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Football Alumni Round-up: Awards and All-Conference Special

12/20/2018, 7:00pm CST
By Colton Wilson

Many high school football standouts in Wisconsin go on to big things at the college level and in the pros, and this is our spot to recognize those athletes each week and help you keep up with what is going down on some of your favorite players from the past. If you have alumni news, please send it to Colton Wilson by 10 p.m. on Tuesdays.

FBS Awards

Beau Benzschawel, Grafton: Benzschawel finalized a stellar four year career at UW-Madison, leading the Badger running game to an average 268 yards per game. Beau was named a first team All-Big Ten player as well as being named an AP First Team All-American.

James Morgan, Ashwaubenon: After transferring from Bowling Green, Morgan really found his groove, quarterbacking the FIU Panthers to an 8-4 record and a Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl berth. James threw for over 2,700 yards and 26 touchdowns; with only 1 interception. He was named the Conference USA's Newcomer of the Year.

Max Scharping, Green Bay Southwest: Max has started 49 consecutive games for Northern Illinois and was named a Mid-American first team all-conference selection for the third straight season. Max was also named to the College Football news' Honorable Mention All-American team.

FBS All-Conference

Conference Name College Award High School
Big Ten Ben Bredeson Michigan Second Team Arrowhead
Emmit Carpenter Minnesota Honorable Mention Ashwaubenon
Robert Windsor Penn State Honorable Mention Fond du Lac
Tyler Biadasz Wisconsin First Team Amherst
Beau Benzschawel Wisconsin First Team Grafton
Jake Ferguson Wisconsin Honorable Mention Madison Memorial
Conference USA James Morgan Florida International Honorable Mention Ashwaubenon
Mid-American Max Scharping Northern Illinois First Team Green Bay Southwest

FCS Awards

Garrett Wegner, Lodi: In his first season handling punt duties, the sophomore Wegner did a great job of changing field positions for the top ranked North Dakota State Bison. Wegner averaged 43.1 yards per punt and was named a FCS Third Team All-American.

Sepestiano Pupungatoa, River Falls: After suffering a late season injury last year, Pupungatoa had a great bounce back year for the South Dakota State Jackrabbits. He helped lead the offense to nearly 500 yards per game. Sepestiano was named a FCS Third Team All-American.

FCS All-Conference

Conference Name College Award High School
Missouri Valley Conference Garret Wegner North Dakota State First Team Lodi
Cam Pedersen North Dakota State Honorable Mention Regis
Cole Karcz North Dakota State Honorable Mention Germantown
Rickey Neal Jr. Northern Iowa First Team Racine Horlick
Sepestiano Pupungatoa South Dakota State First Team River Falls
Isaiah LeSure Western Illinois Second Team Mount Horeb
Sean McGuire Western Illinois Honorable Mention Franklin
Pioneer Conference Steven Doran Drake Second Team Germantown
Terry Wallen Drake Honorable Mention Brookfield Central
Tyler Terveer Drake Honorable Mention Whitefish Bay
Jordan Lewinsky Drake Honorable Mention Homestead

Division 2 Awards

Chris Garrett, Wisconsin Lutheran: Garrett was an absolute mainstay in opposing teams' backfield this season for Concordia-St. Paul. In ten games, Chris recorded 19 tackles for loss, and 16.5 sacks. His 16.5 sacks led all of Division 2 in the regular season. Along with being Northern Sun First Team All-Conference, Chris was named a Division 2 Second Team All-American.

Division 2 All-Conference

Conference Name College Award High School
GLIAC Xavier Ciardo Michigan Tech Honorable Mention Kenosha Indian Trail
Vince Propson Northern Michigan Second Team Chilton
Great Midwest Athletic Conference Justin Growel Lake Erie Second Team East Troy
MIAA Matt Wendelberger Fort Hays State Third Team Pewaukee
Northern Sun Chet Peerenboom Augustana Second Team Little Chute
Kyle Theis Augustana Honorable Mention Germantown
Chris Garrett Concordia-St. Paul First Team Wisconsin Lutheran
Trapper Ward Minnesota Duluth First Team Rice Lake
Alex Helmer Minnesota Duluth First Team Prescott
Nate Pearson Minnesota Duluth First Team Northwestern
Noah LeBlanc Minnesota Duluth Second Team Hayward
Isaac Erdmann Minnesota Duluth Second Team Menasha
Tom Johnson Minnesota Duluth Second Team Xavier
Michael Kirkendoll Minnesota Duluth Second Team Whitefish Bay
Gus Wedig Minnesota Duluth Second Team Big Foot
Evan Heim Minnesota State-Mankato First Team De Pere
Hunter Toppel Minnesota State-Mankato First Team DeForest
Zach Dodge Minnesota State-Mankato First Team Wilmot
Casey Bednarski Minnesota State-Mankato First Team Punter, Second Team Kicker Oconomowoc
Jared Gossen Minnesota State-Mankato Second Team De Pere
Nathan Belisle Minnesota State-Moorhead Second Team Athens
Andrew Erickson Minnesota State-Moorhead Second Team Saint Croix Falls
Zach Simons Minnesota State-Moorhead Second Team Xavier
Nolan Kern Sioux Falls Second Team Regis
Nick Zimmerman Sioux Falls Honorable Mention Laconia
Gregory Lewis St. Cloud State First Team Wauwatosa West
Jake Schley St. Cloud State First Team St. Thomas More
Jack Horter St. Cloud State Second Team Marquette
Skyler Kurt St. Cloud State Second Team Lodi
Anthony Carver St. Cloud State Honorable Mention Wisconsin Lutheran
Dwayne Lawhorn St. Cloud State Honorable Mention Germantown
Jamari Manuel St. Cloud State Honorable Mention Madison East
Robert Kraklow St. Cloud State Honorable Mention Mukwonago
Adam Stage St. Cloud State Honorable Mention Kimberly
Carter Berlin Winona State First Team Augusta
Isaiah Frandsen Winona State Second Team Barron
Cole LaLiberty Winona State Honorable Mention Chetek-Weyerhaeuser
Sam Santaigo-Lloyd Winona State Honorable Mention Brookfield East

Division 3 Awards

D3 West Region Honorees:

Sam Romanski -- First Team
Alex Wendorg -- First Team
Derrick Jennings Jr. -- First Team
AJ Plewa -- Second Team
Cole Yoder -- Second Team
Christian Almonte -- Second Team
Quinn Meinerz -- Second Team
Nate Trewyn -- First Team
Harry Henschler -- First Team
David O'Gorman -- Second Team
Bryce Leszczynski -- Third Team
Justin Prostinak -- First Team

Christian Almonte, Menomonee Falls: After missing the entire 2017 season due to injury, Almonte bounced back in a big way for UW-Stevens Point. He had over 500 receiving yards and six touchdowns. On special teams, he collected over 500 yards in the return game, including two kickoffs for touchdowns. Christian was named the WIAC Special Teams Player of the Year.

Nate Trewyn, Milton: Trewyn, a third-year starter for UW-Whitewater helped lead the Warhawks back to the division 3 semifinals this season. Along with being a first team WIAC and Division 3 West Region performer, Trewyn was named a Division 3 First-Teamer by the Associated Press. Not only that, Nate was the winner of the Rimington Award as the top center in division 3 football.

Harry Henschler, Janesville Craig: Henschler had a spectacular senior season for UW-Whitewater and brought home many accolades with it. He finished the season with 63 tackles, 17.5 for loss, and 8.5 sacks for the Warhawks. Along with being named first team WIAC and West Region, Harry was a division 3 First Team All-American by the Associated Press. It didn't stop there as Henschler was named the WIAC Defensive Player of the Year as well as the Division 3 West Region Defensive Player of the Year.

Division 3 All-Conference

Conference Name College Award High School
WIAC Charlie Brookshaw UW-Eau Claire First Team Prescott
Sam Romanski UW-Eau Claire First Team Wausau East
Ben Wolff UW-Eau Claire Honorable Mention Winnebago Lutheran
Victor Martinelli UW-Eau Claire Honorable Mention Milton
Brad Goetsch UW-Eau Claire Honorable Mention D.C. Everest
Connor Berry UW-La Crosse Second Team Marshfield
Zachary Zillmer UW-La Crosse Second Team Black River Falls
Colton Nieman UW-La Crosse Second Team Wisconsin Rapids
Jake Simuncak UW-La Crosse Second Team South Milwaukee
Rusty Murphy UW-La Crosse Honorable Mention Cudahy
Alex Wendorf UW-Oshkosh First Team Watertown
Dom Todarello UW-Oshkosh First Team Arrowhead
Derrick Jennings Jr. UW-Oshkosh First Team DeForest
Scott Skornicka UW-Oshkosh First Team Two Rivers
AJ Plewa UW-Oshkosh First Team South Milwaukee
Cole Yoder UW-Oshkosh First Team Oshkosh West
Riley Kallas UW-Oshkosh Honorable Mention Winneconne
Turner Geisthardt UW-Oshkosh Honorable Mention Oshkosh North
Tyler Reinhardt UW-Platteville Second Team Slinger
Andrew Rakers UW-Platteville Second Team Brookfield East
Ben Mogilevsky UW-Platteville Honorable Mention Madison La Follette
Alex Herink UW-River Falls Second Team Hudson
Sam Altena UW-River Falls Honorable Mention New Richmond
Joey Leonard UW-River Falls Honorable Mention Medford
Max Praschak UW-River Falls Honorable Mention Somerset
Mitch Dienger UW-River Falls Honorable Mention Holmen
Owen Schommer UW-River Falls Honorable Mention Prescott
Christian Almonte UW-Stevens Point First Team Return Specialist, Second Team Wide Receiver Menomonee Falls
Jalen Burks UW-Stevens Point Second Team Milwaukee Riverside
Victor Ponterio UW-Stevens Point Second Team Melrose-Mindoro
Mitch Overbeck UW-Stevens Point Honorable Mention Southern Door
Boyd Delebreau UW-Stevens Point Honorable Mention Chilton
OJ James UW-Stevens Point Honorable Mention Wisconsin Lutheran
Omarri Johnson UW-Stevens Point Honorable Mention Milwaukee Riverside
Sam Shafer UW-Stevens Point Honorable Mention River Falls
Noah Pulsifer UW-Stevens Point Honorable Mention Brookfield East
Drew Pearson UW-Stout First Team Wausau West
Shawn Magee UW-Stout First Team Rice Lake
Bailey Roux UW-Stout Second Team Rice Lake
Luke Wilz UW-Stout Second Team Manawa
Levi Wolf UW-Stout Second Team Elmwood
Sean Borgerding UW-Stout Honorable Mention Spring Valley
Quinn Meinerz UW-Whitewater First Team Hartford
Nate Trewyn UW-Whitewater First Team Milton
JT Parish UW-Whitewater First Team Cambridge
Harry Henschler UW-Whitewater First Team Janesville Craig
David O’Gorman UW-Whitewater First Team Watertown
Bryce Leszczynski UW-Whitewater First Team Pius XI
Bailey Breunig UW-Whitewater First Team Sauk Prairie
Justin Prostinak UW-Whitewater First Team Lake Country Lutheran
Kyle Gannon UW-Whitewater Second Team Waukesha West
Matthew Saeger UW-Whitewater Second Team Lodi
Ryan Wisniewski UW-Whitewater Second Team Sparta
Jacob Erbs UW-Whitewater Second Team Reedsburg
Nate Tranel UW-Whitewater Second Team Lancaster
Justin Hansen UW-Whitewater Honorable Mention Beloit Turner
Alex Zacharias UW-Whitewater Honorable Mention Stoughton
Josh Ringelberg UW-Whitewater Honorable Mention Greendale
Midwest Conference Joey Werner Beloit College First Team West Allis Hale
Garrett Rau Knox College First Team Special Teams, Second Team Defensive Back Abbotsford
Dominic Parello Knox College First Team South Milwaukee
Noah Reckoer Lake Forest College Second Team Sauk Prairie
Cormac Madigan Ripon College First Team Laconia
Jacob Kaczorowski Ripon College First Team Manawa
Jeremiah Rein Ripon College Second Team Amherst
Tyler VandeVelde Ripon College Second Team Badger
Ethan Hoffman Ripon College Second Team Kimberly
Samuel Staehling St. Norbert College First Team Plymouth
Isaac Mears St. Norbert College First Team Denmark
Kordell Draves St. Norbert College First Team Southern Door
Will Utesch St. Norbert College First Team Big Foot
Hunter Prokash St. Norbert College First Team Algoma
Austin Rupiper St. Norbert College Second Team Evansville
Drew Rhodes St. Norbert College Second Team Waukesha West
Ben Kornowski St. Norbert College Second Team Green Bay Preble
Nate Essman St. Norbert College Second Team Mukwonago

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