WAHPETON, N.D. (KFGO) – Fall is now in full swing, and if you’re like me, you don’t care for the falling leaves, pumpkin spice, or spookiness.
It’s just football.
At around this time last year, you may remember this headline: “NDSCS nose guard Ray Ruschel tackles football at 49 years old”. My friend and colleague Robert Wanek, who reports for the Wahpeton Daily News, wrote a story that would not only capture the intrigue of folks locally but later the entire country when ESPN College Gameday found out about Ray Ruschel. A 49-year-old Business Management student chasing his dream and playing JUCO football.
Ray Ruschel on the sideline (Photo Credit: Robert Wanek)
I caught up with the now 50-year-old Ruschel almost a year later as he traded his football helmet for Army fatigues. He looked back at the last year with gratitude.
“It was nerve-wracking,” Ruschel said. “I didn’t want to take the attention away from the other players and the talent on the team and become a distraction. I think we did a good job highlighting the amazing group we had, the college itself, and the North Dakota National Guard as well,” Ruschel smilingly added.
Ray had dreamed of being on the football field for over 30 years. In 1992 he graduated from Trinity High School in Pennsylvania and heard the call of duty. He joined the Army and was based in Europe for two years after high school which turned into a career with the Army National Guard and then in 2018, found himself working in Wahpeton at the beet plant. College was the perfect opportunity to play the game he loves.
“I want everyone to live life, grab it by the horns wrestle it to the ground, and make it yours. That’s what I did, and I’m an old guy!” Ruschel laughed. “I’m doing all the fun things I’ve never thought I’d do in my life.”
Ruschel said he had every plan to play his age 50 season but once again in his life, a duty to serve called.
“Our unit was called to support a Battalion Task Force in support of Operation Inherent Resolve,” Ruschel said. Operation Inherent Resolve is the US military’s operational name for the international war against the Islamic State in Iraq & Syria that began in 2014 and continues today. Ray couldn’t say what he would be doing or where he was going due to his deployment being classified.
U.S. Soldiers, with Alpha Troop, 1st Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, pose for a photo with a M2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle and a AH-64 Apache Helicopter in the Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility, Nov. 23, 2020. The soldiers are in Syria to support the Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Jensen Guillory)
Ray contends that his involvement in the Army National Guard is what has made everything possible in his life.
“They’ve given me the opportunity to be a student-athlete. To attend college. And for that I’m grateful,” Ruschel said.
As for the football field, Ray isn’t counting out his return to the gridiron.
“I told Coach Issendorf that I wouldn’t be able to play this fall, he said I could help coach fall camp,” Ruschel added. “I was bummed to not get to play with the guys this year but I told them I’d see them next year for my age 51 season!” Ray laughed.
Being a half-century old, Ray not only shattered age-related stereotypes but has inspired a new generation of athletes to pursue their dreams.
Coach Prime has captivated the country this year with what he’s doing for Colorado Buffs football but a 51-year-old Juco Sophmore football player in small-town North Dakota?
That’s the PRIME content I want to see.
🏈 Ray Ruschel. A 49-Year-Old Army Veteran, Business Student, AND NOW one of the oldest College Football players to play the game caught up with KFGO’s @gira_madison about his journey.
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FULL STORY MONDAY AT: https://t.co/8tZpScM4YH
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Credit: @WahpSports pic.twitter.com/siPpexhrev— KFGO (@790KFGO) September 15, 2022
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