2023 Football Season Additions to Record Book Include Mosinee’s Jirschele, Stanley-Boyd’s Mahr, Wausau East’s Voegtline, Almond-Bancroft’s Phillips and Klismith

Passing Updates

• Westosha Central’s Brock Koeppel threw nine touchdown passes in a win over Wilmot, tying the single-game record.
• Onalaska’s Adam Skifton threw for 2,944 yards in 2023, which is top 40 in state history.
• Sun Prairie East’s Drew Kavanaugh threw 37 touchdown passes, good for 16th on the single-season list.
• Racine Lutheran’s Cohen Kraus threw six touchdown passes in the first half of an 82-22 win over Dominican, tying the state record for most touchdown passes in a single half.
• West De Pere’s Duke Shovald finished his career with 6,128 passing yards, which places him 13th on the career list.

Rushing Updates

• Columbus’ Colton Brunell set a new career rushing record with 7,416 yards in just three seasons. That’s nearly 500 yards more than anyone else.
• Brunell’s 106 rushing touchdowns is second-most in state history.
• Brunell had 36 games of at least 100 rushing yards, the most in state history.
• Chase Matthias of Two Rivers finished his career with 5,991 rushing yards, which places him seventh on the state’s all-time list.
• Matthias had 33 career games of at least 100 rushing yards, the third most in state history.
• Oconto Falls’ Alex Hanes ran for 429 yards in a win over Clintonville, which is 14th in state history.

Receiving Updates

• Ethan Felder of University School caught 17 passes in a game, which is tied for 11th.
• Collin Meininger of Westosha Central and Evan Olson of Pepin/Alma each caught five touchdown passes in a game, tying for fifth on the state list.
• Onalaska’s Brodie Mickschl caught 86 passes this fall, tying him inside the top 25 on the single-season list.
• Mickschl hauled in 19 touchdown passes, tying for 13th.
• Mosinee’s Keagan Jirschele caught 168 passes in his career, 17th in state history. His 2,723 career receiving yards are 14th. His 37 career receiving touchdowns are tied for seventh.
• Pepin/Alma’s Evan Olson is tied for seventh with 37 career receiving touchdowns as well.

Scoring Updates

• Kewaunee’s Owen Carlson scored 266 points, tying for 16th in state history.
• Ezra Hitz of Milwaukee Reagan, Demetrius Bergmann of Pepin/Alma, and Trenton Owens of Mount Horeb/Barneveld each scored five, two-point conversions in a game this season, tying a state record.
• Owens scored 23, two-point converions this year, tying a state record.
• Madden Mahr of Stanley-Boyd scored four kick return touchdowns this year, tying a state record.
• Columbus’ Colton Brunell finished his career with 656 points, fourth-most in state history.
• Two Rivers’ Chase Matthias finished with 631 career points, which is fifth.

Kicking Updates

• Homestead’s Sean West made 15 field goals last year, tying for second-most in state history.
• West scored 102 kicking points (69 extra points, 11 field goals), which is second-most in state history.
• West made 25 field goals in his career, which is tied for fifth.
• Mukwonago’s Ryan McCormick scored 98 kicking points (71 extra points, nine field goals), which is third.
• Daniel Karlin of Two Rivers made 74 extra points on the year, good for tenth.
• Franklin’s Cooper Mueller made 180 extra points in his career, which is seventh.
• Mueller scored 228 kicking points in his career, which is also seventh.

Punting Updates

• Richland Center’s Liam Fingerson averaged 47.2 yards per punt, most in a single-season in state history.
• Gannon Voegtline of Wausau East averaged 46.5 yards per punt, second-most in state history.

Defense Updates

• Braydon Larson of Tomahawk had five interceptions in a Week 8 win over Westifled, tying for the second-most in a game.
• Mosinee’s Keagan Jirschele recorded 14 interceptions in 2023, tying for second-most in a single season.
• Max Matthias of Two Rivers recorded 36 tackles for loss, good for seventh on the state’s single-season list. His six tackles for loss in a single game is third.
• Matthias has 74 tackles for loss after his sophomore season, which is the second-most in state history.
• Catholic Memorial’s Carl Pevey recorded 68 tackles for loss in his career, which is fifth.

Team Updates

• Monona Grove (70) and DeForest (62) scored a combined 132 points in a game, tying for the fourth-most in single-game.
• Monona Grove posted 712 yards in that game, sixth-most in a single game.
• Monona Grove and DeForest combined for 1,277 yards, the second-most in state history.
• Badger High School rushed for 4,946 yards as a team, eighth-most in a single season.
• Waunakee scored 471 points in the regular season, seventh-most in a single season. The Warriors’ 668 points for the full season is also seventh.

With the current incarnation of 8-Player Football still being very young, there were one again a significant number of additions to the Record Book this season. We will highlight some of the more prominent additions below.

Passing Updates

• Gibraltar’s Bradan Kita threw for 461 yards in a single game, which is fifth-most in state history.
• Three Lakes/Phelps’ Jared Kaufman set a new state record by completing 12-of-12 passes in a single game.
• Four players (Gibraltar’s Braden Kita, Wabno/Laona’s Cooper Albrecht, Three Lakes/Phelps’ Jared Kaufman, and Almond-Bancroft’s T.J. Lamb) all threw seven touchdown passes in a single game, tying them for third in state history.
• Siren’s Gannen Reynolds threw for 2,227 yards, which is seventh in state history.
• Three Lakes/Phelps’ Jared Kaufman threw 35 touchdown passes, which is fifth on the state list.
• Northwood/Solon Springs’ Jared Schultz had a combined 3,018 passing and rushing yards, which is the second-most in a single season.
• Three Lakes/Phelps’ Jared Kaufman finished his career with 5,011 passing yards, which is third in state history. He also threw 73 touchdowns, also good for third on the career list.
• Kaufman went for 6,950 combined passing and rushing yards in his career, which is the most ever.
• McDonell Central’s Grant Smisky has 4,697 career passing yards, good for sixth, as he still has a senior year coming up in 2024.

Rushing Updates

• Phillips’ Tryg Mollman set a new state record by averaging 22.2 yards per carry (1,308 yards on 59 attempts).
• Northwood/Solon Springs’ Jared Schultz is up to 2,947 rushing yards in his career, which is eight on the state list as he still has a year to go.

Receiving Updates

• Gibraltar’s Braden Sitte set new state records with 399 receiving yards and six touchdowns in a single game.
• Alma Center Lincoln’s Ben Ross caught 13 passes in a game, tying for fourth on the state list.
• Almond-Bancroft’s Ayden Phillips caught 73 passes, which is tied for third-most in a single season.
• Three Lakes/Phelps’ Tyler Janikowski had 1,419 receiving yards, which is second-most in a single season.
• Janikowski caught 26 touchdowns in 2023, setting a new state record. Gibraltar’s Braden Sitte caught 21 touchdowns and is now second.
• Almond-Bancroft’s Ayden Phillips is up to second in career receptions with 155 and third in career receiving yards with 2,420, as he still has a year for the Eagles. He’s also tied for fourth on the career list with 29 touchdown catches.

Scoring Updates

• Shell Lake’s Brock Naesson scored eight touchdowns and two, two-point conversions in a game for 52 total points, which is tied for fourth-most in state history.
• Gibraltar’s Braden Sitte kicked a 42-yard field goal, which is a new state record.

Defense Updates

• Almond-Bancroft’s Shane Klismith set a new state record with four interceptions in one game.
• Three Lakes/Phelps’ Tyler Janikowski set a new state record with 12 interceptions on the season, including four returned for touchdowns.
• Flambeau’s Luke Lawron had 34 tackles in a game, which is a new record. Gillett’s Lavonzell Smith had 33 tackles in a game, which is second.
• Florence’s Trent Mclain had 18 sacks, which is third most in a single season.