Ethan Bednarczyk, winning the right way…

There are guys out there who succeed and you just couldn’t be happier about it. The reason you are happy for their success is because they worked so hard to attain it…nothing was given to them. Ethan Bednarczyk is one of those guys.

KPGFootball has covered Ethan a very long time. We were aware of him back when he led his middle school team to one of its finest seasons ever. We were aware of him when he was selected to the Team Kentucky FBU and helped lead them to the FBU final four in the FBU National Championship tournament. We were aware of him when he played on both the 7th and 8th grade Team Kentucky Future Stars squads. Heck, back in August of 2018, we rated him the 21st best prospect, commonwealth-wide, in the Kentucky graduating class of 2020. We are willing to wager neither Rivals nor 247Sports knows who he is right now.

We ran Bednarczyk in our “search engine” and it came back with four whole pages of articles either featuring him or in which he was discussed. That is approaching 40 articles. We have covered this kid so much we can easily spell “Bednarczyk.”

The entire time we have been covering Ethan, it has been a symbiotic relationship. He’s benefited from our coverage and we have benefited from his exceeding our every expectation for his play and effort, thus making us appear smart every time we extolled his abilities and prospects. This is a hard working kid who has made himself a Division I, college prospect. Nothing has been given him outside of heart and desire.

Ethan is 5-9 and weighs 175-pounds, so he doesn’t have the “classic” edge length colleges are seeking. That notwithstanding, and through hard work and training, Bednarczyk has run the short-shuttle in the low 4s, broad-jumped 122-inches (9’6″), bench presses over 300 pounds, squats nearly 450, and power cleans in the neighborhood of 260-pounds.

Translation, he’s super quick-twitch, powerful, off the charts explosive, and athletic especially in light of where he plays. Ethan has led the Dragons from South Oldham in yards per reception and receptions over a two year period which has seen the boys from Crestwood, Kentucky win 22 of 26 ball games and play in the State semi-finals in 2018. Ethan was selected to the Sophomore All-State Football Team by KPGFootball following the 2017 season.

We called him a “Wes Welker” or “Julian Edelman” type in several of our articles. Hate to brag (not really), but how could we have hit this one any more on the mark?

Ethan Bednarczyk has been offered by the College of William & Mary in Virginia (FCS, Division I) which certainly seems in the market for receivers as Ethan is the third Kentucky receiver the Tribe has offered in the classes of 2020 and 2021 in the past three or so weeks. The Tribe is getting a winner and one Hell of an addition to its 2020 class if they can gain his commitment.

Bednarczyk is getting (potentially) the opportunity to be degreed from one of the most prestigious schools in America. The College of William & Mary in Virginia was founded in 1693 by letters patent issued to King William III and Queen Mary II, both of England, and is the second oldest institution of high learning in the US, after only Harvard.

William & Mary claims among its alumni such statesmen as Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, James Monroe, John Tyler, John Marshall (first Supreme Court Chief Justice) and Henry Clay (a Kentuckian like Ethan). Actors and noted entertainers Patton Oswalt, Glen Close, Jon Stewart went there as did Robert Gates, former Secretary of Defense, and former FBI director James Comey.

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach, Mike Tomlin, played there but can one really call him famous in comparison with the remainder of our list? The point is Bednarczyk has worked his way into an opportunity way more important than that of being a college football player. Ethan has used football to set himself up with a chance to earn an enviable (and marketable) degree.

This isn’t an article where we are crowing about our being way more knowledgable about Kentucky High School football than any outfit describing themselves as our competitors though, in truth, we have done a little of that in this piece. This is an article where we want to highlight what Ethan Bednarczyk has done with hard work, being a top-flight citizen and student, and tireless effort in the face of omnipotent detractors attempting to both sell him short and explain why he doesn’t measure up to some physical standard.

This is an article about a kid who has done the football-thing, if you will, the right way. This is a kid whose victory is a victory for all of us who earnestly hope that effort still matters, that hard work still matters, and that tireless industry still matters.

It appears all of the above still matters to the College of William & Mary in Virginia. This is a win for the “white-hats,” the good guys, and the guys who do things the right way.

This is Coach HB Lyon, reporting for KPGFootball, and we’re JUST CALLING IT LIKE WE SEE IT!

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About Henry Lyon 1210 Articles
Have coached at the high school and middle school level. Have worked in athletic administration. Conceal my identity to enable my candor on articles published by this magazine. Only members of the editorial board are aware of my true identity.

2 Comments

  1. One thing your article is missing is the support Ethan has received from his dedicated family who gave up lots of time, money and other resources to give “EB” such an amazing foundation. His friends. You have no idea the brothers he runs with and how they’ve rooted for each other and impacted each other’s lives. (That 8th grade season you mentioned? Check out all the core boys on that team. They’re still leading their team!) I envy the friendship those boys share.
    Coaches. From peewee league and on, he’s had good solid fundamentals coached into him. (And he’s paid attention!)
    Ethan also has a strong faith. That can’t be an accident either.
    You’re right about him doing it the right way. It’s been amazing watching him develop over the years. Proud to say I’ve had a front row seat and have announced every one of his (and the rest of that 2020 class’s) home games from 6th grade on and a few away games too! He’s class from top to bottom and deserves every accolade thrown his way. He’s South Oldham’s best kept secret. Well, he used to be! Good news travels!

    • We were writing a feature article, not a novel. Every thing you said about his family’s dedication isn’t special to Ethan. That could literally be said about every single prospect in the country. No one person is an island unto himself. Everyone’s family gives up time, money, and other resources where the prospect is having Ethan’s level of success.

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