Gillies signs to play football at DIII Dubuque

Published 6:53 am Sunday, April 16, 2017

Kenai Central senior Chase Gillies signed his letter of intent to play football at the University of Dubuque (Iowa) in the fall. Gillies put pen to paper in a signing ceremony Friday at Kenai Central High School.

The Spartans are a Division III team that went 8-2 last year in the Iowa Conference.

Gillies, a four-year starter for the Kenai varsity football team, signed on with the help of a hearty scholarship, and plans to study in the school’s aviation program in pursuit of becoming a licensed pilot.

Gillies started for the Kardinals in 2016 at quarterback, throwing for over 1,000 yards and five touchdown passes with a 48 completion percentage. Gillies said he will likely be competing for a defensive spot at safety at Dubuque, where the coach told him he has the potential to be a starter. Gillies finished his high school career with 17 interceptions, two shy of the Kenai school record.

The 2017 Kenai grad could also see time as a slot receiver on offense at Dubuque.

Gillies said his most memorable moment of his career was playing in the 2015 medium-schools state championship game, a 33-18 loss to peninsula rival Soldotna, and that his time in Kenai was well spent.

“I loved it every year,” Gillies said. “The experience playing so many teams was great.”