Former Spartan Marable not surprised by achievement

From Ken Ryan, Oak Forest Patch:

Marian Catholic football coach Dave Mattio earned his 250th career victory Friday when the Spartans defeated Bloom 21-13. 

One person certainly not surprised by the impressive accomplishment is 1994 Marian graduate Terence Marable, who helped the Spartans win a state championship in 1993. 

“I love Dave Mattio,” Marable said. “Being a young man, I very much enjoyed playing for him and having him mentor us. He was a great leader for the team, and I can’t say enough about him. I enjoyed the time I got to play under his tutelage.” 

Mattio, who has coached Marian since 1976, has a career record of 250-133 in 36 seasons. 

He played a role in Marable earning a scholarship to the University of Illinois. 

Marable was highly recruited out of high school after becoming Marian’s all-time leading rusher, but his time at Illinois didn’t go exactly as planned. 

“Looking back at college, I have a lot of mixed emotions starting with my decision to go to Illinois,” Marable said. “It’s hard to have any regrets about my decision, and I don’t, because I met my wife in college. I’m very content with where I’m at now. 

"At the time, I really didn’t watch college football and didn’t know enough to make a decision about where I would best fit. What I did know was Illinois started recruiting me when I was a sophomore, which meant a lot to me.” 

Marable was recruited as a running back, but spent most of his time with the Illini as a defensive back. 

“(Current Kansas State assistant head coach and defensive coordinator) Chris Cosh was the linebackers coach at Illinois at the time, and he was the main reason I went to Illinois," Marable said. "Then, he left about a year and half later and things changed. 

"There were a lot of things I was not terribly pleased with at Illinois, but at the end of the day, it didn’t have much of an impact on me athletically.” 

Marable has been a certified financial planner with Ameriprise Financial in Oakbrook Terrace since May after working at Morgan Stanley for four years.