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

Wisconsin Sports Network and WisSports.net are proud to announce Appleton North senior Steve Lichtfuss as the inaugural recipient of the "Crazylegs" Hirsch Award as the most outstanding senior running back in Wisconsin, part of the 1st Annual WSN Senior Football Awards.

The term "workhorse" was designed for a running back just like Lichtfuss. Steve led the state in carries this year with 350. He finished second in the state with 2363 rushing yards while racking up 25 touchdowns on the ground. The Lightning went to Lichtfuss for close to 75% of their offensive plays this season. He helped Appleton North compile a perfect 9-0 record in the regular season, which included a win over Kimberly which snapped the Papermakers' 29-game winning streak and gave them their first conference loss since 2005. Lichtfuss rushed for 151 yards and one touchdown in that game. North made it all the way to the state semi-finals before falling to Menomonee Falls.

Appleton North running backs coach Nick Salm had high praise for Lichtfuss both on and off the field: "Steve is a firm believer in 'team success' brings on 'individual success'. Following a game, Steve doesn't ask for his stats - never has. Based on his stats you could argue that we ask a lot of Steve on the field. You would be very accurate in that assessment, but those are very obvious and easy to make judgment. However, it's what Steve does in practice physically and mentally for our team that is a major difference. In the three years I have worked with Steve, he has never taken himself out of a game, practice, play or even drill. In fact, he is so competitive that if he feels he has not run a play or drill to his liking, he will immediately request that he/we do it again. "He has as strong and powerful of a trunk as I've worked with and incredible balance as well. He has very good speed to go the distance and enough power to move a pile. He has exceptional vision for cutbacks and understands how to read each level. He's a smart football player who plays with a great deal of confidence. He is always going forward and finishes with a low lean that usually nets him an additional 2 or 3 yards on the way down."

To view the rest of the "Crazylegs" Hirsch Award finalists, click here.

The award is named after "Crazylegs" Hirsch, a legendary athlete from Wausau High School who later starred at both the University of Wisconsin and the University of Michigan. Hirsch spent 12 seasons in professional football, including nine seasons with the Los Angeles Rams who moved him to end. His 1951 season is one of the greatest receiving years in NFL history. He caught 66 passes for a record 1495 yards and 17 touchdowns. The yardage mark wasn t broken for 19 years while his 17 touchdowns tied the record and wasn t broken until 1984. He later served as the Wisconsin athletic director from 1969 to 1987, overseeing a revival of UW athletics. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1968. Hirsch passed away in 2004.

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