DeForest’s Tyler Ebel was our top-ranked specialist coming into the season and showed why, averaging 41.9 yards per punt for the Norskies.
Nearly half of his punts were downed inside the 20-yard line. Ebel earned First Team All-Conference in the Badger-Large this year as a punter. He was also recently recognized as the WFCA Large Schools All-State punter.
Senior Kicker/Punter Award Finalists Include Stanley-Boyd’s Michael Karlen
Finalists for the award were Ebel, Bryce Hillers of Richland Center, Andy Justus of Greendale, Michael Karlen of Stanley-Boyd, Michael Stack of Oshkosh West.
Past winners of the award include Menomonee Falls’ Kyle French (2009), Arrowhead’s Drew Meyer (2010), Sun Prairie’s Lucas Otto (2011), Lodi’s Donnie Manke (2012), both Casey Bednarski of Oconomowoc & Colin Downing of Whitefish Bay (2013), Saint Mary’s Springs’ Zach Hintze (2014), Lodi’s Garrett Wegner (2015), Monona Grove’s Collin Larsh (2016), Sun Prairie’s Alex Oakley (2017), Kettle Moraine’s Blake Wilcox (2018), and Neenah’s Jack Van Dyke (2019), Watertown’s Branden Fischer.
The award is named after Kevin Stemke, a Green Bay Preble graduate who would go on to play for the Wisconsin Badgers. At UW, Stemke quickly made an impression, setting the record for punting average as just a freshman. After a senior season that saw him average 44.5 yards per punt, Stemke was presented with the Ray Guy Award as the nation’s top punter. Kevin also holds UW records for highest punting average in a career (43.5) and total punting yards (10,660).
The voting panel for the WSN Senior Football Awards consisted of: Travis Wilson, WSN General Manager and Head Football Writer; Norbert Durst, WSN Content Manager; Dennis Semrau, ESPN Madison; B.J. DeGroot, WSCO The Score 95.3 in Appleton; Curt Hogg, NOW Newspapers; Dan Barwick, WSN Contributor; Colton Wilson, WSN Content Producer; Fan Vote
We welcome your stories! Contact us at [email protected]!
Author: David Keech
David Keech is a retired teacher and works as a sportswriter, sports official and as an educational consultant. He has reported on amateur sports since 2011, known as 'KeechDaVoice.' David can be reached at [email protected]
