Senior Marquardt tabbed top player in 8-player football

The area football talent didn’t stop at the 11-player level, as there were several strong 8-player teams and individuals that took the field this fall.

Lena High School senior Sam Marquardt starred for the Lena/St. Thomas Aquinas Academy co-op and was rewarded by being named the NEW Media Inc. Player of the Year at the 8-player level.

“What made this season most enjoyable would have to be the coaches and the teammates,” said Marquardt. “Being at a small school, the coaches know you beyond the football field which allows you to interact with them and joke around but still be focused and determined to win.”

Marquardt was the co-op’s quarterback, but he was more like a running back with the way the team’s offense was run.

He finished the season with 1,563 rushing yards and 25 touchdowns, averaging 7 yards a carry. He finished with 100-plus yards in eight of the team’s 10 games, with two games over 225 yards and two more above 190 yards. He rushed for a score in every game and was only held to one score three times.

As a passer, he had 491 yards and nine touchdowns.

Defensively, he played defensive back and finished with 54 total tackles. He also had two sacks, two fumble recoveries and two interceptions, returning one for a score.

As if that wasn’t enough, Marquardt also returned kicks for the co-op. He returned a couple for scores this fall.

“Playing both ways and on special teams takes a lot out of me,” said Marquardt. “In order to make it through the game and not be exhausted our coaches put us through a lot of conditioning before our first game and continued this routine throughout the season.”

Oddly enough, Marquardt said Lena/STAA’s gameplan was to tire teams out. The co-op accomplished that most weeks on its way to a big season.

“The short 5-10 yard runs in the first quarter slowly got longer as the game progressed,” said Marquardt. “Usually towards the second quarter to the rest of the game our runs would turn into long touchdowns.”

Lena/STAA opened the year by shutting out its first four opponents. It was during that run that Marquardt enjoyed his favorite team accomplishment.

“My favorite team moment would have to be when we played Sevastopol and they were first-and-goal on the 1-yard line. Our defense played together and ended up forcing them to lose 6 yards and no points. This was our third game in a row not allowing a point,” said Marquardt.

His favorite individual accomplishment was reaching 1,000 rushing yards, a feat he missed by only 40 yards as a junior.

Honorable mentions

There was no shortage of talented area players at the 8-player level.

Lena/STAA’s Josh Kristof racked up 124 total tackles during the season, with 22 going for losses. He also forced a couple fumbles.

Anthony Seefeldt was recognized as the co-op’s top offensive lineman, helping pave lanes for Marquardt and others.

Suring’s Trent VanDenElzen led his team with 84 total tackles this fall. Eleven went for losses, and he also had an interception, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. Offensively, he rushed for four touchdowns.

Gillett’s offense was powered by the passing duo of Jesse DeBauch to Brandon DeBauch. Jesse DeBauch threw for 1,881 yards and 17 scores, with Brandon DeBauch tallying 1,030 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns. Jesse DeBauch added in two rushing scores, while Brandon DeBauch had 58 total tackles on defense.

Bowler/Gresham’s offense was powered by Emmitt Kietlinski. He threw for 1,379 yards and 10 scores while rushing for additional 496 yards and three touchdowns. Kietlinski also had three interceptions on defense.

Marion/Tigerton’s top player was Asher Michaelis. He earned all-conference first team nods as an offensive and defensive lineman. Michaelis led the co-op with 52 total tackles, with 14 going for losses.

Team of the Year

Lena/STAA earned the Team of the Year honor after an 8-2 fall season. The co-op went 6-1 in Peninsula Conference play to take second.

The Titans avenged their lone conference and regular season loss against Gibraltar by upsetting the Vikings in the first round of postseason play.

Lena/STAA earned 12 all-conference honors and had Marquardt (offense) and Kristof (defense) take home the Players of the Year awards.

sports@newmedia-wi.com