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Branden Fischer of Watertown selected to receive Kevin Stemke Award

11/25/2020, 2:00pm CST
By Travis Wilson

Wisconsin Sports Network and WisSports.net are proud to announce Watertown's Branden Fischer as the 2020 recipient of the Kevin Stemke Award as the most outstanding senior kicker or punter in Wisconsin, part of the WSN Senior Football Awards.

Watertown's Branden Fischer is outstanding as both a punter and a kicker for the Goslings. Rated as a five-star player by Kohl's Kicking, he averaged 45 yards per punt with a long of 55 yards. Three of his punts went more than 50 yards.

He was five-for-five on field goals this year, including two of more than 40 yards. His only missed extra point was blocked. Fischer averaged more than 55 yards per kickoff, with 11 of his 29 kickoffs going for touchbacks. 

Finalists for the award were Fischer, A.J. Arndt of Hartford, Jack Meyer of Chippewa Falls, Jackson Pettit of Saint Croix Central, and Mason Wiesner of Manawa.

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).

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

About the Author

Travis Wilson serves as the WisSports.net General Manager, Football Editor, and contributing writer for other parts of the site. Wilson was selected as part of the Sports 40 Under 40 list by Coach & AD Magazine and the National High School Athletic Coaches Association for 2019. The Wisconsin Football Coaches Association (WFCA) named Travis the 2015 recipient of the Dave McClain Distinguished Service Award. He currently serves on the WFCA Executive Board and is a member of the Executive Board of the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association. A graduate of Richland Center High School and Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Travis was a three-sport athlete in high school (football, baseball, basketball), inducted to the Richland Center High School Hall of Fame in 2023, and currently resides in Reedsburg. You can follow him on Twitter at @travisWSN.

For the latest and most up to date football news and recruiting information, follow Travis on Twitter @travisWSN. Email story ideas, recruiting info, etc. to Travis at travis(at)wissports.net.

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