IFCA Hall of Fame inductees from Region 7 include several college standouts, NFL players

Kyle Neddenriep, Indianapolis Star

Region 7 of the Indiana Football Coaches Association will host its Hall of Fame banquet on June 20 with a ceremony for nine inductees.

The ceremony will be hosted at Primo South (2615 National Ave.) starting with a social at 6 p.m., dinner at 6:30 p.m. and dinner at 7:15 p.m. Order tickets at IFCA-hof.org/region-7. Here are the newest members of the Hall of Fame from Region 7:

Morten Andersen

Andersen, as a foreign exchange student from Denmark in 1977, became a soccer standout who shined as left-footed kicker at Ben Davis. He committed to Michigan State, where he was named an All-American as a senior in 1981. Andersen was drafted in the fourth round of the 1982 draft by the New Orleans Saints, then lasted 25 years in the NFL. He kicked for the Saints, Atlanta Falcons, New York Giants, Kansas City Chiefs and Minnesota Vikings, earning six Pro Bowl honors and setting NFL records for career points (2,544), field goals (565), games played (382) and field goals attempted (709). He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2017.

More: Morten Andersen kicks way from Ben Davis to Pro Football Hall of Fame

Darrick Brownlow

Brownlow was part of Cathedral’s Class 3A state championship team as a senior, earning all-state honors at linebacker for the Irish. He went on to become an All-American at Illinois at linebacker, earning all-Big Ten Conference honors three times. As a senior in 1990, he was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and was second in voting for the Butkus Award. Brownlow went on to play in the NFL from 1991-97 with Dallas, Buffalo, Tampa Bay, the Los Angeles Raiders, Washington and Chicago.

Rosevelt Colvin

Colvin was a two-sport standout in football and basketball at Broad Ripple, earning first team all-state honors and Marion County Player of the Year as a senior in 1994. Colvin went on to earn all-Big Ten Conference honors in 1997 and ’98 at Purdue. He was a fourth-round selection in the 1999 NFL draft by the Chicago Bears, posting double-digit sack totals in 2001 and ’02. Colvin signed with the New England Patriots in 2003. He was part of two Super Bowl winning teams, finishing his career in 2007.

Darren Evans

Warren Central star running back Darren Evans.
Warren Central star running back Darren Evans.

Evans was a star running back at Warren Central, where he was voted Mr. Football in 2006 after rushing for 2,806 yards and 61 touchdowns as a senior. He was a major part of Warren Central’s run of four consecutive state championship from 2003 to ’06. Evans rushed for 1,265 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2008 at Virginia Tech. He injured his knee in 2009 but came back to run for 854 yards and 11 TDs in 2010. Evans was briefly with the Colts in 2011.

Aaron Gibson

Gibson was a star player on the offensive line for Decatur Central as a three-year starter for the Hawks who also played on the defensive line. Coming out of high school, Gibson was 6-7 and 355 pounds. Gibson signed with Wisconsin, starting his junior and senior seasons at right tackle and blocking for NCAA career rushing record holder Ron Dayne (6,397 yards). Gibson was named a consensus first team All-American as a senior in 1998. Gibson went on to play in the NFL with Detroit, Dallas and Chicago from 1999 to 2004.

Toby Jacobs

Jacobs was named the City Athlete of the Year as a senior at Scecina after leading the Crusaders to back-to-back Class 2A state championships and earning the Mental Attitude Award. He moved from running back as a sophomore to an all-state receiver as a junior to play quarterback as a senior. Jacobs was also an outstanding basketball player (1,584 points) and baseball player (hit .458 for his career). He played football in college at Butler before going on to a lengthy coaching career at Hamilton Southeastern and currently Mt. Vernon.

Mike Kirschner

Warren Central's head coach Mike Kirschner claps after a penalty flag is thrown Friday, Sept. 15, 2023, during the game against the Ben Davis Giants at Ben Davis High School in Indianapolis. The Ben Davis Giants defeated Warren Central, 31-28.
Warren Central's head coach Mike Kirschner claps after a penalty flag is thrown Friday, Sept. 15, 2023, during the game against the Ben Davis Giants at Ben Davis High School in Indianapolis. The Ben Davis Giants defeated Warren Central, 31-28.

Kirschner, who played at Warren Central, has won 155 games in a 21-year coaching career. He returned to coach at Warren Central in 2021 after winning two state championship at Ben Davis in 2014 and 2017, then reviving the Mt. Vernon program to a 30-8 record in three seasons. His first head coaching job was at Cascade from 1996 to ’99.

Vasco Walton

Walton, a Manual graduate, went to become a two-sport star at the University of Indianapolis in football and basketball. He was the team MVP in football in 1963 and team co-captain in 1964 and ’65. Walton was the basketball co-captain and team MVP as a senior in 1965-66. He holds the school record for assists in a game with 17. Walton went on to play for the semipro Indianapolis Capitols football team for four years, winning a Continental Football League championship in 1970.

Thomas Wroblewski

Wroblewski was the City Athlete of the Year in 1976 at Scecina after starring in football, track and wrestling. He played on the offensive and defensive lines and was selected as his team’s MVP. Wroblewski was also a two-time City champion in the heavyweight division in wrestling and starred in the shot put and discus in track. He went on to play football and wrestle at Notre Dame.

Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Morten Andersen, Rosevelt Colvin, Darren Evans IFCA Hall of Fame inductees

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