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The WSN 8-Player Football Awards were launched in 2016 to recognize the outstanding players participating in reduced player football. Awards presented will be Offensive Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. All players are eligible regardless of grade level.

Each year, a preseason Watch List will be produced, then narrowed down to five finalists to be announced after the first week of playoff games. Winners will be announced the week following the 8-Player State Championship.

These awards are not associated with any conference nor the WFCA awards, and are presented independently by WisSports.net.

Hunter Cronauer of Wabeno/Laona has been selected as the 2022 8-Player Football Defensive Player of the Year by WisSports.net. 

Cronauer is one of the most productive defensive players in 8-player history, serving as a four-year varsity player for the Rebels. This year he has 184 tackles, 38 tackles for loss, 17.5 sacks, seven fumble recoveries, and seven forced fumbles.

For his career he has 462 tackles, 107 tackles for loss, and 53 sacks.

Cronauer holds a number of 8-player state records, including: most tackles in a season, most tackles in a career, most sacks in a season, most sacks in a career, most tackles for loss in a season, most tackles for a loss in a career, and more.

He was recently announced as a repeat selection on the WFCA 8-Player Football All-State team.

Other finalists for the award included Logan Amacher of Owen-Withee, Bryce Grelle of De Soto, Josh Kristof of Lena/St. Thomas Aquinas, and Sam Todd of Saint Mary Catholic.

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.