Football: Witt-Birn’s Stewart, Gibson earn CWC-Large first team honors

WITTENBERG — The Wittenberg-Birnamwood High School football team enjoyed a solid season on the field, finishing 6-4 overall.

Witt-Birn went 3-3 in the Central Wisconsin Conference-Large Division and had six players earn all-conference honors.

Senior Simon Stewart and junior Austin Gibson each landed on the all-conference first team.

“It means a lot to me getting honored as a first team defensive lineman,” said Stewart. “Going into the year, I didn’t really think that I was going to get any conference honor, but I knew if I worked hard there was a shot at it. None of it would have happened if I didn’t have my teammates and coaches pushing me everyday.”

Gibson made the first team as a running back, while also being named an honorable mention as a defensive back.

“I truly appreciate all of the football honors and awards but it’s truly all about our entire team from the offensive side to the defensive side. It took every one of us together doing our job for me to earn those awards,” said Gibson. “It’s about the overall team sacrifice your brothers make for each other and it shows what kind of leaders we have on the football field. We are family.”

Seniors Allen Uttecht (offensive lineman) and Jacob Groshek (offensive lineman, linebacker) each made the all-conference second team.

Joining Gibson on the honorable mention team was sophomore Ben Wesolowski (defensive back) and senior Logan Balliett (quarterback).

The Chargers earned a No. 6 seed in Division 5 for the postseason, losing its first game to third-seeded Chilton.

Marion/Tigerton

In the CWC 8-man division, Marion/Tigerton piled up the conference honors after tying for the conference championship.

Sophomore Ethan Scheef was named the conference’s Offensive Player of the Year.

The team’s quarterback, Scheef finished the season with 884 passing yards and 13 touchdowns. He also ran for 970 yards and 12 more scores.

Scheef thanked his offensive linemen and pass-catchers for helping him earn the award, and now hopes it can motivate him the next two years.

“This award gives me a lot of confidence, but I know that I can only improve for the next two years, and so can we as a team,” said Scheef, who was on the second team as a punter. “I’m looking forward to becoming a leader on the team and making my name, and especially the team name, a big name around here.”

Seniors Allen Jobe (offensive lineman), Cayden Schoen (defensive line, running back), Jared Krueger (linebacker) and Austin Hoffmann (wide receiver) and junior Charles Schweitzer (defensive lineman) also made the first team for the co-op.

“To me, football is a team sport and by no means did I earn that by myself. By me earning it on both sides of the ball that means other players worked just as hard as I did.” said Schoen on his two honors. “I wouldn’t be as successful without my supporting teammates.”

Schoen finished the season with 469 rushing yards and six touchdowns, while also tallying 293 yards and another score as a receiver.

Hoffmann rushed for 456 yards and seven touchdowns, while recording 403 receiving yards and nine more scores.

Hoffmann (defensive back), Krueger (offensive lineman), junior Mitchell Zimdars (defensive back) and freshman Asher Michaelis (defensive lineman) joined Scheef on the second team, while Schweitzer was an honorable mention as an offensive lineman.

Coach Lance Litchfield was tabbed the Co-Coach of the Year, thanking the players and coaching staff for helping him win the award.

Marion/Tigerton made the postseason as a No. 4 seed, losing its first game to top-seeded Newman Catholic.

Bowler/Gresham

Bowler/Gresham played a condensed schedule, playing in the final six weeks (all conference games) of the regular season. The co-op was unable to record a win.

Still, the team was well-represented on the all-conference teams.

Sophomore Daquan Malone-Gregory landed on the first team as a linebacker and on the second team as a wide receiver.

“First of all, I am extremely honored to be receiving such important awards and I owe it all to my great coaches who have pushed me to do what I did. But I cannot forget about my great teammates who also picked me up when I missed a tackle. They were always there, including the seniors that will be greatly missed.”

On defense, Malone-Gregory finished with 34 solo tackles on the season, including three for losses. On offense, he caught 24 passes for 287 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 164 yards and another score.

Senior center Jaden Boswell, junior receiver Logan Thiex and freshman quarterback Emmitt Kietlinski also made the second team.

Thiex finished with 20 receptions for 271 yards and a score, while also rushing for 288 yards and three touchdowns. Kietlinski threw for 705 yards and three scores.

Senior kicker and punter David Hahn made the honorable mention list. He averaged over 25 yards per punt.

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