Prep Redzone Player of the Year: Finalists

<p>It is time to narrow down our Player of the Year to the 10 Finalists. The 10 WI athletes who best fit our requirements for the honor. The athlete who carried the load for his team, led their team to the playoffs, and put up insane numbers along the way. These 10 athletes had key roles in molding the WI HS football landscape in 2022. Each one of these athletes should also firmly be on the radar of next level coaches. We start with some of the most impressive rushing performances that we have ever seen.</p>    <figure class="wp-block-table"><table><tbody><tr><td>14 Games</td></tr><tr><td>327 Carries, 2,763 Yards, 42 TDs</td></tr><tr><td>5 Receptions, 119 Yards</td></tr><tr><td>1 Tackle, 1 Blocked Kick Return TD</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>   <p>Wynn put together a dominant season. A season that threatened several records, both single game and season long. His dominant performance also led the way to Mukwonago making a run to the State Championship game. The AP First Team All State player, and Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch Award winner was second in the state in rushing TDs and was second in the state in rushing yards. Stang was also third in rushing yards per game going off for just under 200 yards per game. Without Wynn, it is very clear that Mukwonago's season would have looked different.</p>    <figure class="wp-block-table"><table><tbody><tr><td>14 Games</td></tr><tr><td>319 Carries, 2,897 Yards, 43 TDs</td></tr><tr><td>11 Receptions, 116 Yards, 1 TD</td></tr><tr><td>103 Tackles, 14 TFLs, 1.5 Sacks, 1 FR, 2 FFs, 3 INTs, 1 Safety</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>   <p>Looking at the stats, it is hard to argue that another player had a better season. Colton led the state in rushing yards, rushing TDs, and was second in rushing yards per game. The junior was the source of the vast majority of offense for Columbus as they made their way to a State Championship over Catholic Memorial. Brunell finished with 73% of the team's rushing stats. To add to the dominant season, Brunell was also a dominant off ball LB that roamed sideline to sideline and made his fair share of plays behind the line.</p>    <figure class="wp-block-table"><table><tbody><tr><td>14 Games</td></tr><tr><td>242 Carries, 2,610 Yards, 40 TDs</td></tr><tr><td>18 Receptions, 360 Yards, 2 TDs</td></tr><tr><td>58 Tackles, 5 TFLs, 1 FR, 1 FF, 3 INTs, 4 PBUs</td></tr><tr><td>6 Punt Returns, 83 Yards, 1 TD</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>   <p>Schraufnagel ended his historic HS career with a spectacular senior campaign. Blake led his team back to another state championship game while also third in rushing yards and rushing TDs. The senior also finished 5th in rushing yards per game. Blake led the way on offense as he piled up 56% of his team's rushing yards. He also scored 42 of his team's 77 TDs. The cherry on top of his dominant season is that we got to see him at safety; his more natural defensive position instead of LB. While back there he proved to be a three level player.</p>    <figure class="wp-block-table"><table><tbody><tr><td>13 Games</td></tr><tr><td>210 Carries, 1,532 Yards, 31 TDs</td></tr><tr><td>17 Receptions, 319 Yards, 5 TDs</td></tr><tr><td>117 Tackles, 30 TFLs, 2 Sacks, 1 FR, 5 FFs, 2 INTs, 1 Pick Six, 3 PBUs</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>   <p>Two Rivers has seen a strong rise over the past couple seasons, and a big reason is the play of the junior RB/LB. Chase has made a knack out of huge season long numbers on both sides of the ball. In '22, Chase scored 31 of the 36 rushing TDs. He also proved to be a three down option with his receiving threat out of the backfield. The junior made All State Teams on offense and defense. Chase also proved to be one of the state's best two way players with his 117 tackles and was unblockable on his way to 30 TFLs. He lived behind the line of scrimmage. He will be a name to know heading in to '23.</p>    <figure class="wp-block-table"><table><tbody><tr><td>12 Games</td></tr><tr><td>179/289, 2,785 Yards, 40 TDs, 61.9% Comp. Pct.</td></tr><tr><td>61 Carries, 296 Yards, 5 TDs</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>   <p>Jerry finished off his great HS career with a season where he led the state in passing TDs, and was second in passing yards. The AP First Team All State QB has grinded his way to QB1 in the PRZ WI rankings. Kaminski has also led his team to deep playoff runs over the past couple of seasons. Most impressively, Jerry was at the helm for a team that saw the school split into two teams. Despite the transition, we didn't see that effect his game. He will now be playing D1 football at North Dakota.</p>    <figure class="wp-block-table"><table><tbody><tr><td>13 Games</td></tr><tr><td>196/315, 2,639 Yards, 28 TDs, 62.2% Comp. Pct.</td></tr><tr><td>173 Carries, 810 Yards, 20 TDs</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>   <p>Another senior QB wrapping up a great career was the Sussex dual threat QB. Nate threw 28 of his teams 31 passing TDs and ran for 20 of his teams 42 rushing TDs. Kollath finished second on his team in rushing yards, first in rushing TDs, and of course was the leading passer. Looking through a wider lens, Nate was Top 10 in passing yards and passing TDs in the state. Nate is the state's #1 uncommitted QB, and he has the athletic profile to make him an option as an ATH. He is one of the biggest sleepers in WI.</p>    <figure class="wp-block-table"><table><tbody><tr><td>11 Games</td></tr><tr><td>51 Receptions, 1012 Yards, 17 TDs</td></tr><tr><td>123 Tackles, 15 TFLs, 3 FRs, 2 FFs, 2 Fumble Return TDs, 1 INT, 1 Blocked Kick</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>   <p>One of the best receiving options in the state was the Mosinee TE. Stoffel has a massive frame, and an elite athletic profile. He compiled that talent into a special senior season. The First Team All State WR/TE finished 4th in receiving TDs, and 7th in receiving yards. Stoffel was responsible for half of his team's receiving TDs in a very pass heavy offense. Stoffel also was a dominant LB that was hard to get a block on, and he was a reliable option against the rush and pass. Davin will continue his career at SDSU as a TE.</p>    <figure class="wp-block-table"><table><tbody><tr><td>14 Games</td></tr><tr><td>236 Carries, 1,747 Yards, 24 TDs</td></tr><tr><td>21 Receptions, 314 Yards, 1 TD</td></tr><tr><td>93 Tackles, 2 TFLs, 2 FRs, 1 FF, 4 INTs, 1 Pick Six, 3 PBUs</td></tr><tr><td>1 Punt Return TD</td></tr><tr><td>3/11, 31 Yards, 1 TD</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>   <p>Dawson did it in every facet of the game on he way to making it to the State Championship game in Madison. His 2000+ all purpose yards was 42% of Mondovi's total offense. He also scored 25 of the team's 61 total TDs. There is a lot to like about his game. Dawson played RB and LB, and he made highlight plays on both sides despite being undersized. Look for him to continue his big plays at the next level as an RB after leading Mondovi to one of their best seasons ever.</p>    <figure class="wp-block-table"><table><tbody><tr><td>14 Games</td></tr><tr><td>156 Tackles, 21 TFLs, 12.5 Sacks, 3 FRs, 2 FFs, 1 Fumble Return TD, 3 PBUs</td></tr><tr><td>6 Carries, 98 Yards, 4 TDs</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>   <p>Aquinas completed off another State Championship run thanks to multiple top performers, but nobody on the team filled the stat sheet like [player_tooltip player_id='414583' first='Damien' last='Lee'] did. Lee is a long, lean edge rusher that proved to be a good pass rusher and coverage LB. Damien finished the season third in sacks and fourth in tackles among all defenders in WI. Nobody played the edge like Damien did in 2022. He is going to be an impact player during his time at Duluth. Before he heads there we may see him add this honor to his resume.</p>    <figure class="wp-block-table"><table><tbody><tr><td>12 Games</td></tr><tr><td>151 Tackles, 44 TFLs, 12 Sacks, 2 FRs, 4 FFs</td></tr><tr><td>6 Receptions, 124 Yards, 2 TDs</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>   <p>Taylor has been one of the State's most productive defenders for a couple seasons now. You can look at the stats and see that he set up residence in every opponent's backfield with his 44 TFLs and 12 sacks. Taylor finished the year Top 10 in tackles, and Top 5 in sacks. Every week we saw Taylor put up huge numbers, and his team come way with victory after victory. There was no slowing him down, and you can expect the big man to continue that at Duluth.</p>

It is time to narrow down our Player of the Year to the 10 Finalists. The 10 WI athletes who best fit our requirements for the honor. The athlete who carried the load for his team, led their team to the playoffs, and put up insane numbers along the way. These 10 athletes had key roles in molding the WI HS football landscape in 2022. Each one of these athletes should also firmly be on the radar of next level coaches. We start with some of the most impressive rushing performances that we have ever seen.