By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
GOWER - East Buchanan seniors Ethan Bailey and Rylee Parker stood out as two of the cogs in the machine that helped the Bulldog football team to back-to-back Class 1 State championships in 2021 and 2022.
That success will now take the two to the next level together at Iowa Central Community College in Fort Dodge. Bailey and Parker signed to continue their football careers as Tritons on National Signing Day.
For both Bailey and Parker, it was the coaching staff for the Tritons that made the decision an easy one.
"The coaches really made me feel like a family there and that's why I liked it," Bailey tells reporters.
"Coach Donovan, he's the one that recruited me, they were welcoming and their facilities were really nice," Parker says.
Bailey, already a massive piece of the Bulldog defense in 2021 when he compiled four sacks and 51 tackles in just 11 games, got even better in his senior year. The defensive lineman trailed only Parker in tackles with 133 and got to the quarterback seven times.
Bailey's accomplishments in his senior season also led him to the Blue-Grey All American Bowl in Dallas, Texas, where he continued to impress on the national stage with six tackles, one sack and one forced fumble. He also was named defensive player of the year in Class 1.
Bailey says he feels that the success he had in high school will help him immensely in college.
"The success I hope to have in college I think it's prepared me a lot," Bailey says.
Parker meanwhile led East Buchanan in tackles with 143, also a massive jump from 89 during his junior season, also bringing in one interception. He says this year really opened up his mind to playing football in college.
"You know, I started off in middle school as a lineman, and now I'm going to college as a linebacker," Parker says. "I never really thought I could make it until this year and I'm just excited to see what the future holds."
Another thing Parker says he's excited about is sharing the field again with Bailey in Iowa.
"He's a great friend, I see him as a brother, and I'm just really excited to play with him again," Parker says.
East Buchanan head football coach Dan Ritter says that going to the same college will be one of the greatest benefits for his two players.
"You got a guaranteed roommate if you want it, you've got someone to keep you accountable that knows you so you won't feel alone, you won't get that home sickness early cause you're doing it together," Ritter says. "And you always have this comradery, a fraternity if you will, of football guys around you so I think it's going to be a good fit for them and I'm excited to see what they do."
Bailey says he plans to major in physical therapy in college, while Parker says he'll major in business.
