Anna senior running back Riley Huelskamp got a lot of attention this season — including from opposing coaches in the Midwest Athletic Conference.
Huelskamp was voted by the league’s coaches as the MAC’s offensive player of the year and is among 13 area players who were named first team all-MAC. Fifteen area players were named second team.
All conference teams are determined by votes of the league’s coaches and were released last week. Selections were based on regular-season performances only.
Huelskamp led the MAC with 1,516 rushing yards and 25 rushing touchdowns. He also averaged a league-best 9.42 yards per carry. He was also named first team all-MAC as a safety.
Anna’s Bart Bixler, Wil Luthman, Luke Dye, Malachi Minnich and Isaac Lininger were also named first team.
Bixler was selected first team all-MAC as a quarterback. He finished third in the conference with 1,008 rushing yards and tied for second with 20 rushing TDs. He also completed 75-of-109 passes for 1,080 yards with 12 touchdowns and four interceptions.
Luthman was named first team as a punter and offensive guard. Dye was named first team as a center, Minnich was named first team as a defensive end and Lininger was named first team as a cornerback.
Luthman led the MAC with an average of 39.79 yards per punt. Minnich tied for fourth with four sacks and Lininger tied for second with three interceptions.
Minster’s Trent Roetgerman, Dustin Frericks, Dylan Sharp, Alex Schmitmeyer, Jacob Niemeyer and Kyle Riethman were named first team.
Schmitmeyer was named first team as a running back, Niemeyer was named first team as a utility/athlete, Roetgerman was named first team as a receiver, Frericks was named first team as an offensive guard, Sharp was named first team as an offensive tackle and Riethman was named first team as a defensive lineman.
Schmitmeyer was second in the conference with 1,502 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns. Niemeyer, a senior quarterback, completed 120-of-165 passes for 1,679 yards with 18 touchdowns and three interceptions and also ran for 593 yards and 11 touchdowns. Roetgerman led the conference in receptions (45), receiving yards (841) and receiving touchdowns (13).
New Bremen’s Mitchell Hays was named first team as a safety. Hays, who is also the team’s quarterback, recorded 50.5 tackles and had two interceptions.
Five Minter players, four Anna and New Bremen players and two Versailles players were named second team.
Minster’s Roetgerman, Sharp, Riethman, Brendan Bornhorst and Kody Richard were named second team. Roetgerman was named second team as a punter, Riethman was named second team as an offensive guard, Sharp was named second team as a defensive end, Bornhorst was named second team as a cornerback and Richard was named second team as a safety.
Roetgerman was second in the conference with an average of 38.3 yards per punt. Bornhorst had 28.5 tackles and three interceptions and Richard had 34.5 tackles and a conference-best four interceptions.
Anna’s Kamren Steward was named second team as an offensive end and linebacker while Jeffrey Richards was second team as a receiver, Dylan Steinke-Ellinger was second team as an offensive tackle and Isaac Egbert second team as a linebacker.
Steward caught 30 passes for 404 yards with two touchdowns. Egbert led the team with 79 tackles.
New Bremen’s Zach Bertke was named second team as a running back and linebacker. Ryan Paul was named second team as an offensive tackle and defensive lineman, Wyatt Dicke were named second team as a running back and Dan Homan was named second team as a linebacker.
Bertke ran for 757 yards and six touchdowns while Dicke ran for 590 yards and six TDs. Paul had 26 tackles and three sacks and Homan had 32.5 tackles, including 8.5 for loss.
Versailles’ Brayden Keihl was named second team as a defensive lineman and Landon Henry was named second team as a running back.
Anna coach Nick Marino and Minster coach Geron Stokes shared coach of the year honors, along with Marion Local’s Tim Goodwin. Marion Local’s Matt Everman was named the conference’s defensive player of the year.
The Rockets, Wildcats and Flyers all tied for the MAC championship with 7-1 conference records.
Anna’s Zach Ambos, Anthony Billing, Nolan Emerson, Evan Poeppelman and Brandon Shannon were named honorable mention. Minster’s Bryan Falk, Leland Frick, Alex Frimel and Phil Trzaska were also named honorable mention, as were New Bremen’s Spencer Alig, Ben Blickle, Nolan Bornhorst and Sean LeFleur and Versailles’ Kyle Dirksen, Isaac Grillot, Eli McEldowney and Taran Tyo.
