UNION CITY – Mississinawa Valley senior Anthony Ibarra signed his letter of intent to play football at Ohio Northern to continue his athletic and academics in college.
Ibarra was a 4-year player for the Blackhawks and was an impact player almost from day one. Playing linebacker, he set a couple of school records for tackles with 491 in his career and the most in a year with 155 tackles his senior year.
Mississinawa Valley coach Stephen Trobridge touched on Anthony’s accomplishments.
“It all started when he was a seventh grader as a water boy with us you know, and all season all he talked about was he couldn’t wait to play in high school. Then his eighth-grade year he said Hey, Coach, I want to be your starting middle linebacker that set the tone. Now when you look at the defensive side of football you’re going to think of Anthony and all the records he holds for tackling,” Trobidge complimented.
Anthony acknowledged that he had help along the way from his coaches, his family and his teammates.
“My parents were a huge help, inspiring me and pushing me. I don’t know if they thought I would go this far in football … but when they realized I really had a good interest they were all in and crazy supportive taking me wherever I needed to go, whether it was football camps, college visits, they’re right by my side every time,” Ibarra explained.
“Coach Trobidge has been a big help too, he taught me everything I know from freshman year and let me know I was going to do something special and really believed in me. I kept at it and stuck to whatever he said,” Ibarra added.
Coach Stephen Trobridge however gives credit to Ibarra for doing the work.
“Anthony was what I like to call a coach’s favorite. Basically, I know, kids don’t like to hear it. But if you’re a favorite it means you’re doing everything right. From hard work, dedication, coming to weightlifting, and other stuff that’s not mandatory and volunteering for other things, he did all that. He always thanks me, but all I did for him was lay out the blueprint. He did the work, he earned the spot. And I think Ohio Northern got a really good player with great character,” coach Trobridge commented.
Ibarra had several offers but in choosing a school, he wanted to make sure they had the right program that matched his future career interest and ONU was the perfect fit.
“I had good conversations with the coaching staff. I really liked the coach he was amazing but when they mentioned they had a Construction Management Program, it really piqued my interest and in weighing out other offers I kept coming back to Ohio Northern,” Ibarra said.
Ohio Northern is an NCAA DIII school and plays in the (OAC) Ohio Athletic Conference and being a small school, it felt a little bit like home for Anthony.
“Ohio Northern is a small town and it felt like being at Mississinawa. I love this school, I mean, I put everything I could into this game, and I really don’t think I could ask for a better coach, teammates and community support. Maybe our record doesn’t show it … but man the love I felt here at Mississinawa was unmatched,” Ibarra concluded.
