Ed-Co's Olinger ignores handicap to shine on football field

EDGEWOOD - Paul Olinger is no hero. Others might view him in that light, but he doesn't.He's just an ordinary farm kid who milks cows, feeds cattle and performs other daily chores to help out his mom and dad. A typical small-town high-school senior.Because he's a good football player doesn't make him any better than others."I don't know. I just try to be myself and do the best I can," the Edgewood-Colesburg running back-linebacker said. "I'm not out to impress anybody. I'm at the same level as they are, just doing my job. If they see I'm out playing as hard as I am, I hope they do the same."Oh, they'd better. Watching Olinger do what he does despite the handicap he plays with should be enough to motivate anyone.The young man lost his left hand in a farm accident four days before his 12th birthday. His arm got caught in an auger, mangling it.Olinger spent 32 days at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., recovering. Doctors ended up having to amputate his hand just above the wrist."Once they got it out (of the auger), the whole left side of my arm, I couldn't move it," he said. "All of the bones were broken, and it was just kind of hanging there. There were a couple of bones sticking out ... Blood was gushing all over the place."Area Shriners heard about the accident and came to the Olinger family's aid. They've bought eight prosthetic hands over the years for Paul.He has one that is cosmetic, looks as if it's real. Another allows him to move the palm, middle and index fingers in order to literally grasp things."They've made life easier," he said.As has simply being a normal kid. Originally a student at Starmont, Olinger had planned on playing football before his accident. Seventh grade is when the school begins its tackle football program.Just because he was missing his left hand didn't mean those plans would be altered. Olinger played and fell in love with the game."After the accident, we told him he could still do anything he wanted, and he has," said Gene Olinger, Paul's dad. "He just loves football.""I don't think of Paul as having any sort of disability whatsoever," said Ed-Co Coach James Rochford. "He's just Paul. He's got a high motor, a lot of energy. It doesn't really surprise me what he's done."What he's done is start three years. He led the Vikings in tackles last season and is tops again on that chart through three games this season.He's also Ed-Co's leading rusher with 289 yards and a touchdown, averaging 6.3 yards per carry. Throw in kickoff return duties and a roster of just 15 players, and he never leaves the field.Ed-Co (0-3) hosts Wapsie Valley for homecoming Friday night."It all starts in the weight room," Paul Olinger said. "I mean, I'm probably in there 90, 95 percent of the time throughout the year. Just dedication, I guess. Even that gets to be a challenge, you know? Benching, squatting, doing all that. But I find ways to do it.""Sometimes it's scary to watch him play," said Geraldine Olinger, Paul's mom. "But I support him in whatever he wants to do."Rochford said Olinger is able to catch footballs as well as anyone on his team. Olinger said he hasn't fumbled, yet, this season.He even finished last week's game against Postville at quarterback because of an injury. Ed-Co switched to a shotgun pistol formation to accommodate him, since he's unable to take snaps directly under center.It's one of the few things he can't do on the football field."I asked 'Who wants to play quarterback?' and he was the first to volunteer," Rochford said. "That didn't surprise me at all. Paul is the ultimate team player."One who is very well liked at school. Geraldine Olinger shared a story that one of the homecoming week festivities this week was a day when Ed-Co students could dress up as one of their teachers and teachers could do the same with students."Four teachers were dressing up like Paul," she said, proudly.That included wearing his trademark DeKalb seed corn hat."The teams we play, I know a lot of kids on those teams," Paul said. "They never give me any hard time in the game or anything. I think they just kind of know who I am and respect me. When we shake hands at the end of games, the other head coach usually gives me an extra talking to because they're pretty impressed, I guess. It's been going on for two and a half years, so I usually just kind of blow it off. But I really should take it in for more than that."He's an inspiration, whether he chooses to believe it or not. Olinger wasn't necessarily keen on allowing his tale of courage and overcoming adversity to be told.He has never wanted to draw attention to himself or his malady. Though he did show a moment of swagger when asked how he is able to accumulate so many defensive tackles with only one hand."If I hit them hard enough, they just kind of fall over," he said. "I've got movement in my whole left arm, so I can wrap up guys. I love hitting, I do. I get told I hit just as hard on offense as I do on defense. Either way, they get smoked."