Thundercatz’ Michaelis a 1st teamer at 2 football positions

Multiple players from the Marion/Tigerton and Bowler/Gresham 8-player football co-ops were named to Central Conference teams after productive fall seasons.

Marion/Tigerton senior Asher Michaelis earned the lone first team honor between the two co-ops. Michaelis made the first team as both an offensive and defensive lineman.

“It’s awesome. It really means a lot to be recognized by all of the coaches for my hard work that I’ve put in throughout my high school career,” said Michaelis.

Defensively, Michaelis led the team with 52 total tackles on the season, with 14 going for losses. He also forced a fumble and recovered another.

Marion/Tigerton junior Parker Miller was a second team selection on both sides of the ball for his play at wide receiver and defensive back.

Miller caught 41 passes on the season for 559 yards and nine touchdowns. On defense, the junior tallied 35 total tackles and one fumble recovery.

Braxton Genskow, a sophomore, was the one throwing the ball to Miller, and Genskow also earned second team honors for his play this fall.

Genskow threw for 859 yards and 11 touchdowns while rushing for a team-leading 465 yards and four scores.

Bowler/Gresham’s quarterback, Emmitt Kietlinski, also landed on the second team. The senior also earned an honorable mention nod as a defensive back.

“Like a lot of kids, my football journey began a long time ago. Along the way, I’ve made many special memories that will last a lifetime. These all-conference honors are a neat end to the memories I have of playing football with a lot of great teammates,” said Kietlinski.

Kietlinski threw for 1,379 yards and 10 touchdowns while rushing for a team-leading 496 yards and three scores. As a defensive back, he tallied 14 total tackles and led the team with three interceptions.

Bowler/Gresham seniors Beau Brunner and Tristan Thiex also made the second team.

Brunner made the second team as a wide receiver and also picked up an honorable mention nod as a defensive back.

“I am honored to receive these all-conference awards,” said Brunner. “This means a lot to me, considering we had such a shortened season (two games) my sophomore and junior year. I am grateful that we were able to play a full season this year. I’m also grateful for the seniors that were out this year, including half of which we have been playing together since sixth grade but the other half who came out for their first year and helped us keep the team going.”

Brunner hauled in 66 of Kietlinski’s 131 completions on the year for a team-leading 836 yards and seven touchdowns. On defense, Brunner had 36 total tackles, two interceptions, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.

Thiex earned his spot on the second team after leading the co-op’s defense with 60 total tackles. He picked off one pass and was credited with one sack.

“It is very special to me,” said Thiex of the honor. “It represents seven years of hard work playing football and practicing every day. This was my first year as a middle linebacker, so it was very cool to get second team all-conference.”

Marion/Tigerton had three players — sophomore Gavin Laatsch, junior Jay Brei and senior Jack Van Kooy — make the honorable mention team.

Laatsch joined Michaelis to form a strong offensive line. Brei was honored as a defensive lineman, while Van Kooy made the list as a linebacker.

Brei tallied 31 total tackles on the season, with 10 going for losses. He recorded one sack.

Van Kooy had 41 total tackles on the year, with two going for losses, and one sack. He intercepted one pass and recovered one fumble.

“I was very happy and excited to hear that I was all-conference for my senior year,” said Van Kooy. “I couldn’t have done it without the support and help of my teammates throughout the journey.”

Marion/Tigerton finished 2-3 in conference play, while Bowler/Gresham went 1-4.

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