Three future Chippewas named All-Macomb County

Macomb County has been very kind to the CMU football program recently. Last season, the county gave the Chippewas three players. In 2010, Macomb County has been just as kind, giving the Chippewas three commits again. Recently, all three were named to the All-Macomb County team.

The three future Chippewas honored were Ben Brown from Romeo, Tyler Lombardo from L'anse Creuse, and Joe Wirth from Utica Eisenhower.

Brown and Lombardo were both honored as runningbacks while Wirth was honored as an offensive lineman.

For Lombardo and Brown, the positions they were honored at were nothing new to them. Brown rushed for 1,405 yards and 19 touchdowns on the year while Lombardo ran for over 900 yards and was the lead blocker in an offense that ran for over 3,000 yards. Lombardo also contributed 73 tackles, 2 sacks and 3 forced fumbles on the defensive side of the ball.

"It means a lot to me, it shows that I'm one of the top

running backs in the area. It's a great honor," Lombardo said.

"Making All-County is a privilege and an honor," Brown said. "I was First Team last year and I worked very hard to do it again this year."

For Wirth however, his path to All-County was a little different. Defensively, it was business as usual as he made 57 tackles and forced 4 fumbles, recovering 2. Offensively, he began the season at Eisenhower as a wide receiver. However, various situations, led the Eisenhower staff to ask him if he would be willing to make the move to offensive line, where he had not played since he was younger.

"It was a tough decision but I did it to better the team. It looks like it work out pretty well," Wirth said. "I had played center when I was in eighth grade and also in little league when I was a little chunker."

Wirth was not the only one to play a new position this year. Brown also had to learn to play some quarterback as Romeo lined him up there in its version of the Wildcat offense. While in the Wildcat, he threw for 420 yards and 3 touchdowns.

"It was a change. I had never done it before," Brown said. "The coaches worked with me on it. I did my best and it turned out well."

All-County was not the end of the honors for any of three however. Shortly after the All-County banquet, it was announced that Brown and Lombardo had made Division 1 All-State as runningbacks. Wirth however, one-upped them when he was named to the All-State Dream Team.

"I was speechless when I found out," Wirth said. "My coach called me to his office and said he had good news. I had no idea what to expect and then he pulled out a piece of paper informing me I had made the Dream Team."

All three players are working hard to prepare for their freshman seasons at CMU. Both Brown and Lombardo are forgoing winter and spring sports to focus on training while Wirth is playing basketball and running track while also training for CMU.

"Usually I play lacrosse in the spring, but this is the first year I'm just going to focus on football. I actually had my first work out today," Lombardo said.

"I am lifting and running with a heavy concentration on speed training," Brown said. "I want to improve my break-away speed."

"I am playing basketball and running track in the spring," Wirth said. "I am also working with a trainer to get bigger and stronger."

Both Brown and Wirth talked about keeping in touch with the coaches from CMU.

"I just want to go CMU prepared and work hard," Brown said. "I've been to every home game and I talk with Coach Azzani quite a bit. He is a good guy who has always treated me well."

"The coaches are saying I could either be a defensive end or a tight end," Wirth said. "It all depends on what is best for the team."

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