ROUGHEDGE

It had been 10 years since a football player from Parkwood High signed an athletic scholarship, but that all changed on Wednesday when two Rebels signed their letters of intent to play at the next level.

Andrew Jauch and Maurice Leak became the first Parkwood football players since 2000 to sign a football scholarship out of high school.

Jauch, a 6-foot-1, 185-pound safety, inked a full ride with Division I-AA Liberty University. Leak, a 5-9, 165-pound quarterback, signed a full scholarship with Division II Charleston (W.Va.) University.

Dustin Ruff, a defensive tackle, is also expected to sign with Division I-AA Elon University in the next few weeks.

Former Parkwood High standouts Buck Worley and Ryan Caldwell signed partial athletic scholarships with Wingate University in 2000.

Former Parkwood quarterback Tom O’Leary was a walk-on at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2002. He later earned an athletic scholarship during his senior season with the Tar Heels.

“It’s been 10 years, so we feel special and it’s something Dustin, Maurice and I talk about all the time,” said Jauch. “Parkwood has had some good players come through, but nobody has really gotten a scholarship and gone on to play and produce anywhere.”

Jauch committed to Liberty before the 2009 season and said he’s relieved to finally be done with the recruiting process.

“It’s been really exciting, but I’m glad to get it out of the way,” said Jauch. “It’s just one of those things where you’ve been waiting for it and now it’s finally over with. I just feel blessed because not everybody gets to have the same advantage.”

Parkwood finished the 2009 season with a 4-7 record and missed out on the postseason for the first time since 2004.

Despite the disappointment, Jauch said he wouldn’t have traded the chance to play with Ruff and Leak.

“I wouldn’t want to play with anybody else, even with the season we had last year,” said Jauch. “Those are my friends and they are great teammates, and I’m definitely going to miss them next year. It’s going to be tough moving on and making new friends, but maybe Liberty will play Elon one year and Dustin and I will get a chance to play against each other.”