Jimmy Spehn has been selected as the 2009 UW-Platteville Pioneer football offensive MVP. The senior out of Neuqua Valley led the team with four receiving touchdowns and was second with 31 receptions.

--Brad Engel

Nick Lifka, a 6-foot-2-inch, 235-pound Naperville North junior linebacker, has been invited to the 2010 U.S. Army National Combine. The combine will take place Jan. 7-9, in conjunction with the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, which will be broadcast live by NBC from San Antonio's Alamodome.

Combine alumni include decorated college quarterbacks Tim Tebow (Florida) and Colt McCoy (Texas), as well as Miami Dolphins wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. and Baltimore Ravens safety Tom Zbikowski.

Benet offensive lineman Patrick Flavin, Naperville Central wide receiver Hayden Daniels and Naperville North linebacker Nick Lifka are among the juniors who will be recognized Wednesday as part of the Tom Lemming Underclassman All-Area Team. Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald will be the banquet's keynote speaker.

The team's selection committee included: the recruiting expert Lemming; Taylor Bell of the Chicago Sun-Times; and ex-college coaches Randy Taylor and Bob Chmiel, who combined have worked at UCLA, Minnesota, Michigan and Notre Dame. The players -- including a few seniors -- chosen from the greater Chicago area are: