Connor Zabala and Brandon Fisher signed national letters of intent Wednesday to play football next season at Lindenwood University – Belleville.

Connor Zabala signing his letter of intent to play at LU – Belleville. Left to Right: Beth Zabala (mother), Zabala, Andrew Zabala (father). Standing: John Blaylock, Collinsville High School head football coach / Photo by Roger Starkey

Brandon Fisher signing a letter of intent to play at LU – Belleville. Left to Right: Cari Brown (mother), Fisher, Charles Fisher (grandfather). Standing: John Blaylock, Collinsville High School head football coach / Photo by Roger Starkey

The pair are the sixth and seventh Kahok football players to sign letters of intent to play college football, joining Harry Uyehara (McKendree University), Sam Wilson (Quincy University), Josh Davis (Ridgewater College), Cody Reynolds (Ridgewater College) and Nate Collier (Ridgewater College).

Zabala is a three-year letter winner for CHS, and a two-year starter. At quarterback, Zabala threw for 962 yards and nine touchdowns. He also rushed for 163 yards on 152 attempts. He caught 14 balls for 156 yards and two touchdowns as a wide receiver.

At LU – Belleville, he will get a chance to prove himself at quarterback, with wide receiver as his fallback position, Zabala said. He chose the school for the environment and the positive direction of the football program, which will be entering its third season.

Beth Zabala, Connor’s mother, said he chose the NAIA school after considering many other options. “He looked at a lot of different schools and spoke with a lot of different coaches,” Beth said. “We just thought this was the best fit.” Andrew Zabala is happy to have his son close to home. “We get to see every game, that’s the best part,” Andrew said.

Cari Brown, Fisher’s mother, is also happy to have her son continuing his education, and happy he will be playing his home football game only a few miles from home. “That’s the awesome thing about it, we can see his games without traveling far,” Brown said.

Fisher had his eye on academics when he chose LU-Belleville. “They have a great criminal justice program, and it’s a great opportunity to keep playing football,” Fisher said.

Also a three-year varsity letter winner and two-year starter, Fisher was named a Southwestern Conference second-team All-Conference linebacker in 2013. He finished his Kahok career with 121 tackles – five for a loss – three sacks and an interception.