By Bill Bray
For the last four years Ethan Green has become a familiar name in Fremont Ross Athletics. The three-sport star has left his mark in everything he has competed in from football to wrestling to track and field, Green has been a force to be reckoned with.
Green first appeared on the Little Giant scene as a freshman in the fall of 2018. He has been a staple on the offensive line at the left tackle position. Green has grown into a 6’7” 295 lb. giant. “He’s been a dominant force at left tackle for three years. It’s important because that’s the blind side of Kaden. On defense he is a person who takes up a lot of blocks and holds down the middle of the defense,” Ross football coach Chad Long said.
Friday night Green will line up at his Tackle positions for the final time at Don Paul stadium. But for he and the entire team there was a tragic diversion that has prohibited Green from thinking much about the final battle. “We all have heavy hearts for the loss of coach“House”Jones, I haven’t really thought to much about the game being my last.” But then Green added, “I’m more geared towards trying to “upset” Central than it about being my final home game.”
Green’s football career had an early start. “I grew up in Elkhart, IN,” Green began. “I played bitty football there starting in third grade.” Green not only started his football career there but also his wrestling journey. Ethan’s dad, Ross graduate Chad Green got his young son interested in wrestling. The elder Green was coach Al Voggenthaler’s last wrestler to make the state tournament. He was a second-place finisher at the tournament at Wright State University in 1991. “He quickly became my coach,” Ethan said of his dad. “The sport of wrestling has taught me mental toughness which is something I lacked until High School. Wrestling definitely opened my eyes to the saying ‘if you want to something, you have to work to get it.’”
Senior Ethan Green all 6’7″ 295 lbs of him is ready to help beat Toledo Central Catholic.
Work, Ethan has done. Green won first-team honors in the Three Rivers Athletic conference after his junior year on both offense and defense at his tackle positions. “Football has taught me that when everyone plays as one it is easier to accomplish more.” As is indicated by the fact that Ross has gone from a 5-6 team in 2020 to a 7-1 team so far in 2021.When asked of his favorite football memory so far. The lighthearted Green said, “Jumping around listening to music after we win. Green’s dance moves were displayed after Ross sacked a Lima ball carries in the endzone for a safety this past week.
Last winter was the most success Green has had up to this point. When the 2020-2021 wrestling season ended, Green was third at the state wrestling tournament in the heavyweight division. It is well documented that last season was like none of us had ever seen before in just over 100 years in our country. The wrestling season went along and the state tournament went on as scheduled. The Giant’s giant made his way through the tournaments to end up at the “Big Show”. With the third-place finish, Green has some unfinished business going into this year. “I prepared (for the 2021 state tournament) as I normally do for something big. I tried putting in more time and worked even harder than I had before,” Green said of junior wrestling campaign. “Mentally I just take everything one day at a time and try not to look too far ahead. Honestly I prepared everyday as if it were my last and was ready for change at any moment because of COVID.”
Green is looking forward to the rest of his high school career, and why wouldn’t he with all the success he has had to this point. “Wrestling and Track are still on my agenda,” Green said. “I have goals in my head that I want to accomplish before leaving Ross.”
Green had enjoyed his time participating in sports year-round. “Being a three-sport athlete hasn’t presented too many difficulties to be honest,” Green said. “The hardest thing really is just trying to stay healthy and keep from getting injured.”
Green’s future looks awfully bright as he’ll follow some former Ross greats into Division I football. He certainly knows it will be entirely different than the high school level. “My early goals when I get to college are getting up to speed strength wise and trying to further my football IQ as fast as possible,” the future Cincinnati Bearcat said. “I really want to hit the strength program hard as soon as I can. I want to start to perfect what I do so I can move up the roster just like I did in high school.”
Green chose the Bearcats because he felt it was a good fit for him. “The location, the state of their program, the living situation was all a perfect match for what I want in a college. Truth be known, I was looking at Cincinnati before they offered me in the first place.”
Soon Green will exit Fremont Ross and wants to be remembered for his hard work and his accomplishments. “I want my legacy to show that I did something in more than just football, Green said. “I don’t like the fact that kids get good at one sport and then focus on only that sport. If I can make a statement this year in wrestling and in track I think it will solidify that for me.”