Kevin Stemke Award Finalists for top senior kicker/punter
10/28/2012, 8:15pm CDT
By Travis Wilson
The Kevin Stemke Award is presented annually to the state's top senior kicker or punter as part of the WSN Senior Football Awards presented by Taco Bell. The award is named after former Green Bay Preble and University of Wisconsin standout Kevin Stemke. At Wisconsin, Stemke was presented with the Ray Guy Award as the nation's top punter and holds UW records for highest punting average in a career (43.5) and total punting yards (10,660).
The pre-season watch list was trimmed down to 25 semi-finalists, and five finalists for the award have now been selected. Winners are announced the week of the state finals.
Kevin Stemke Award Finalists:
Joel Cretney, Mount Horeb/Barneveld – Cretney earned First Team All-Conference honors at kicker and punter for the Vikings this season, averaging 38.1 yards per punt with 15 touchbacks on kickoffs. Also a two-way starter for head coach Travis Rohrer, Cretney was good on 5 of 8 field goals and 25 of 28 extra points this season.
Greg Ganter, Cuba City – Ganter is a standout in every area for the Cubans, earning First Team All-Conference at offensive and defensive line the last two years. In addition, he is a three-time First Team All-Conference kicker and punter. He averaged 38.8 yards per punt, with a long of 61. He connected on 2 of 3 field goals during the regular season, and 32 of 35 extra points. He averaged 54.6 yards per kickoff for head coach Guy Kopp.
Donnie Manke, Lodi – Manke has been one of the top kickers in the state for several years now, and put together a huge senior season. As a punter he averaged 40.8 yards per punt, with 8 of his 27 kicks going inside the opponent's 20-yard line. It was as a kicker however that he really excelled. He connected on 24 of 25 extra points for the Blue Devils, and was good on 13 of 19 field goals, including several of more than 40 yards. Against Watertown Luther Prep he made field goals from 47, 21, 34, and 47 yards, while adding successful attempts of 47, 38, and 38 against Lake Mills. In the final game of the 2011 season he booted a 52-yard game-winner in the final seconds to beat Poynette.
Mitchell Meindel, Catholic Memorial – Meindel has one of the strongest legs in the Class of 2013, which makes it not surprising that he has accepted a scholarship at Division I North Dakota. He regularly boots kickoffs through the end zone for touchbacks, serving as a big weapon for the Crusaders.
Eli Wettstein, De Pere – Wettstein is a two-time First Team All-Conference pick for the Redbirds. He scored a total of 42 points during the regular season, going 27 of 28 on extra points and 5 of 8 on field goal attempts. On kickoffs he averaged 46.7 yards per boot. In his career he has eight made field goals of more than 40 yards, including two this season.
