WOOD RIVER - East Alton-Wood River football senior Dillon Gerner is expected to be a key player for the Oilers in the 2023 football season.
Dillon is a Midwest Members Credit Union Male Athlete of the Month for the Oilers.
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He said his parents have helped him succeed, made sure he is always on time to every practice and keep motivating him in sports and the classroom. Garry Herron is Dillon's head football coach for the Oilers.
Dillon believes that working hard and making sure everyone is on task and pays attention at practice are a few of his strong points in football.
"I have been playing football since I was four years old," he said. "The thing I like about football the most is getting to know other players along with new coaches and creating a strong friendship with people, and obviously winning."
In his free time, Dillon can often be found on a local golf course playing with friends.
"Being involved with sports has definitely helped me be more responsible and has kept me out of trouble since I'm always at practice," he said.
"I would love to play football in college and it's a goal of mine, but if I got the chance to play I don’t know where I’d go."
Dillon added that he is proud of his prowess in the classroom.
"To this day I have never failed any class all throughout school, which I'm proud about," he said.
Dillon is a multi-sport athlete and plays baseball and basketball, bowls and is on the golf team.
"I play first, third, and I pitch in baseball," he said. "I played basketball my freshman and sophomore year, and I decided to switch to bowling my junior year. I put in a lot of work during the off-season at 643 baseball training facility, which helped me lead the varsity baseball team in hitting this past spring.
"I've been a varsity starter all four years of football, all conference my sophomore and junior year. During my freshman year I was lucky enough to be able to play four sports, golf in the fall, basketball in the winter, and football and baseball in the spring."
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