LAS VEGAS — George Karlaftis is 2-for-2.
The former West Lafayette High School and Purdue football standout won his second Super Bowl in as many seasons as a defensive end for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Karlaftis’ impact was felt immediately, recovering a Christian McCaffrey fumble to end San Francisco’s first drive. He also had a key fumble recovery in the Chiefs’ 17-10 win over the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC championship game two weeks prior.
Karlaftis had five tackles, including half a sack in Kansas City’s 25-22 overtime victory over the San Francisco 49ers at Allegiant Stadium Sunday night.
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In high school, Karlaftis played in two Class 3A state championship games with West Lafayette, finishing runner-up to Chatard in 2015 and capping his career with an undefeated season after the Red Devils defeated Evansville Memorial in 2018.
Following his senior season at West Lafayette, Karlaftis was named American Family Insurance Defensive Player of the Year, awarded at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in 2019.
The award was announced at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl Awards show in San Antonio on the eve of the annual all-star game, featuring the nation’s top 100 players.
With the Boilermakers, Karlaftis was a Freshman All-American in 2019, a second-team All-Big Ten selection in 2019 and ’20 and first-team All-Big Ten in 2021.
After three seasons at Purdue, Karlaftis opted to enter the NFL draft and was drafted in the first round in 2022 with the 30th overall pick by Kansas City.
Karlaftis has started 33 regular season games in his first two seasons and has 16.5 career sacks in addition to two Super Bowl wins.
Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on Twitter and Instagram @samueltking.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: West Lafayette, Purdue football’s George Karlaftis wins 2nd Super Bowl
