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Updated Football State Record Book following 2023 season

01/12/2024, 12:00pm CST
By Travis Wilson

Columbus running back Colton Brunell set a new career rushing record in 2023

The 2023 high school football season was another one for the record books, as a number of players and teams etched their names in history.

Kevin Patrowsky keeps the State Record Book for the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association and has provided an updated 68-page document that is chock full of great information. Also, he's again added on to the 8-Man Football Record Book, which continues to grow. For any updates, additions, or corrections to the Record Book, please contact Kevin Patrowsky.

Below are some of the noteworthy additions to the Record Book from 2023.

2023 Highlighted ADDITIONS TO 11-PLAYER STATE RECORD BOOK

Passing Updates

  • Westosha Central's Brock Koeppel threw nine touchdown passes in a win over Wilmot, tying the single-game record.
  • Onalaska's Adam Skifton threw for 2,944 yards in 2023, which is top 40 in state history.
  • Sun Prairie East's Drew Kavanaugh threw 37 touchdown passes, good for 16th on the single-season list.
  • Racine Lutheran's Cohen Kraus threw six touchdown passes in the first half of an 82-22 win over Dominican, tying the state record for most touchdown passes in a single half. 
  • West De Pere's Duke Shovald finished his career with 6,128 passing yards, which places him 13th on the career list.

Rushing Updates

  • Columbus' Colton Brunell set a new career rushing record with 7,416 yards in just three seasons. That's nearly 500 yards more than anyone else.
  • Brunell's 106 rushing touchdowns is second-most in state history.
  • Brunell had 36 games of at least 100 rushing yards, the most in state history.
  • Chase Matthias of Two Rivers finished his career with 5,991 rushing yards, which places him seventh on the state's all-time list.
  • Matthias had 33 career games of at least 100 rushing yards, the third most in state history.
  • Oconto Falls' Alex Hanes ran for 429 yards in a win over Clintonville, which is 14th in state history.

Receiving Updates

  • Ethan Felder of University School caught 17 passes in a game, which is tied for 11th.
  • Collin Meininger of Westosha Central and Evan Olson of Pepin/Alma each caught five touchdown passes in a game, tying for fifth on the state list.
  • Onalaska's Brodie Mickschl caught 86 passes this fall, tying him inside the top 25 on the single-season list.
  • Mickschl hauled in 19 touchdown passes, tying for 13th.
  • Mosinee's Keagan Jirschele caught 168 passes in his career, 17th in state history. His 2,723 career receiving yards are 14th. His 37 career receiving touchdowns are tied for seventh.
  • Pepin/Alma's Evan Olson is tied for seventh with 37 career receiving touchdowns as well.

Scoring Updates

  • Kewaunee's Owen Carlson scored 266 points, tying for 16th in state history.
  • Ezra Hitz of Milwaukee Reagan, Demetrius Bergmann of Pepin/Alma, and Trenton Owens of Mount Horeb/Barneveld each scored five, two-point conversions in a game this season, tying a state record.
  • Owens scored 23, two-point converions this year, tying a state record.
  • Madden Mahr of Stanley-Boyd scored four kick return touchdowns this year, tying a state record.
  • Columbus' Colton Brunell finished his career with 656 points, fourth-most in state history.
  • Two Rivers' Chase Matthias finished with 631 career points, which is fifth.

Kicking Updates

  • Homestead's Sean West made 15 field goals last year, tying for second-most in state history.
  • West scored 102 kicking points (69 extra points, 11 field goals), which is second-most in state history.
  • West made 25 field goals in his career, which is tied for fifth.
  • Mukwonago's Ryan McCormick scored 98 kicking points (71 extra points, nine field goals), which is third.
  • Daniel Karlin of Two Rivers made 74 extra points on the year, good for tenth.
  • Franklin's Cooper Mueller made 180 extra points in his career, which is seventh.
  • Mueller scored 228 kicking points in his career, which is also seventh.

Punting Updates

  • Richland Center's Liam Fingerson averaged 47.2 yards per punt, most in a single-season in state history.
  • Gannon Voegtline of Wausau East averaged 46.5 yards per punt, second-most in state history.

Defense Updates

  • Braydon Larson of Tomahawk had five interceptions in a Week 8 win over Westifled, tying for the second-most in a game.
  • Mosinee's Keagan Jirschele recorded 14 interceptions in 2023, tying for second-most in a single season.
  • Max Matthias of Two Rivers recorded 36 tackles for loss, good for seventh on the state's single-season list. His six tackles for loss in a single game is third.
  • Matthias has 74 tackles for loss after his sophomore season, which is the second-most in state history.
  • Catholic Memorial's Carl Pevey recorded 68 tackles for loss in his career, which is fifth.

Team Updates

  • Monona Grove (70) and DeForest (62) scored a combined 132 points in a game, tying for the fourth-most in single-game.
  • Monona Grove posted 712 yards in that game, sixth-most in a single game.
  • Monona Grove and DeForest combined for 1,277 yards, the second-most in state history.
  • Badger High School rushed for 4,946 yards as a team, eighth-most in a single season.
  • Waunakee scored 471 points in the regular season, seventh-most in a single season. The Warriors' 668 points for the full season is also seventh.

2023 ADDITIONS TO 8-PLAYER STATE RECORD BOOK

With the current incarnation of 8-Player Football still being very young, there were one again a significant number of additions to the Record Book this season. We will highlight some of the more prominent additions below.

Passing Updates

  • Gibraltar's Bradan Kita threw for 461 yards in a single game, which is fifth-most in state history.
  • Three Lakes/Phelps' Jared Kaufman set a new state record by completing 12-of-12 passes in a single game.
  • Four players (Gibraltar's Braden Kita, Wabno/Laona's Cooper Albrecht, Three Lakes/Phelps' Jared Kaufman, and Almond-Bancroft's T.J. Lamb) all threw seven touchdown passes in a single game, tying them for third in state history.
  • Siren's Gannen Reynolds threw for 2,227 yards, which is seventh in state history.
  • Three Lakes/Phelps' Jared Kaufman threw 35 touchdown passes, which is fifth on the state list.
  • Northwood/Solon Springs' Jared Schultz had a combined 3,018 passing and rushing yards, which is the second-most in a single season.
  • Three Lakes/Phelps' Jared Kaufman finished his career with 5,011 passing yards, which is third in state history. He also threw 73 touchdowns, also good for third on the career list.
  • Kaufman went for 6,950 combined passing and rushing yards in his career, which is the most ever.
  • McDonell Central's Grant Smisky has 4,697 career passing yards, good for sixth, as he still has a senior year coming up in 2024.

Rushing Updates

  • Phillips' Tryg Mollman set a new state record by averaging 22.2 yards per carry (1,308 yards on 59 attempts).
  • Northwood/Solon Springs' Jared Schultz is up to 2,947 rushing yards in his career, which is eight on the state list as he still has a year to go.

Receiving Updates

  • Gibraltar's Braden Sitte set new state records with 399 receiving yards and six touchdowns in a single game.
  • Alma Center Lincoln's Ben Ross caught 13 passes in a game, tying for fourth on the state list.
  • Almond-Bancroft's Ayden Phillips caught 73 passes, which is tied for third-most in a single season.
  • Three Lakes/Phelps' Tyler Janikowski had 1,419 receiving yards, which is second-most in a single season.
  • Janikowski caught 26 touchdowns in 2023, setting a new state record. Gibraltar's Braden Sitte caught 21 touchdowns and is now second.
  • Almond-Bancroft's Ayden Phillips is up to second in career receptions with 155 and third in career receiving yards with 2,420, as he still has a year for the Eagles. He's also tied for fourth on the career list with 29 touchdown catches.
  •  

Scoring Updates

  • Shell Lake's Brock Naesson scored eight touchdowns and two, two-point conversions in a game for 52 total points, which is tied for fourth-most in state history.
  • Gibraltar's Braden Sitte kicked a 42-yard field goal, which is a new state record.

Defense Updates

  • Almond-Bancroft's Shane Klismith set a new state record with four interceptions in one game.
  • Three Lakes/Phelps' Tyler Janikowski set a new state record with 12 interceptions on the season, including four returned for touchdowns.
  • Flambeau's Luke Lawron had 34 tackles in a game, which is a new record. Gillett's Lavonzell Smith had 33 tackles in a game, which is second.
  • Florence's Trent Mclain had 18 sacks, which is third most in a single season.

Team Updates

  • Oakfield scored 88 points, which is the sixth-most in a single game.

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  State Records  Travis Wilson