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.”
