Three Demons sign

      While Washington seniors Zach Davis, Kyle Salow and Dan Tweeton secured their college futures as they signed national letters of intent, Wednesday morning, the three also may have secured a better future for the Demon football program.

      Davis, Salow and Tweeton are an example of how hard work can take an athlete to the next level, and Washington head football coach Jason Ganoe said he will point to their legacy in the future.

      "In a sport like football, you worry about kids understanding what it takes to get where Zach Davis, Kyle Salow and Dan Tweeton got," Ganoe said. "They have a lot of natural ability, but because of the extra time they put in from their freshman year to their senior year, that's why they were sitting in that room this morning signing those papers. They've definitely set the standard for what we expect year in and year out. I think these juniors and sophomores who are coming up understand that, and they've been putting in some nice time during these winter months."

      Davis, Salow and Tweeton inked national letters of intent to play collegiate football this morning in the Washington High School media center. They are now a Northern Iowa Panther, a Wayne State Wildcat and a Truman State Bulldog, respectively. Ganoe said it was a historic moment, as Washington High School has never had three players from the same team sign letters of intent before.

      "It's a pretty proud moment for Demon football," Ganoe said. "I can't think of any other time, and I doubt there was any other time, where three guys signed letters of intent on signing day in this school. That's a pretty proud moment, and it was fun soaking it in and watching those guys sign those papers. I'm awful proud of them, and everyone in that room was proud of them."

      Davis, who verbally committed to UNI in December, sealed the deal and signed with the Panthers. Davis plans to study education at Northern Iowa.

      Davis wowed the Panther coaching staff at the UNI football camp last summer, where he was named the quarterback MVP. Since then, he has been a priority for the school.

      Davis, who had a 16-5 record as Washington's starting quarterback and passed for 3,833 yards and 40 touchdowns in his prep career, has a number of characteristics that UNI quarterbacks coach Mario Verduzco likes.

      "It was a combination of things as far as what we were looking for," Verduzco said. "He has a really clean stroke in terms of his mechanics, and he has a strong arm, which is good to have. He's extremely athletic, and he's very light on his feet. He appears to be a fierce competitor and really tough-minded."

      UNI's starting quarterback, Eric Sanders, will be entering his senior season this fall, leaving the spot open for the 2008 season. Davis is expected to compete for the starting job with West Branch's Caleb Walter, who also signed with the Panthers, Wednesday.

      "That will be different," Davis said. "We're pretty good friends. But we both play defense well, so if one doesn't work out, maybe we can play defense. That's probably what they're looking at."

      Salow, a wide receiver who caught 100 passes for 1,989 yards and 18 touchdowns in his prep career, picked Wayne State College in Wayne, Neb., over UNI, Central and Coe. He will play wide receiver for the Wildcat football squad, which went 5-6 last year, and study pre-med.

      "I went on my official visit out there, and just ended up liking all the coaches and players," Salow said. "I just fit in with the style of football that they play out there."

      Adam Lechtenberg, the Wildcats' receivers coach, said Salow, who was a first-team all-state selection at receiver last fall, would fit in perfectly with the school's offense.

      "We run the West Coast offense, so we think he could catch the fade," Lechtenberg said. "We think he could be a great position receiver. We think he fits in well with what we do."

      Lechtenberg and the Wayne State coaches received a tape from Salow, and were impressed by his work ethic and his 6-foot-3 frame.

      "He's a great kid," Lechtenberg said. "He works hard. He comes from a winning program at Washington. One thing we noticed about Washington is that all of their kids play hard. He has great size at 6-3, 200 pounds. We're excited to get him. We think he could come in and play early here."

      Truman State head coach Shannon Currier was also impressed with Tweeton's work ethic. That's why he recruited him and lured him to the school in Kirksville, Mo.

      "We're excited about Dan," Currier said. "He could be a great player for us. We got to know him in the recruiting process, and we're really impressed with his work ethic. He gets up at 5:30 every morning to lift weights."

      Tweeton chose Truman State, which went 6-5 last season, over the University of Iowa, several Ivy League schools and several smaller Iowa colleges. The deciding factor was academics, as Tweeton plans to study pre-med.

      "I liked their football program, and their high academic standards really fit my goals," Tweeton said.

      Tweeton started three years on the Demons' offensive line, and has the frame of a collegiate lineman at 6-foot-3 and 270 pounds. That's why Currier has made the trip to Tweeton's house to speak to him in person.

      "We're convinced that he will be a great college football player because of his incredible work ethic," Currier said. "He's got a nice frame and is very athletic. We think Dan is going to be one of the pieces in the puzzle that will get us to where we want to be."

      Ganoe said the signing was a happy moment, a sad moment for him, but hopefully it was an inspiring moment for every future Washington football player.

      "It's almost a bittersweet situation," Ganoe said. "It's hard to say goodbye to guys like that. We're really going to miss them. I hope they left an impact that's going to have a little bit of a legacy here. They can be the guys that we talk about that started a great tradition here for Washington football."