Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
A full-time construction worker, Mark Allen even spends his spare time building a wall.
A former Warsaw Community High School football player for then-coach Kevin Westover, Allen, 36, is the center on the offensive line for the Kosciusko County Mustangs, a semi-pro team in its inaugural year of play in the Interstate Football League.
After a long day of work for Allen Construction Co., Allen puts his tool belt down for a pair of shoulder pads and a helmet.
His job then becomes constructing a wall for quarterback Mike Whitaker.
Like the rest of the Mustangs, he's dedicated to winning, and wants to continue playing the game he loved as a youngster.
"I think this is starting to take off," said Allen, who also plays drums for local band Shag. "I definitely want to play again next year. These guys want to win so bad, and I really think we're going to go to the championship game this year and win it."
The IFL's championship game will be played Oct. 24 at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis following the Colts' game with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Allen heard about the Mustangs from offensive coordinator Sid Phillips, whom Allen knows from the construction business, and defensive coordinator Dave Sisk.
Like most of the Mustangs, the story of Allen's football day included middle school and high school playing time in Kosciusko County.
Where his story is different is that he says he thought he had a chance to land a job with Cleveland Browns.
After graduating in 1987 from WCHS, where he played defensive tackle, Allen attended IPFW, which doesn't have a football program.
The 6-foot-1, 332-pound Allen also has participated in an NFL combine, where coaches asked if he had ever played on the offensive side of the ball, namely center.
He's also attended tryouts for the World Football League and been invited to try out for the Candadien Football League, but didn't attend the CFL tryout.
A decade the senior of most of the Mustangs, Allen has experience that he can pass along to his younger teammates.
"Maybe because of my age, I've been around the game a while," said Allen when asked if he had an experience edge on his fellow offensive linemen. "My job is to set the ball and keep everything in line. These offensive linemen are very smart and help each other out. Sometimes they read the defenses quicker than I do. We've got a good group of guys here."
Joining Allen on the starting offensive line are John West (6-2, 280), Matt Crisp (6-4, 320) and Carl Kiefer (6-4, 275) and Bart Brower (6-6, 375), who couldn't attend Tuesday's practice.
Both West and Crisp grew up playing football in Warsaw, and both their older - not bigger - brothers were also players at WCHS and now with the Mustangs.
Billy West plays receiver for the Mustangs, while Andy Crisp played a huge role in starting the team and plays linebacker.
"Andy called Billy, and then Billy called me," said John West, a 1999 WCHS grad who played tight end for former Tiger coach Phil Jensen. "This is a lot of fun, and everyone out here wants to win."
Said Matt Crisp, who graduated from WCHS in 1998, "I've grown a little bit since high school. Andy asked if I wanted to play, so I came out. We've got a great group of guys, and it's a lot of fun playing football again. It may take a couple years, but I really think this is something the community can really get behind and support."
After opening their inaugural season with a 27-8 win over the Hendricks County Generals, the Mustangs were defeated 20-18 Saturday by the Mercer County Cougars in Fort Recovery, Ohio.
The Mustangs are in action again Saturday at 4:30 p.m. when they host the Darke County Warriors at Fisher Field.
