Highland’s Donovan signs for football

RIVERSIDE - Owen Donovan was all business when he took the field to play football. Now he has decided to major in business and continue playing football.

William Penn University has the honor of Donovan's abilities as he has signed to play at the next level as a Statesman. Donovan also considered the University of Northern Iowa, Upper Iowa and Iowa Western.

'We are excited that Owen has decided that William Penn is where he wants to be,” Statesmen head football coach Todd Hafner said. 'We think he will be a great addition to our running back room.”

Donovan gained 7.6 yards on average for the Huskies this past season and totaled 1,021 yards with nine scores and a long of 75.

'He is the son of a coach so we know that he will have a passion for the game and that his football knowledge will be where we like,” Hafner said. 'Watching his film, we really like his burst and his ability to outrun defenders.”

Donovan was a second team all-state selection in 2019 as a punt returner. This past season he earned a Most Valuable Player Award as an utility player in Class A District 6 when he amassed 1,513 all-purpose yards. He returned two kickoffs for touchdowns, the longest of 95 yards was second in Class A. His average return was 36.8 yards second in the class with a minimum of 10 returns. Total yardage was sixth in the class.

Teams began kicking away from Donovan due to his ability. In 2019, he was first in Class A in yards per return at 24.9 (minimum 10 returns). He was second in number of returns. He was 10th in kickoff return yards with 259 on 10 returns including on for an 83-yard TD.

'The speed of the game will be a little different for him initially but we have a great feeling that he will be a very hard worker and do everything he can to be a great player,” Hafner said.