Geneva's Santacaterina, Williams Lead List of Area's Bowl-Bound Players

NIU boasts five Tri-Cities players, including former Vikings Michael Santacaterina and Matt Williams. Here's a list of Patch-town players as well as the line-up of bowl games that await super-fans.

The BCS bowl season has begun, and two Geneva players are on the roster of bowl-bound area players. Geneva's Michael Santacaterina is a redshirt sophomore linebacker and freshman Matt Williams a backup quarterback for No. 15 Northern Illinois, a surprise BCS team, heading to the Orange Bowl to play No. 12 Florida State on New Year's Day. Also from the Tri-Cities and now playing for NIU are offensive lineman Ryan Brown of St. Charles North, tight end Jess Striedl of St. Charles East and linebacker Bobby Winkel, a Batavia resident who played for Marmion. They are among a long list of Patch-area players on the rosters of some of the best teams in college football. If we've missed out on any of the local connections, tell us about it in the …

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