Wisconsin Sports Network and WisSports.net are proud to announce Sun Prairie's Lucas Otto as the 2011 recipient of the Kevin Stemke Award as the most outstanding senior kicker or punter in Wisconsin, part of the WSN Senior Football Awards.
Otto is an exchange student from Switzerland at Sun Prairie High School, but is making quite a splash in his time in the US. Despite never playing football prior to joining the Cardinals team this year, he displays incredible potential as a kicker.
"He has one of the most explosive legs I have ever seen," head coach Brian Kaminski said. "When he comes into contact with the ball there is a different sound."
On 63 kickoffs during the season, Otto had 46 touchbacks, with 14 of those going out of the back of the end zone. Otto is 41 of 44 on extra points this season and 9 of 12 on field goals. All three of his misses this year were from more than 50 yards however.
In three playoff games he connected on field goals of 40, 45, 26, and 58 yards. His 58-yard field goal in a Level 3 loss to Verona tied for the third-longest field goal in state history.
Finalists for the award were Otto, Tom Barneson of Eau Claire Memorial, Santiago Lopez of Stanley-Boyd, Jack Russell of Waunakee, and Gus Utech of Marshfield.
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: Nicholas Kartos, WSN President and Founder; Travis Wilson, WSN Content Manager; Dennis Semrau, Wisconsin State Journal; Justin Hull, AM 1570 The Score in Appleton; John Casper Jr., Eau Claire Leader-Telegram; Dan Barwick, WSN Associate Content Producer
Tag(s): News Travis Wilson Senior FB Awards
