduated from the small private school in 2015 before attending Auburn University.He then became the first Edgewood alum to reach the NFL when he was drafted in the sixth round by the Eagles in 2020. After he was released over a year later, he was signed by the Chiefs and beat his original team in the Super Bowl.A few months later, Stanhope Elmore grad Jake Andrews was drafted in the fourth round by the New England Patriots.When he was selected, he became the fourth Stanhope Elmore graduate to get drafted to the NFL, joining Shannon Brown, Dee Milliner and Antowain Smith. Robert Chancey, from Millbrook, also played in the NFL but was not drafted.Andrews is currently listed as a center on the Patriots’ roster. He has not made a start yet, but has played in 14 of the 15 Patriots games this season.The pair were not the only Elmore County kids to make waves in the NFL this season.Nathan Rourke, then playing for the Jacksonville Jaguars, went viral for his play during the preseason. In the fourth quarter against the Dallas Cowboys, Rourke made arguably the play of the year.It was third and 16 at the Dallas 21-yard line in the fourth quarter when Rourke’s elusiveness was displayed. As Rourke stepped back to pass, Cowboys linebacker Durrell Johnson blitzed and flushed Rourke from the pocket. Rourke turned left to evade Johnson and landed right in the grasp of tackle Chauncey Golston.He instantly ducked, and escaped both Golston and Johnson but again went directly into another defender, this time end Ben Banogu.As Banogu wrapped up Rourke around the waist and looked for the sack, Rourke set his feet just enough to get a pass off as he was dragged to the ground.His pass didn’t look like it was thrown by someone who was in the middle of being tackled.His pass was seemingly perfect as it landed in Qadree Ollison’s hands in stride in the end zone for the game-winning touchdown.His play instantly landed on social media where he was praised by media members and NFL players such as two-time Super Bowl winner Patrick Mahomes, known for his evasiness in the pocket.“That was Nasty!!!” Mahomes said in a tweet at the time.While Rourke’s highlight play stole the show, his overall performance was just as good as he led the team to two touchdowns and a win.He has since been released by the Jaguars and is now a backup quarterback for the Patriots.
