North’s Geenen ready for another run before transfer
http://www.thenorthwestern.com/story/sports/high-school/football/2015/10/14/norths-geenen-ready-another-run-transfer/73948588/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
This Friday night will mark the last regular season game for the Oshkosh North football team, and if they win, they clinch a spot in the playoffs.
Mikaal Geenen, the defensive leader for the Spartans, is hoping for at least a few more games before his run with the Spartans, and the school, comes to an end.
Once the semester is up, Geenen will be packing his bags and heading to Portland, Oregon. Geenen is transferring to Grant High School to finish the last semester of school with his cousin because the senior has a chance to play football at Portland State University.
A few years ago Geenen was invited to a football camp held at Portland State. He was invited back for two straight years and last summer the coaches told him that, if he wanted, he has a spot on the roster.
“I had went out to Portland State for a camp and I got invited back to it two years in a row,” Geenen said. “My aunt works at the camp but I still had to show my stuff. I tried it on offense and they didn’t need me there so I went to defense and they liked me there, so I have a spot on the team.”
It will be tough leaving Oshkosh North and not being able to graduate with his best friends, but Geenen knows this is an opportunity that he wants to take full advantage of. Geenen will be living with his aunt in Portland.
“At semester I’m going to move out there to try to get residency,” Geenen said. “I get to graduate with my cousin out there and it’s just a new scene, different people.”
It had to be an ideal situation for Geenen to play football at the next level. Other teams had interest in him, but he didn’t have mutual feelings. Until Portland State called.
Portland State is a FCS team and is a part of the Big Sky Conference. Its currently ranked No. 25 in the nation.
“I always loved football, but I knew it would have to come to an end inevitably,” Geenen said. “It’s just a bonus because I love playing the sport. Other colleges were looking at me, I just wasn’t too interested in it. It was basically ‘we’ll go see what’s happening out there, see if I can live with my Aunt or not,’ but it worked out. I’m in a nice place right now.”
Geenen will be playing defensive back for the Vikings.
Because he has transformed into a leader for the Spartans over the last four years, North football coach Chris Kujawa said that he sees Geenen finding success at the next level.
“If he continues to work like he’s been working this entire year, I don’t see any reason why he wouldn’t have any successful career there,” Kujawa said. “Mikaal has matured 10-fold from freshman year to where he’s at right now. There has been a huge maturation process, you can see that he’s goal oriented, you see that he’s taking things very seriously. He sees his future and he’s going and grabbing it.”
But before he can start thinking about the move, he has his mind focused on the rest of the season. The Spartans will travel to face Wisconsin Rapids Friday and if they win, they are guaranteed a playoff spot. If they lose, they finish with a 4-4 record in the Valley Football Association-South and are still playoff eligible.
It has been quite the up and down season for the two-time defending VFA South champs. The Spartans started the year 2-3 but have won their last three games. The defense has played solid all year long, but the offense is starting to find their groove.
And that’s a bad sign for opposing teams.
“The year has picked up a ton, on both sides of the ball,” Geenen said. “Our defense has been there for most of the year but we are starting to get things clicking on all cylinders.”
Geenen, who plays safety, is the ‘quarterback of the defense’ for the Spartans. He leads the team with 63 tackles and has two interceptions.
He didn’t start on defense until this season, but it didn’t take long for him to get acquainted to the spot.
“He’s taking some ownership, he takes personal pride in making sure we are in the right spots,” Kujawa said of Geenen. “He just wants to make plays, almost to a fault sometimes where he gets himself out of position but he’s starting to develop trust in his teammates and allowing them to make plays and good things are happening for us.”
“I definitely take pride, it’s getting everyone to work on the same page,” Geenen added. “You have to communicate and make sure everyone is communicating, knowing what we’re seeing during the game because everything is a little bit different every game, every play, so we just have to pick up those little things by communicating.”
Geenen started to play football in fourth grade. He said he got into it because his older brothers were good athletes so he was motivated to be just like them.
Also a track star, Geenen made his first appearance at the WIAA State Tournament this last spring. A jumper, Geenen finished 10th in the triple jump with a personal record jump of 43 feet, 2 1/2 inches.
“State was a great experience, to see all the fans represent Oshkosh North to the fullest,” Geenen said. “I did a pretty good job, it was my best jump I had. It was just a great atmosphere and I felt like that helped it out.”
