Jon Kowalyshen

Jon Kowalyshen

Kowalyshen sacking Tono Romo

Kowalyshen sacking Tony Romo in an NCAA Division I playoff in 2002
No. 39
Position: Defensive lineman
Personal information
Date of birth: (1981-04-14) April 14, 1981
Place of birth: Chicago, Illinois
Height: 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight: 249 lb (113 kg)
Career information
High school: Franklin Park (IL) East Leyden
College: Western Illinois
Undrafted: 2004
Career history

Jon "Sackmaster[1] " Kowalyshen (born April 14, 1985) is a professional American football player who played 6 seasons with the United Indoor Football (UIF), Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL) and the Indoor Football League (IFL).

Career

College

Kowalyshen started his collegiate career playing at William Rainey Harper College under head coach John Eliasik. At Western Illinois University, Jon played under coach Don Patterson and Ronnie Harmon.

College statistics

Year Sacks Tackles TFL Hurries BLK
Freshman: 12 47 10 7 1
Sophomore: 14 56 15 9 1
Junior: 6 40 14 13 1
Senior: 11 65 18 8 0
TOTAL 43 208 57 37 3

Pro

Kowalyshen's Professional Indoor Football career spanned the course of 6 seasons with 4 teams and in 3 different leagues.

Sioux City Bandits (2006)

In Sioux City, Kowalyshen played under head coach Jose Jefferson with the Bandits of the United Indoor Football League for his rookie season.[2] The team finished with a 6-9 record and clinched a playoff berth against the Rock River Raptors. In 16 games with the club, he led the team with 6.5 sacks for -39 yards. He also posted 9.5 tackles for loss, blocked 6 kicks and was 4th on the team in tackles with 52.5.[3] Other statistics of note include 8 quarterback hits, 2 fumble recoveries, a forced fumble and a pass break-up.

Kowalyshen salutes Slaughter fans at the Sears Centre.
Chicago Slaughter (2007)
Kowalyshen in 2009 zeroes in on sacking QB Russ Michna.

Kowalyshen joined the Chicago Slaughter of the Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL) in 2007, playing under head coach Steve "Mongo" McMichael. Kowalyshen led the team with 13 sacks in 12 regular season games, had 47.5 tackles and posted 3 blocked kicks in a single game (10 blocked kicks all season). In two playoff games with the 2007 Slaughter, Kowalyshen scored a defensive touchdown, a safety, blocked 2 kicks, had 7 tackles for loss, forced a fumble and added another sack.

Rock River Raptors (2009)

Remaining with the CIFL, Kowalyshen was traded to the Rock River Raptors in 2009, playing under head coach Dave Jones. The highlight of Kowalyshen's year with the Raptors came when he tied the all-time CIFL single-game sack record with 4.[4] His year-end sack total in 2009 was 12, an average of 1 per game. His statistics for 2009 included 62 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, 6 blocked kicks, 3 forced fumbles, a safety and 1 fumble recovery.[5][6] [7]

Chicago Slaughter (2010-2012)

Kowalyshen proved to be a staple on defense for the Slaughter (now with the IFL) during the 2010, 2011 and 2012 seasons, contributing to 2 more berths in the playoffs. In 42 games for the Slaughter, Kowalyshen would post 131 tackles, 18 sacks, 16 blocked kicks, 19 tackles for loss, 6 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery, 5 pass break-ups, a safety and a defensive touchdown. The Slaughter had a combined record of 31-25 (2-3 playoffs) in his 4 years total with the team.[8][9]

Bloomington Extreme

Initially for the 2012 season Kowalyshen had signed with Bloomington Extreme and started 3 games.[10] Kowalyshen was notified of his release by the Extreme but was picked up immediately by the Slaughter once again.[11][12]

Awards and honors

Career highlights

ESPN's top 10 plays of the week in 2003 nationally televised Kowalyshen's sack technique of the Colgate University quarterback on a 4th down denial.[20][21] Kowalyshen is also featured as a member of the Western Illinois University team on EA Sports' NCAA Football 2003 video game.[22]

Kowalyshen's high school career sack record of 39, an IHSA all-time record, for West Leyden High School, has stood unbroken since 1999.[23]

References

  1. ↑ Archived February 22, 2014, at the Wayback Machine.
  2. ↑ "Sioux City Bandits - News". Scbandits.com. 2006-02-24. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
  3. ↑ "2006 United Indoor Football - Sioux City Bandits". Qkstats.net. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
  4. 1 2 "Rock River Raptors RB JR Taylor & DL Jon Kowalyshen Named Continental Indoor Football League Players of the Week!". RockRiverFootball.com. 2009-05-05. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
  5. ↑ "Raptors grind out CIFL victory over Milwaukee - News - Rockford Register Star - Rockford, IL". Rrstar.com. 2009-05-17. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
  6. 1 2 Schoch, Matt (13 June 2007). "Matt Schoch's Local Sports Blog". The Times Herald. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
  7. ↑ "Rock River Raptors RB JR Taylor & DL Jon Kowalyshen Named Continental Indoor Football League Players of the Week!". RockRiverFootball.com. 5 May 2009. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
  8. ↑ "No. 2 Chicago and Lehigh Valley". Goifl.com. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
  9. ↑ "Individual Statistics - Defense". Iflstats.fbstats.pointstreak.com. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
  10. ↑ "March 22, 2012". Goifl.com. 2012-03-22. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
  11. ↑ "Transactions". Goifl.com. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
  12. ↑ Deacon, Joe (2012-02-25). "Veterans leading Edge into home debut". Pantagraph.com. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
  13. ↑ "The 1997 Tribune All-State football team". chicagotribune.com. 2014-02-05. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
  14. 1 2 "The 1998 Tribune All-State football team". chicagotribune.com. 2014-02-05. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
  15. ↑ "Dixie State gets its kicks". Deseret News. 2000-12-03. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
  16. ↑ "Nassau Community College Post-Season Football Records". Luckyshow.org. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
  17. ↑ "2002 Gateway All-Newcomer Team". Valley-Football.org. 2002-12-01. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
  18. ↑ "2003 Gateway All-Conference Team". Valley-Football.org. 2003-11-25. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
  19. ↑ "Extreme Continue to Bulk Up 2010 Roster - OurSports Central - Independent and Minor League Sports News". OurSports Central. 2010-02-12. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
  20. ↑ "Top 10 Plays News, Videos, Photos, and PodCasts - ESPN". Search.espn.go.com. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
  21. ↑ "COLLEGE FOOTBALL; With a Late Flurry, Colgate Reaches I-AA Semifinals - New York Times". Nytimes.com. 2003-12-07. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
  22. ↑ "NCAA Football 2003". IGN. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
  23. ↑ "IHSA IHSA Boys Football All-Time Individual Records (Kicking, Returning, & Defense)". Ihsa.org. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
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