Wisconsin High School Sports | Wisconsin Sports Network | WisSports.net

Wisconsin Sports Network and WisSports.net are proud to announce Menomonee Falls senior Kyle French as the inaugural recipient of the Kevin Stemke Award as the most outstanding senior kicker or punter in Wisconsin, part of the 1st Annual WSN Senior Football Awards. French has been outstanding both punting and kicking this year for thee Indians. He has averaged 38 yards per punt, with a long of 71 yards. He is 43 of 44 on extra points and 14 of 19 on field goal attempts. His 14 made field goals are believed to be the most in the state this year. Ranked as the top kicker in the state and one of the best in the nation, French is heading to the University of Wisconsin on scholarship. In a Level 2 upset of defending champion Homestead, French booted two early field goals to help stake the Indians to a lead they would not relinquish. He is a weapon in the field position battle as well, consistently hitting kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks. French has committed to the University of Wisconsin, something that makes Head Coach John Baker very happy. "He s got a special leg," Baker said. "I can t say enough about what he s done. He s kicked all over the nation in the off-season and really worked extremely hard at it. Everything he s earned he s done on his own, yet he remains within the team concept. "He puts our cover teams in good situations with hang time on his punts, and puts the other team in bad situations when he puts kickoffs into the end zone and forces them to start from the 20 all the time." To view all the Kevin Stemke Award finalists, click here. 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:  Dennis Semrau, Wisconsin State Journal; Todd Sommerfeldt, La Crosse Tribune; John Casper, Jr., Eau Claire Leader-Telegram; Mike McGivern, WSSP Radio in Milwaukee; Justin Hull, KFIZ Radio in Fond du Lac; Nicholas Kartos, President and Founder of WSN; and Travis Wilson, WSN Sports Content Producer