Ex-Vaquero Wishnowsky makes the Super Bowl in first NFL season

Former SBCC punter Mitch Wishnowsky, an All-APL and All-State choice in 2014, is going to the Super Bowl in his first season with the San Francisco 49ers.

The top-seeded 49ers knocked off Green Bay 37-20 on Jan. 18 to advance to Super Bowl LIV for the first time since 2013. The 49ers will take on the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, Feb. 2 in Miami at 3:30 p.m. The 49ers have won five Super Bowls, the second-most in NFL history, while the Chiefs are going to their first Super Bowl in 50 years.

Wishnowsky is a triple-threat, handling the punts, kickoffs and holding for kicker Robbie Gould. He punted twice for a 38.5 average against Green Bay. For the season, he's punted 52 times for a 44.9-yard average with 23 staying inside the 20.

The ex-Australian Rules football player was a fourth-round pick last year, becoming the third SBCC player to be drafted in the NFL and the highest pick ever. The first two NFL draftees were offensive lineman Booker Brown (1974, 6th round) and running back Larry Moriarty (1983, 5th round) who were both picked by the Houston Oilers.

Wishnowsky will be the first Vaquero to ever play in a Super Bowl. He hopes to join Jesse Williams (Seattle 2014) as the only Australians to win a Super Bowl.

Here's a superb feature on Mitch by Anna Katherine Clemmons of ESPN. Wishnowsky's fiancee is former Vaquero and CSUN volleyball star Maddie Leiphardt.



Mitch Wishnowsky, an all-state punter at SBCC in 2014, is averaging
nearly 45 yards a kick in his NFL rookie season. (Photo by Chico Enterprise-Record)