Wildcat Football Presents Commemorative Footballs To Dawson Smail And Brady Quinn; Lovingly Designed By C-L Freshman Emma Zacherl
The Central Clarion Wildcat Football Boosters and team awarded special keepsake footballs to graduating seniors Dawson Smail and Brady Quinn last week, commemorating some very important records they established during their Wildcat careers.
Dawson now holds both the single season touchdown record (16) for Central Clarion, as well as the career touchdown mark (23). Brady established the career interception mark (12).
Wildcats’ head coach Dave Eggleton shared, “Brady’s ball was presented Wednesday (May 15th) at Forell’s (Forell Barbell). Dawson’s ball was presented at Weaver Park on Friday (May 17th). We would have liked to done something more formal, but this time of the year is so busy with baseball, track, and graduation.”
Coach Eggleton had some fine things to say about the two. “Brady has been such a joy to coach everyday. His leadership on and off the field is unmatched. He has certainly worked hard to accomplish this record. His drive to succeed is unmatched and will take him far in life.
“Dawson is a rare talent. In small schools and communities, we rarely see athletes of his caliber. I am proud of him for achieving his records and look forward to seeing his athletic career continue at the next level.”
Emma Zacherl, a freshman at Clarion-Limestone, was employed by the Boosters to do the artwork on the footballs.
Coach Eggleton said, “Though she is young, she is already a very accomplished artist. She has had her artwork displayed at many shows, and I believe she will have one of her pieces displayed at Washington D. C. This summer. Her artwork on the balls was certainly a great tribute to the accomplishments of these young men.”
Artwork indeed. These footballs are things to behold!
The Orange, Blue and White Wildcats color scheme, totally encases the footballs. Brady and Dawson’s graduation class, their jersey numbers and records are listed as well as the Wildcats’ Logo, designed by Clarion Area grad, Karl Jacobson, one of her mentors.
All the lettering on the footballs were painted freehand after Emma drew the block lettering onto them.
The design is pretty intricate so she used some tracing paper to get the design laid out onto the football. Then she painted it by hand to fill in the design. The design is pretty intricate so she used some tracing paper to get the design laid out onto the football. Then she painted it by hand to fill in the design.
The Wildcat Logo is really something. I literally thought it is a stick on graphic that was put on the balls and sealed. Well, the rest of the story: It is a pretty intricate design, so she used some tracing paper to get it the outline laid out onto the football. Then Emma painted the rest of it by hand to fill in the design.
I challenge anyone to find differences between the two.
Mr. Jacobson shared, “This is kind of a full circle moment when your student comes in showing you footballs she painted with the graphic I designed a couple years before.
“She is an incredibly gifted student. I have never had a student make such strides in technique in such a short period time. Her third painting since we started classes ended up winning Congressional Honors. She is a sponge , taking every note and lesson to heart. She continues to push herself every-time she comes into the studio.
“Her enthusiasm for art is infectious and even has pushed me to be better.”
Emma worked on this project outside of school.
As to the time involved, she said, “It probably took me around 10+ hours to sketch out and paint both footballs. It’s hard to know exactly since I would work on them a little bit here and there.”
As to the time involved, she said, “It probably took me around 10+ hours to sketch out and paint both footballs. It’s hard to know exactly since I would work on them a little bit here and there.”
Emma mentioned that she is “always looking for opportunities to create art.”
She was asked to create graphic art for members of the Lady Lions Basketball team and Wildcats Softball team. I’ve also created the cover art for the yearbook for the past three years.”
“Painting the footballs was something completely different. It was a lot more labor intensive than I thought, but I’m really happy with how they turned out.
“I’m related to Dawson Smail, as his dad is my mom’s first cousin, so it was cool to make something for him.
“I think it is nice to give the athletes something to remember their accomplishments.”
I’ve been interested in art since I was little and was inspired by my two artistic older sisters. I love watercolors, oils, alcohol markers, and digital art. Both Mrs. Huwar and Mrs. Zerbe have always been there to give me feedback on my artwork and have encouraged me over the years.
Mrs. Kendra Zerbe shared, “Emma has always been a gifted art student, receiving A’s and setting high standards for her work.
“As a gifted student in more than one subject, she chose to not take an art class this year but to focus on art competitions. However she has checked in for feedback on her work and I have encouraged her in any way that I could throughout the year, by hanging her work in the school and getting the word out when she receives recognition for her work.
“I am very proud of her and I look forward to her being back in art with me.”
Although my schedule didn’t allow room for an art class this past year, I have been taking private lessons from local artist Karl Jacobson. He has really helped me learn how to paint with oils. My oil painting of my dog Archie won the 2024 Congressional Art Competition for PA 15th District. It will be displayed in the U.S. Capitol for the next year.
There’s a big window for Emma to decide what she would like to do after she graduates. “I would like to pursue a career in art, but I am exploring other fields as well. I have three more years of high school and art classes to figure it out.”
Congratulations to Brady and Dawson on your fine achievements and to Emma on your beautiful artwork!!!!
(Thank you to all who contributed photos and comments for this article!!!!)