Goodrich native Kirk Elsworth and the Western Michigan Broncos will be making a part of college football bowl history.
The Broncos have accepted an invitation to play in the first-ever International Bowl, scheduled for noon on Jan. 6, 2007 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, according to the Broncos? Web site, wmubroncos.com.
The game is scheduled to air live on ESPN2 in the United States and TSN in Canada. It will be the first time a college football bowl game has been played outside of the United States since the 1937 Bacardi Bowl in Havana, Cuba.
Elsworth, a 2005 graduate of Goodrich High School, is currently in his sophomore year as a running back with the Broncos? football team. He said he found out about the Broncos? bowl bid when the team gathered at Waldo Stadium in Kalamazoo.
‘The coaches told us they expected we would be playing in the International Bowl,? he said. ‘It’s a pretty big deal for us to be in a bowl game. It hasn’t happened for us since 1988. We’re happy to be playing another game.
That year, the Broncos appeared in the California Bowl, where Fresno State defeated the Broncos 35-30.
Elsworth said he is not sure as of this point whom the Broncos? opponent will be come Jan. 7. ‘I’ve heard rumors that it’s Cincinnati (a member of the Big East Conference), but I’m not sure,? he said.
Western finished the year with an 8-4 overall record and a 6-2 mark in the Mid-American Conference, placing second in the MAC West Division.
Elsworth said he was pleased with how this season went.
‘I didn’t get as many carries as I would have liked, but I had a chance a few times to show them what I could do,? he said.
He said the highlight for him this season was when the Broncos played perennial power Florida State Nov. 18 in Tallahassee, Fla. The Seminoles defeated the Broncos 28-20 in front of 78,236 fans at Doak Campbell Stadium.
‘There were a big number of fans,? he said. ‘The stadium was packed, and it was a great environment to play.?