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sports<br />
taking it to<br />
the next level<br />
Norman Yono got an early taste of what<br />
his football future will be like at<br />
Saginaw Valley State University. Yono<br />
was selected to play in the East vs. West High<br />
School All-Star game at the University of<br />
Michigan on July 23, a game that pits the best of<br />
the best against each other in Michigan High<br />
School football.<br />
Yono, a four-year letter winner at Birmingham<br />
Groves High School, was granted a full-ride football<br />
scholarship to Saginaw Valley State, an<br />
Norman Yono looks back on<br />
a stellar high school career<br />
BY JOE KYRIAKOZA<br />
NCAA Division II school, where he’ll<br />
join Groves teammate and best friend<br />
Vlad Federmesser.<br />
“These kids are the top athletes in the<br />
state,” Yono said from the Michigan<br />
State University campus where his team’s practices<br />
were being held prior to the All-Star game.<br />
“There’s definitely a lot of competition here.”<br />
Yono was hand-picked by the coaches of the<br />
East vs. West All-Star Game, which took place at<br />
the University of Michigan stadium coined “The<br />
Big House,” one of the largest and most historic<br />
venues in college sports. “I’m very excited to play<br />
there,” Yono said prior to the game. “Some great<br />
games have been played in that stadium. It’s a real<br />
honor.”<br />
The preparation and the game itself helped<br />
kick off the football season for Yono. Timing was<br />
perfect since he reports to his first practice as a<br />
collegian on August 4. “The practices [before the<br />
All-Star game] were hard because I’m just getting<br />
in shape and getting back into it,” he said.<br />
Yono, who stands at 6-feet, 200 pounds, is<br />
looking forward to football at the next level, but<br />
his high school experience is irreplaceable.<br />
“I still have dreams about it,” Yono said speaking<br />
about his career at Groves, where he played<br />
linebacker and halfback. “I’m still shocked<br />
that it’s over. I will really miss high school<br />
football. I wish I could play it for the rest of<br />
my teenage life.”<br />
Yono’s passion for his days as a member of<br />
the Groves team did not go unnoticed by his<br />
coach, Brendan Flaherty, who named Yono<br />
team captain his senior year. “He’s a tremendous<br />
leader,” Flaherty said. “He’s a fierce competitor;<br />
he was the heart and soul of the team.”<br />
Yono’s accomplishments at Groves are countless.<br />
He holds the school record for most tackles in<br />
a season (138) and most career tackles (361).<br />
Since his sophomore year, Yono was on the varsity<br />
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42 CHALDEAN NEWS AUGUST 2005