By By ERIKA PICKLES / Niles Daily Star
NILES - Four Niles High School seniors will be extending their football careers next season.
Nick Etzcorn, Pete Brandstatter, Brandon Mellott and Lyle Watson announced they will be attending colleges throughout the United States on football scholarships.
Etzcorn, the son of Mary and Dan, will be attending DePauw University in Green Castle, Ind., where he will be studying communications.
DePauw, which is coached by Tim Rodgers, participates in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference and won the conference championship last season. They also have one of the biggest rivalries in football history against Wabash, which was one reason Etzcorn chose the University.
Etzcorn will join former Niles graduate Andy Brandstatter, who also plays football for the Tigers.
Etzcorn holds a 3.7 GPA and is ranked 18th in his class.
Some of his accomplishments include being a Rotary Club Student of the Month and being part of Spanish Club and Student Council.
He earned All-Conference honors in football in 2005, was selected for the Michigan Sports Fest team, was an All-Conference basketball player his junior and senior year, earned Academic All-State honors and was named Player of the Week by WNIL.
Brandstatter, the son of Pat and Jane, will attend Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. Bowdoin competes in the NESCAC conference with eight other teams.
Bowdoin's football coach is Dave Caputi, who Brandstatter said puts a great face on the school.
Brandstatter holds a 3.9 GPA and is ranked in the top 10 of his class.
His accomplishments include being named Rotary Student of the Month, President of Student Council, member of the National Honor Society and he won the Stephen Tyler Award.
In sports, Brandstatter was Academic All-State for football, is a Moose Krause Scholar Athlete, earned second team All-Conference honors for football and was an honorable mention All-Conference for basketball.
Mellott, the son of Kenneth and Dianna Yost, will attend Hope College in Holland where he will pursue a Pre-law degree.
The Flying Dutchmen compete in the MIAA conference and are coached by Dean Kreps.
Mellott holds a 3.2 GPA and is currently enrolled at Lake Michigan College studying criminal justice.
Some of his accomplishments include being a four year honor roll student, N Club member and he saw significant playing time his junior year and started as a senior.
Watson, the son of Tom and Tammy Watson, will attend the University of Saint Francis in Fort Wayne, Ind. where he will study business.
The Cougars are coached by Kevin Donley and compete in the NAIA, where they hold seven consecutive conference championships.
Another reason was the fact that everyone on campus made him feel at home, unlike some of the other colleges he had looked into.
But, despite the warm welcome he received, Watson turned down his scholarship.
His decision was made fairly early, though, as he suffered a broken hand this past winter and rebroke it again while diving for a ball during practice.
Watson holds a 3.3 GPA and is a four year letter winner in football and baseball.
He has been named to the All-Conference list three years in a row and was Academic All-State two years. He also earned first team All-Area Punter, was named Player of the Week by WNIL and WSJM and earned All-Conference and All-District honors in baseball.