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Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch Award Finalists for top senior running back

10/29/2014, 3:15pm CDT
By Travis Wilson

The Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch Award is given annually to the state's top senior running back as part of the WSN Senior Football Awards. The award is named after former Wausau High School athlete Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch, who went on to play for the University of Wisconsin and the University of Michigan before starring at end in the NFL for 12 seasons. He is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the National High School Hall of Fame, and later went on to serve as Wisconsin's athletic director from 1969 to 1987.
 
The pre-season watch list was trimmed down to 15 semi-finalists, and five finalists for the award have now been selected. Winners are announced the week of the state finals. 
 
Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch Award Finalists:

Ryan Borton, Muskego - Borton seemingly came out of nowhere in his senior season to post some eye-popping numbers for the Warriors, who finished in a tie for the Classic Eight title. In a loaded backfield, Borton didn't even lead the team in carries, but managed to put up 1285 yards and 19 touchdowns on just 90 rushing attempts. That's an average of 14.3 yards per carry. He was also one of the starting linebackers for Muskego, who average better than 43 points per game. Due to blowouts and a balanced attack, Borton's season-high for carries in a game is 16. Three times this year he averaged over 19 yards per carry in a game where he rushed for at least 180.

Dom Conway, West De Pere - The son of former Packers linebacker Torrance Marshall, Conway was a First Team All-Conference selection as a junior and has been even better during his senior campaign. In 13 games he had 2447 yards and 31 touchdowns on 270 carries, averaging 9.1 yards per attempt. His yardage total is the most in the state heading into the finals. "He is quick to and through the hole, is very instinctive at the point of attack (rarely does he miss a hole), and tough to bring down in the open field," said head coach Jack Batten, who's team went 11-2. He went over 200 yards five times this year, with a high of 311 in a victory over Luxemburg-Casco.

Ethan Danz, Appleton North - Danz eclipsed the century mark in rushing yards in 10 of 12 games this year, with a season-high 37 carries for 246 yards and 4 touchdowns in a win over Kaukauna back in Week 4. On the season, he carried the ball 286 times for 1766 yards and 18 touchdowns, recently earning First Team All-Conference recognition in the VFA-North.

Troy Laufenberg, Waunakee - Laufenberg is one of the most versatile players in the state, excelling at running back, kicker, and punter for the Warriors, plus playing a little in the secondary. The last few games, he lined up as the quarterback in a shotgun set and threw the ball quite well, while still doing damage on the ground. He rushed 360 times for 2242 yards and 25 touchdowns, with a huge Week 1 performance in a win over Madison Edgewood, going for 350 yards and 5 scores. In his quarterback role he completed 23 of 43 passes for 296 yards and 5 touchdowns.

Demaris Purifoy, Wauwatosa West - The Trojans missed the playoffs in an incredibly tough Woodland-West Conference, but it wasn't because Purifoy failed to deliver. He went for at least 125 yards in every game this season, averaging 190 per contest. The dynamic senior with more than half a dozen D1 offers is one of the best pure running back prospects to come out of the state in the last 2-3 years, going for 1712 yards and 22 touchdowns on 184 yards as a senior, averaging 9.3 yards per carry.

Tag(s): News Archive  News  Travis Wilson  Senior FB Awards