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

Wisconsin Sports Network and WisSports.net are happy to announce Durand's Simon Bauer as the 2021 recipient of the Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch Award as the most outstanding senior running back in Wisconsin, part of the WSN Senior Football Awards.

Durand's Simon Bauer easily leads the state in rushing this year, with nearly 600 yards more than the next closest player. He has at least 125 yards in every game, with three over 300-yards. In 13 games for the Panthers, he carried the ball 314 times for 2,805 yards with 43 touchdowns for an average of 8.9 yards per attempt. He also had 21 rushing two-point conversions.

He is actually a single-wing quarterback, with 669 yards and seven touchdowns through the air. He went over 5,000 career rushing yards with 80 rushing scores earlier in the playoffs.

Finalists for the award were Bauer, Cole Berghorn of Badger, Brycen Cashin of Pacelli, Daniel Hornacek of Notre Dame, Alijah Maher-Parr of Arrowhead.

Past winners of the award include Appleton North's Steve Lichtfuss (2009), Kenosha Bradford's Melvin Gordon (2010), Waunakee's Leo Musso (2011), Big Foot's Mason Dixon (2012), Saint Mary's Springs' Ike Floyd (2013), Waunakee's Troy Laufenberg (2014), Kimberly's Blair Mulholland (2015), Darlington's Hunter Johnson (2016), Waukesha West's Peter MacCudden (2017), Iola-Scandinavia's Bryce Huettner (2018), Racine Lutheran's Tyler Tenner (2019), and Muskego's Alex Current (2020).

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:  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

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.