Maine South star Goro excited for future at Vandy

Maine South's Charlie Goro celebrates the Class 8A championship in November. Goro will be headed to play quarterback at Vanderbilt in the fall.
(Steve Johnston/Staff Photographer)

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Even though he was busy leading Maine South to new heights last year, quarterback Charlie Goro found enough time to follow his future team nearly 500 miles to the south.

While the Hawks went 14-0 and captured the program's third state championship, the Vanderbilt Commodores made their own history by finishing 7-6 and winning their first bowl game since 1953. Goro, who gave a verbal commitment to the SEC school Aug. 12, was scheduled to sign his letter of intent Wednesday at the school.

"I think it will all sink in once I sign," said Goro, the Sun-Times' player of the year. "This is where I am going to spend the next four or five years. It's starting to hit me a bit."

The 6-foot-2, 183-pound dual threat led the Hawks to a 41-21 win over Hinsdale Central in the Class 8A title game. Goro totaled nearly 300 yards with his arm and legs. Directing an offense that averaged 45 points a game, he passed for more than 3,000 yards and rushed for more than 500.

Meanwhile, the Commodores, long the doormat of the SEC, won their first five games, the program's best start since 1943. Vanderbilt, the smallest and only private school in the SEC, then qualified for its first postseason game since 1982 and made the trip more memorable by beating Boston College 16-14 at the Music City Bowl.

"It was exciting to see how well they played," said Goro, who followed the team on the Web and by talking to its coaches. "And we have a great recruiting class coming in. I feel very confident with where the team is headed."

St. Viator graduate and quarterback Jared Funk also plays for Vanderbilt. He will be a redshirt junior for the 2009 season.

Sam Chwarzynski also was expected to sign his letter of intent Wednesday to play football for Penn. The 6-1, 193-pound defensive back also will be joining a program on the upswing. The Quakers welcome back 17 starters from a team that finished with a winning record for the first time since 2004.

Joey Orlando and Zach Timm are two more highly rated Maine South players expected to make a decision.

In other sports, Peter Engle signed his letter in early January to play baseball for Indiana Wesleyan, an NAIA school. David Atas is headed to Bradley to play golf.