Geneva's Ratay commits to Grand Valley St.

One of the most accomplished running backs in Illinois history decided to continue his football career in college over the weekend, as Geneva's Michael Ratay committed to Grand Valley State University.

Ratay, the 2008 Beacon News Football Athlete of the Year, decided against walking on at the University of Iowa or the University of Albany in New York.

"Around mid-month, I was either going to go Grand Valley or I was going to try and walk on, but after I went on the visit I just liked it a lot," Ratay said. "I really like the campus and how it was all set up. It's a good distance from home and their football reputation -- you can't really ignore that."

Ratay led the Vikings to their second straight perfect regular season and first IHSA title game since 1975 in 2008. He rushed for 2,859 yards and 44 touchdowns, which is tied for second most in a single season. His yardage total is the sixth highest single-season mark in IHSA history.

"I'll never forget the guys on the team and the memories we had our senior year," he said. "It was a real special season. Those numbers are team numbers. Getting that kind of yardage, you can't do that alone."

Ratay was recruited as a running back but is open to a position change.

"They said the best players are going to play. They asked me at the beginning of the whole thing when they started talking to me real seriously if I would mind if I had to switch to defense. I wouldn't mind because I've always liked playing defense, but they recruited me as a running back."

The Lakers are a perennial Division II national championship contender, having appeared in five championships and winning four since 2001. Grand Valley also set a D-II record for consecutive wins with 40. In 2008, the Lakers finished 11-1 and fell in the D-II quarterfinals to Minnesota-Duluth.