Former Santa Paula tight end hero of Las Vegas Bowl

Former Santa Paula High School football player John Wadkowski saved the day for his team in the recent Las Vegas Bowl. Wadkowski caught the winning touchdown for Wyoming, giving them a 24-21 win over UCLA. The 12-yard pass from quarterback Corey Bramlet came with 57 seconds left on the clock.After the game Wadkowski said that it felt like years of hard work and dedication to game had paid off. “We knew all week that they were underestimating us,” he added. “They were not giving us respect. We came out and we knew we had to prove it.”Wadkowski, a 6-foot-4, 255 pound junior, earned First Team Junior College All-America honors this past fall at Ventura Community College. He caught 43 passes for 616 yards and four touchdowns during his two years at Ventura. As a sophomore, Wadkowski caught 27 passes for 386 yards and two TDs and earned First Team All-Region III honors, in addition to being named an All-American. He had 16 catches for 230 yards and two touchdowns as a freshman in 2002. Ventura College posted back-to-back 6-4 records during his time there.Wadkowski is known for his precise route running. He became an excellent blocker over his two years at Ventura, after being primarily a receiving tight end at Santa Paula High.A team captain at both the community college and high school levels, Wadkowski was also an honor student throughout high school and community college. He earned Academic All-CIF honors in high school.Terry Morris coached him at Ventura College. His high school coach was Ed Gomez.