Wickliffe’s Pettway picks D-II Urbana

One of the most important things — if not the most important thing — Isaac Pettway wanted to do as a high schooler was represent the City of Wickliffe and his school the right way.

That mindset hasn’t changed now that the two-time All-Ohio running back has committed to play football at Division II Urbana University.

Pettway accepted a full athletic scholarship with the Blue Knights, choosing Urbana over a myriad of other college football opportunities.

He will sign a national letter of intent on Feb. 6.

“It’s been a great four years,” Pettway said. “I had a lot of supporters. I tried to go out every night for them and be the best I could possibly be for them. My career at Wickliffe is made of people, not of football.

“I’m looking forward to the next step and want to do my best to turn Urbana into a dream team that wins conference titles.”

Pettway has the talent to do that, for sure.

This past fall, he ran for 1,432 yards and 23 touchdowns despite drawing constant attention from defenders whose game plan was to stop him.

As a junior, Pettway ran for 1,579 yards and 24 touchdowns.

As a sophomore, he ran for 1,394 yards and 21 scores.

He leaves Wickliffe as the all-time leading rusher (4,995 yards) and scorer with 78 touchdowns. He also caught 161 yards of passes, played defense (accumulating 127 tackles over the past two seasons) and special teams.

In short, Pettway did it all.

“Everybody has that dream when they’re little of doing something special, not just for them, but for their family and town,” Pettway said. “At the age of 6, I tried football. I loved it. I treated it like a job. I woke up thinking about what I could do not just for myself, but also for my team and family.

“Dreams, they don’t come true unless you put in the effort and time. It doesn’t happen overnight. They can be reality, but it doesn’t happen automatically. I fell in love with football and never stopped loving it.”

It’s that mentality that made Pettway so successful at Wickliffe, Coach Marce Porcello said, and one that will benefit him at Urbana.

“I think the sky is the limit for him,” Porcello said. “He’s a dynamic player. He’s a great young man and that’s going to take him a long way. He’ll do great things there.”

Pettway said he had an enticing offer from Notre Dame College, but his visit to Urbana sold him on the program.

“They treated me very well on my first visit,” he said. “I went back a week ago and took a tour. It brought me so much joy, the coaches, staff and administration. They’re good people, they love kids and I’m happy to be part of that.”

Pettway helped leave a lasting mark on the Wickliffe program. In his final three years of varsity action, the Blue Devils went 24-10 (8-3 in 2016, 8-4 in 2017 and 8-3 in 2018) with a trio of appearances in the Division V playoffs.

“I’m very proud of Isaac,” Porcello said. “He’s done so much for our program. I’m proud to see him go to a great school like Urbana and represent Wickliffe like I know he will.”

Pettway plans to major in sports medicine with the intention of someday becoming an athletic trainer.

Why? Because it’s important for him to help people.

“Ever since I’ve been close to the game, if something happened to me, a trainer was there. That would be a good fit for me. I like to help people.”