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February 16, 2012
Macauley Kirk signs with Mount St. Joseph
By STEVE CORNELIUS, CJ Sports Editor
Commonwealth Journal

Somerset — Southwestern High School senior Macauley Kirk was a huge part of the Warriors’ football program first-ever regional championship on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball. Last week, Macauley Kirk signed with the College of Mount St. Joseph — in Cincinnati, Oh.

“I got a college questionnaire from Mount St. Joseph and eventually the coaches started talking to me,” Kirk explained. “That recruiter left to another college, but I continued talking to Mount St. Joseph head football Coach (Ron) Huber, who was kind of like a car salesman, because you talk to him and he will have you sold on it. That’s what made me choose Mount St. Joseph over anywhere else.”

Kirk was a Commonwealth Journal All-County selection based on his solid play at the defensive linebacker position. Kirk had the second most tackles on the Warrior defense — with 55 — and Kirk scored a touchdown as a Warrior running back.

But Kirk’s most amazing stat stemmed from his team-high 3 fumble recoveries — which two of them Kirk returned for touchdowns.

“It was sort of wild getting all those fumble recoveries, because two of them I took back for touchdowns,” Kirk said with a chuckle. “It must of been luck because I don’t know how recovering a fumble takes any skill, but somehow I did it.”

Luck or not, Macauley Kirk’s nose for the football was something high school and college football coaches look for in a defensive linebacker. Southwestern High School football coach Andy Stephens stated that Kirk had a knack for being at the right place at the right time — and no luck was involved in that feat.

“Macauley was at the right place at the right time a whole bunch of times,” Stephens vaunted. “He had that big 98-yard touchdown return against Danville, that surprised a lot of people. Then, he had another big touchdown fumble recovery against Pulaski. He just has a nose for the football. He was also in on that big hit in the Harlan County (regional title) game in overtime, which created that fumble. He did a lot for us, but most importantly he did a good job of always finding the football.”

Stephens also gave praise for Kirk’s determination throughout the season, which included overcoming some early injuries.

“He was little banged up at the beginning of the season, but as the season went on, he got more healthy,” Stephens said. “Macauley became a big part of our offense and our defense. Macauley and Dalton (Wilson) were two nice inside linebackers, who did a lot for us and were about in on every tackle we had.”

“Later in the year, we had Macauley go down some to put some force on the defensive line and he did a super job for us this year,” Stephens added. “He played hard and he was a real consistent player for us down the stretch.”

Kirk was happy to get an opportunity to continue his football career at the college level. He also took great pride in being part of Warrior football history.

“It was a awesome season,” Kirk said. “ We started out the season with a rocky start and then after Coach (Andy) Stephens took over, we started kicking tail and we didn’t look back. It ended in a sad way (with the loss to Anderson County), but I am proud to say I am part of a regional championship team at Southwestern.”