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

Wisconsin Sports Network and WisSports.net are happy to announce Cedar Grove-Belgium's Sam Peiffer as the 2021 recipient of the Al Toon Award as the most outstanding senior wide receiver in Wisconsin, part of the WSN Senior Football Awards.

Cedar Grove-Belgium senior Sam Peiffer has seen an excellent arc to his career, starting with quality time on varsity as a sophomore when he caught 19 passes for 374 yards and five touchdowns. In just five games as a junior, he caught 33 passes for 623 yards and an astounding 15 touchdowns (that's an average of three scores per game).

In his senior season the 6'2" wideout leads the state in receptions with 96 and receiving yards with 1,404. He's also caught 15 touchdowns this year as the Rockets shared the Big East Conference title.

"I think his stats speak volumes but what many outside our conference don’t know is that he was often getting doubled and even tripled covered in most games," said head coach Dan Schreurs. "Never once did he get frustrated as he understood that this opened the door for the rest of our offensive players to take advantage."

Finalists for the award were Peiffer, Colin Girdaukas of Kohler/Sheboygan Lutheran/Christian, Owen Pawlikowski of Kimberly, Jackson Trudgeon of Edgewood, and Casey Verhagen of Kohler/Sheboygan Lutheran/Christian.

Past winners of the award include Madison Memorial's Lechein Neblett (2009), Monona Grove's Zach Zweifel (2010), Montello/Princeton/Green Lake's Matt Sosinsky (2011), Black River Falls' Jordan Millis (2012), Greendale's Mitchell Brees (2013), Marquette's Jake Matkovich (2014), Kimberly's Jordan Janssen (2015), Oconomowoc's Zach Clayton (2016), Lake Mills' Hayden Iverson (2017), Waunakee's Sawyer Maly (2018), Waukesha North's Chimere Dike (2019), Cumberland's Jack Martens (2020).

The award is named after Al Toon, a graduate of the University of Wisconsin who still ranks in the top three or four of almost all game, season, and career receiving categories. Toon was a first-round draft choice by the New York Jets who led the NFL in catches in 1988 with 93. Injuries forced him to retire early from the NFL, but he has been a fixture back in the Madison area for many years. 

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.