Former North Central College running back Ethan Greenfield (0) is playing professionally in Finland.
Photo courtesy of Ethan Greenfield

When moving to a foreign country, surrounded by strangers, it helps to start by finding some common ground.

For former North Central running back Ethan Greenfield, who played football in Finland this summer, it was former Bulls forward Lauri Markkanen.

“I should buy a Markkanen jersey because every single guy was like, ‘You know who that is, huh?’” Greenfield said. “Yeah, he played on the Bulls for a stretch there, but they all talk about him. A lot of those guys, they only watch basketball because of him. It’s really cool the pride that kind of runs through everybody when one of their guys make it.”

Greenfield, from Lakes High School in Lake Villa, wrapped up a successful college career in 2022 by winning the Gagliardi Award — sort of the Heisman Trophy of Division III — and a second national championship at North Central.

Then came a pro day for NFL scouts, an XFL tryout, inquiries to the CFL. Greenfield wanted to keep playing football, so he went looking for a spot overseas. Following a tip from former Illinois defensive back Nolan Bernat from Bartlett, he utilized a database designed to help American players find teams, then got an offer from the Helsinki Roosters. Two other former North Central players, defensive lineman Dan Gilroy (Cary-Grove) and defensive back Julian Bell (Oswego), joined the same team.

And the Roosters won the championship of the seven-team Maple League or Vaahteraliiga, which has existed since 1980. The Roosters beat the Seinajoki Crocodiles 49-14 in the championship game.

Greenfield had 185 rushing yards, 258 all-purpose yards and scored 2 touchdowns in the Maple Bowl. But the MVP was quarterback Ambro Urjansson, who threw for 5 TDs. It’s interesting to know there are Finland athletes who grow up dreaming of playing quarterback.

“He’s young, 21 or 22, and he kind of got into football just watching it on TV,” Greenfield said. “It’s not the most popular sport in Finland, but he got into it and is a big fan of old quarterbacks. He would go around wearing a Steve McNair jersey all the time. He became someone who fell in love with the game and wanted to be as good as he possibly could.”

While it was fun and interesting to learn about the quirks and culture of living in Finland, Greenfield’s biggest takeaway might be the respect for teammates playing a familiar game in a foreign environment.

“Those guys are all die-hard fans and they love it and take a lot of their free time to play football,” he said. “It was very eye-opening and very cool to see how much that sport means to them. We would have 100 fans showing up to a game, they didn’t care. They just love playing the game. That was one of the coolest things I experienced along this journey.”

In Finland, each team could have five Americans — two on defense and three on offense, where at least one needs to be a lineman. Unlike basketball, playing overseas American football isn’t especially lucrative.

“It’s not. Everything you need to get covered is covered,” Greenfield said. “You get a nice stipend to enjoy yourself. But if you wanted to stay out there, you would have to get a different job, which is what some guys do. There are some guys out there who played in America and lived in Finland for 10 years, found a wife, had kids, work a different job and play football.”

Greenfield is back at home now, working as a substitute teacher and helping coach at Lakes. He plans to go back to Europe, but not necessarily Helsinki because the head coach left, but that still has to be worked out.

“I am exploring all options just because I think it would be cool to experience another country with a different team and a different league,” he said. “But I also wouldn’t be opposed to going back to Finland to play for the Roosters.”

Redbird romp:

Illinois State QB Tommy Rittenhouse (St. Francis) posted monster numbers last week in a win at Murray State. He threw for 347 yards and ran for 128. Wideout Daniel Sobkowicz (Rolling Meadows) hauled in both of Rittenhouse’s touchdown passes as the Redbirds improved to 5-3. … After breaking a long losing streak, Western Illinois has won three of its last four games, beating Tennessee Tech 37-21 last weekend in Macomb.

Roosevelt breaks through:

After moving up to Division II this year, Roosevelt snagged its first GLIAC victory last weekend, beating Northern Michigan 16-10 in overtime at the Superior Dome. To start the OT, Lakers linebacker Jaylen Olokun (Homewood-Flossmoor) recovered a fumble, then three runs by running back Cyrus Zuell reached the end zone for the game-winner. One strange aspect of this game is NMU threw just 2 passes and didn’t complete either one.

TCB in Division III:

Blowouts can be commonplace in the CCIW, which gives No. 1 North Central plenty of chances to develop future stars. True freshman Donovan McNeal (Warren) was the Cardinals rushing leader for a second straight game, ripping off a 64-yard run and 77 yards total on 4 carries. Senior Joe Sacco (St. Edward) added 68 yards in a 69-0 win over North Park. …

Since missing the North Central game with an injury, Wheaton QB Mark Forcucci (Wheaton North) threw for a combined 515 yards, 8 touchdowns and no interceptions in wins over Illinois Wesleyan and Carthage. … Speaking of blowouts, No. 15 Aurora cruised past Rockford 69-0 last weekend. Wide receiver Trey Urwiler (Batavia) has emerged as the Spartans’ leading receiver this season and had 2 touchdowns in this game.