Former North Central College running back Ethan Greenfield (0) is playing professionally in Finland. Photo by Ethan Greenfield.
When you move to a foreign country and are surrounded by strangers, it’s a good idea to start by finding things you have in common.
For former North Central running back Ethan Greenfield, who was playing soccer in Finland this summer, it was former Bulls forward Lauri Markkanen.
“You should buy Markkanen’s jersey because everyone was like, ‘You know who that is, right?'” Greenfield said. “Yeah, he played for the Bulls for a while and everyone’s talking about him. A lot of those guys watch basketball just for him. When one of their guys is successful, , the pride that is felt by everyone is really cool.”
Greenfield, a product of Lakes High School in Lake Villa, is coming off a successful collegiate career in 2022, winning the Gagliardi Trophy (like the Heisman Trophy for Division III) and winning North Central’s second national championship. Ta.
Then came pro day for NFL scouting, XFL tryouts and CFL inquiries. Greenfield wanted to continue playing soccer, so he went looking for a spot overseas. Taking a tip from Bartlett’s former Illinois defensive back Nolan Barnatt, he took advantage of a database designed to help American players find teams and secured an offer from the Helsinki Roosters. Two other former North Central players, defensive lineman Dan Gilroy (Cary Grove) and defensive back Julian Bell (Oswego), joined the same team.
And the Roosters won the championship of the seven-team Maple League, or Verterraliga, which has existed since 1980. In the championship game, the Roosters defeated Seinajoki Crocodiles 49-14.
Greenfield had 185 rushing yards, 258 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns in the Maple Bowl. But the MVP was quarterback Ambro Urjansson, who scored 5 TDs. It’s interesting to know that there are Finnish athletes who grew up dreaming of being quarterbacks.
“He was young, 21 or 22 years old, and he got interested in soccer just by watching it on TV,” Greenfield said. “It’s not the most popular sport in Finland, but he’s crazy about the sport and a big fan of old quarterbacks. He was always walking around wearing a Steve McNair jersey. He’s crazy about the game. It made me want to become as good as I could.”
While learning about the quirks and culture of life in Finland was fun and interesting, Greenfield’s biggest takeaway may be the respect he has for his teammates playing a familiar game in a foreign environment.
“They’re all avid fans, they love soccer and they spend a lot of their free time playing soccer,” he said. “It was so eye-opening and so cool to see how much that sport meant to them. We could have 100 fans at the game and they didn’t care. They just love playing the game. That was one of the best things I experienced on this trip.”
In Finland, each team could have five American players, two on defense and three on offense, with at least one required to be a lineman. Unlike basketball, playing American football overseas is not particularly lucrative.
“Not really. Everything you need is covered,” Greenfield said. “You get some fun pocket money. But if you want to leave, you have to get another job. Some people do that. They play in America, live in Finland for 10 years, find a wife. There are players who are playing soccer while having children and working other jobs.”
Greenfield is now back home working as a substitute teacher and helping coach at Lakes. He intends to return to Europe, but not necessarily to Helsinki because the head coach left, but that still needs to be resolved.
“I think it would be great to experience another country, another team, another league, so I’m looking at all options,” he said. “But I would not be opposed to returning to Finland to play for the Roosters.”
Redbird’s frolic:
Illinois State QB Tommy Rittenhouse (St. Francis) posted impressive numbers in a win at Murray State last week. He threw for 347 yards and ran for 128 yards. Wideout Daniel Sovkovic (Rolling Meadows) completed two touchdown passes for Rittenhouse, giving the Redbirds a 5-3 lead. …After ending a long losing streak, Western Illinois University has won three of its past four games, defeating Tennessee Tech 37-21 in Macomb last weekend.
Roosevelt broke through as follows.
Roosevelt, which moved up to Division II this year, earned its first GLIAC victory last weekend by defeating Northern Michigan 16-10 in overtime at the Superior Dome. To start OT, Lakers linebacker Jalen Olokun (Homewood-Flossmoor) recovered a fumble and running back Cyrus Zuell hit a three-run game-winner into the end zone. One of the strange things about this game was that NMU only threw two passes and completed neither.
Division III TCB:
Punctures are common in CCIW, so No. 1 North Central has ample opportunity to develop future stars. True freshman Donovan McNeil (Warren) was the Cardinals’ rushing leader for the second straight game, rushing for 64 yards and gaining 77 total yards on four carries. Senior Joe Sacco (St. Edward) added 68 yards in a 69-0 victory over North Park. …
Since missing the game against North Central with an injury, Wheaton QB Mark Forcucci (Wheaton North) has totaled 515 yards, eight touchdowns and zero interceptions in wins over Illinois Wesleyan and Carthage. …Speaking of blowouts, No. 15 Aurora defeated Rockford 69-0 last weekend. Wide receiver Trey Erweiler (Batavia) has emerged as the Spartans’ leading receiver this season, scoring two touchdowns in this game.