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Alleman, Assumption, to continue football game for at least another year

We’re having Breakfast With…Alleman High School Athletic Director Joe Conklin.
Conklin

ROCK ISLAND, Illinois — We had Breakfast With…Alleman High School Athletic Director Joe Conklin, Thursday, September 13 at the QC Coffee and Pancake House downtown.

 

Conklin is a former Iowa State Cyclone and Iowa Hawkeye, who graduated from Assumption High School. He played on the Hawkeyes back in 2009 and is now in his third year as A.D. at Alleman.

We asked him about high school scheduling during the segment, as Alleman and Assumption renewed their rivalry this season in football. It's the first game the two teams have played since 1984. Davenport West and United Township High School played Friday, August 24 as well. Conklin says the two teams will play again next year, and Assumption will be the home team.

"We're going to at least play at Assumption next year, which we're really really excited about it, but as long as we can," Conklin said when asked if the rivalry will continue after 2019. "I think we're going to try to keep this thing going. It's a great way to start this season with two great communities."

We also discussed the safety of football in general. Just this year, Moline High School started having its players wear guardian caps during practice. We asked Conklin the same thing Thursday, whether he would support his players, wearing those during practice. Conklin said he would, but the technology is fairly new. Conklin said the sport is the safest it's ever been, and there are more procedures in place now to try to prevent kids from getting concussions.

"They have concussion base line testing, so we're able to look at an athlete obviously, and when they're in a good place at the bgining of the season, if they've sustained a head injury, they're able to do some additional testing and be able to compare that against the baseline."

Conklin says there are more people available to help the students on game day now than there were before. He says state leaders on both sides of the river are continuing to discuss ways to make the game safer.

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