Lyons a two-way second-team pick; Jast gets second-team nod

ALL-MARAWOOD FOOTBALL

BY MATT FREY

SPORTS EDITOR

Things didn’t go as hoped for the Rib Lake-Prentice Hawks during the 2019 football season as they went winless for the first time since 1998.

But, there were some bright spots, including individual performances that led to six players earning All-Marawood Conference post-season awards.

Seniors Clayton Lyons and Josh Jast lead the list. Lyons was a second-team selection for his play on both the offensive and defensive lines. Jast made the second-team defense for his play at outside linebacker.

Hawks Isaiah Nelson, Austin Dobson, Carter Scheithauer and Sam Gumz earned honorable mention. It’s the first All-Marawood football honor for all six players.

Under second-year co-head coach Jonah Campbell and first-year co-head coach Chuck Knaack, the Hawks went 0-5 in conference play this season, getting shut out in each game. Rib Lake-Prentice was 0-9 overall. The team last lost nine games in 2015 when it was 0-9 before winning a 10th game scheduled against Thorp at the end of the season.

Lyons, who measures in at 5-10 and 230 pounds led the offensive line from his center position and is one of five second-team offensive linemen, joining Max Larson and Zach Schutte of Edgar, Nathan Seubert of Marathon and Tyler Beck of Tomahawk. Defensively, he joins Auburndale’s Austin Low, Marathon’s Mike Hahn and Tomahawk’s Tony Matti as second-team linemen.

Lyons was credited with two solo tackles and an assist in a 36-0 loss at Tomahawk on Sept. 27 and had a solo stop and three assists in a 53-8 non-conference loss at Hurley on Oct. 11.

The 5-10, 175-pound Jast stepped into an outside linebacker role and was credited with 29 total tackles during the season. He had four solo tackles and two assists at Tomahawk and four solo tackles and an assist in a 62-0 loss to Edgar on Oct. 4. He had a big night in a 62-14 nonconference loss to Northland Pines on Sept. 6, registering five solo stops, three assists and 1.5 tackles for loss in that game. Jast had four solo tackles and an assist in the season-opening 47-6 loss to Athens on Aug. 23.

Jast joins Marathon’s Kole Kaldunski, Tomahawk’s Kade Wenninger and Auburndale’s Schuyler Gilhausen as this year’s All-Marawood Conference secondteam outside linebackers.

Nelson and Scheithauer made the honorable mention list from the offensive side of things. Scheithauer, a junior, joined Lyons as the only returning starter on the offensive line and opened holes from a guard position. Nelson was the Hawks’ offensive weapon this season. As an outside receiver, the senior caught 12 passes for 294 yards overall and got to the end zone twice, once against Athens, when he caught two passes for 94 yards, and once against Northland Pines when he caught three passes for 107 yards.

Nelson had three catches for 77 yards in the loss at Tomahawk.

Dobson was a first-time starter at inside linebacker and joined Jast atop the Hawks’ tackling list. He was credited with 26.5 total tackles, including 22 solo stops and nine assists. He had five tackles for losses and two sacks.

His biggest game came at Tomahawk when he had four solo tackles, four assists, three tackles for loss and a sack. He had three solo tackles and an assist in a 62-0 loss to Auburndale on Oct. 18, two solo tackles, including a sack, against Edgar and had three solo tackles and an assist against Athens.

Gumz, a sophomore safety, also became one of the Hawks’ more dependable defensive players, recording 21.5 official tackles with 18 solo tackles and seven assists. He had four solo tackles against Auburndale, four solos and an assist at Hurley, three solos and an assist against Northland Pines and two solo tackles against Edgar.

Down to six football teams this fall, the Marawood Conference was again dominated by traditional powers Stratford (11-0) and Edgar (10-1), who are both making deep runs into the playoffs. Stratford beat Edgar 6-0 in their week-eight conference championship showdown in Edgar. The Tigers have yet to give up a point this season. Stratford is at Maple Northwestern Friday in Level 3 of the Division 5 playoffs, while Edgar hosts Gilman in Division 7.

Auburndale also had a strong season, finishing 8-3 after falling to top-seeded Abbotsford in a Division 6 Level 2 playoff.

Edgar’s Kaleb Hafferman was named the Marawood Conference’s Back of the Year, while Stratford’s Ben Barten, a University of Wisconsin recruit, is the Lineman of the Year for the second straight season. He was a unanimous first-team pick on offense and defense.

Stratford holds six first-team offense spots and five first-team defense spots on this year’s All-Marawood team, while Auburndale has four on offense and Edgar has four on defense. Auburndale’s Cooper Weinfurter is first-team pick both at quarterback and defensive back. Hafferman doubled up as a first-team running back and defensive back.

Carter Scheithauer

Hon. Mention Offense

Isaiah Nelson Hon. Mention Offense

Josh Jast Second Team Defense

Clayton Lyons Second Team Offense Second Team Defense

Austin Dobson Hon. Mention Defense

Sam Gumz Hon. Mention Defense