Carey’s Brodman, Wynford’s Skidmore lead All-DC-U team

Carey’s Butch Brodman was named the player of the year, while Wynford’s Cyle Skidmore was tabbed the coach of the year on the All-Daily Chief-Union football team.

A senior defensive lineman, Brodman was the Northern 10 Athletic Conference defensive player of the year, a Northwest District Division VI co-defensive player of the year and an All-Ohio first-team selection. He ranked tied for second in the league in tackles with 131 and first in tackles for loss with 41. He also had 5.5 sacks, an interception and a forced fumble. Though he focused on defense, Brodman also contributed as a fullback on offense and rushed for 157 yards and six touchdowns. He caught 11 passes for 169 yards and another touchdown.

Skidmore was the N10 coach of the year and a co-coach in the Northwest District Division VI. In his second season at the helm of his alma mater, he helped turn the Royals around from 2-8 a year ago to 7-5. They went 5-2 in the N10 for third place and won their first playoff game since the 2020 COVID season when all teams qualified. Seven wins matched the 2019 season as the most by a Wynford team since the 2017 team won eight games.

The All-DC-U football team is selected by a vote of newspaper sports writers and includes players from Carey, Mohawk, Riverdale, Upper Sandusky and Wynford. Players may be selected to only one position even though some excelled on both offense and defense and sometimes special teams as well. Players are not necessarily selected to their best position but to one that allows for the best 25 players to be included on the team based on their entire contributions.

The offensive backfield includes Upper Sandusky quarterback Kaden Holman, Wynford running back Kaiden Blair, Carey running back Eli Steen, Wynford wide receiver James Rindfuss, Riverdale wide receiver Davin Harbor and Upper Sandusky wide receiver Ethan Hill.

Selected as offensive linemen were Carey’s Matt Allomong and Jonah Peters, 

Wynford’s Kalen Skidmore and Evan Wright, and Mohawk’s Isaac Orewiler.

The defensive front includes linemen Brodman and teammate Alex Putnam, along with Wynford’s Bryce Locker. Linebackers picked were Carey’s Conner Norden, Mohawk’s Evan England, Riverdale’s Loukas Carter and Upper Sandusky’s Ethan Lewis. Defensive backs selected were Carey’s Austin Niederkohr and Carter Smiley, Mohawk’s Kaleb Bish and Wynford’s Ashton Warren.

The special teams selections were Mohawk punter Brayden Chester, Carey kicker Nathan Gery and Wynford kick and punt returner Anthony Evans.

Holman, a senior, was an All-Ohioan for the second straight year, earning honorable mention in Division VI. He was the N10 offensive player of the year for the second straight season and earned All-Northwest District first-team honors. He led the league in passing for the third straight year, throwing for 2,075 yards and 25 touchdowns with nine interceptions, and ranked sixth in rushing with 936 yards and 14 more touchdowns on the ground. Also an All-N10 second-team defensive back, he made 59 tackles with two interceptions, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.

Blair, a senior, was an All-Ohio second-team pick as a running back after earning first-team honors in the Northwest District and the N10. He was the N10 leader with 1,324 yards and 19 touchdowns on the ground, also leading the league in points with 120. He caught nine passes for 106 yards. Also an All-N10 first-team defensive selection as a linebacker, Blair made 105 tackles, including 10.5 for loss with one sack, and had four interceptions and two forced fumbles.

Steen, only a sophomore, was an All-Northwest District second-team honoree and a first-team selection in the N10. He topped 1,000 yards on the season with 1,193 to go with 15 touchdowns while averaging 7.0 yards per carry. He also made 13 tackles, including five for loss, as a defensive lineman.

Rindfuss, a senior, was an All-Ohio honorable mention pick in Division VI after he was named to the first team on the All-Northwest District and All-N10 teams. He was tops in the N10 with 969 yards on 43 receptions despite the Royals seldom passing. He had 11 touchdowns receiving and also rushed for one. As a defensive back, he made 51 tackles, including 6.5 for loss, with two interceptions.

Hill, a senior, was an all-district second-team selection and earned first-team honors in the N10. He missed action with an injury but still ranked second in the N10 in yards receiving per game (70.6). He finished with 36 catches for 494 yards and four touchdowns. He contributed 43 tackles and two interceptions as a defensive back.

Harbor, a senior, received All-Northwest District honorable mention and was a second-team honoree in the Blanchard Valley Conference. He had 44 catches for 783 yards and eight touchdowns and filled in at running back for a few games, gaining 271 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. As a defensive back, he made 59 tackles with two interceptions.

Allomong, a 6-foot-4, 290-pound senior, was an All-Ohio first-team honoree, the co-lineman of the year in the Northwest District in Division VI and an All-N10 first-team pick. He helped the Blue Devils rank as the top scoring team in the Northern 10 Athletic Conference with an average of 36.0 points per game. They put up 372.4 yards per game.

Kalen Skidmore, a 6-1, 250-pound senior, also was an All-Ohio first-team pick and was among the four players who shared Northwest District offensive lineman of the year honors. He was named to the first team in the N10. He paved the way for a Wynford offense that was third in the league in points per game at 32.9 and just missed the top spot in yards at 372.3. Also, an All-N10 first-team defensive lineman, he made 84 tackles, including nine for loss with four sacks.

Peters, a 6-3, 220-pound senior, received honorable mention in the district after being named to the All-N10 first team. He aided in the Blue Devils averaging 265.2 rushing yards per game.

Wright, a 5-10, 200-pound junior, was named to the All-N10 second team as an offensive lineman. He played a big part in the Royals averaging 254.2 rushing yards per game and 6.2 yards per carry. Also an All-N10 second-team linebacker, Wright made 91 tackles, including 5.5 for loss with 2.5 sacks, and recovered three fumbles.

Orewiler, a 5-11, 260-pound senior, was named to the All-N10 second team as an offensive lineman. He was the top blocker for a Warriors offense that averaged 310.5 yards and 22.7 points per game.

Putnam, a senior, was named to the second team in the district and the first team in the N10. He was among the league leaders in tackles with 100 and was fourth with 26.5 tackles for loss. He had 5.5 sacks, forced a fumble and recovered a fumble. As a versatile offensive weapon, he had 273 yards rushing, 190 receiving and scored seven total touchdowns.

Locker, a sophomore, earned All-Northwest District honorable mention and was named to the second team in the N10. He had 91 tackles with 17 of them for loss and 5.5 sacks, all of those ranking among the league leaders.

Norden, a senior, was an All-Ohio honorable mention selection who was named to the first team in the district and the league. He was first in the N10 in sacks with 8.5, tied for second in tackles with 131, and second in tackles for loss with 29. He also had two interceptions. As a running back, he rushed for 318 yards and four touchdowns, and he also returned a kick for a touchdown.

England, a senior, received Division VII All-Ohio honorable mention was picked to the second team in the district and the first team in the N10. He finished the year with 98 tackles, making five of them for loss with one sack. He also rushed for four touchdowns as a running back.

Carter, a junior, received All-Northwest District second-team and All-BVC first-team honors despite playing in just five games because of an injury. He had 50 tackles, including 32 solo and four for loss, and as a running back, he gained 493 yards rushing with three touchdowns.

Lewis, a sophomore, was named to the second team in both the district and the N10. He was fifth in the league with his 105 tackles and made seven of them for loss with a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

Niederkohr, a senior, was an All-Ohio, All-Northwest District and All-N10 first-team selection. He led the league in interceptions with seven. He had eight tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, one fumble recovery and one forced fumble. On offense, he rushed for 554 yards and 11 touchdowns and made 16 catches for 274 yards and a score. He also averaged 39.6 yards on five kick returns.

Bish, a junior, was an All-Ohio honorable mention selection who was picked to the second team in the district and the first team in the N10. He was second in the league with five interceptions despite missing the last half of the season with a broken arm. He made 27 tackles, with 2.5 for loss. As a wide receiver, he made 26 catches for 287 yards and three touchdowns.

Smiley, a senior, was an all-district second-team pick as an offensive athlete and earned All-N10 first-team honors on defense and second-team honors on offense. On defense, Smiley finished with 38 tackles and four interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown. Smiley took over as the starting quarterback in the third game and threw for 1,072 yards and nine touchdowns and ran for 680 yards and eight touchdowns.

Warren, a senior, was honored on the Northwest District and N10 second teams. He was third in the league with four interceptions and made 55 tackles. As the team’s quarterback, Warren threw for 1,385 yards and 15 touchdowns with nine interceptions and ran for 269 yards and seven scores.

Chester, a senior, was an All-Ohio honorable mention pick and earned first-team honors in the district and N10. He averaged 38.0 yards per attempt, just off the league lead. As a tight end, he caught 28 passes for 383 yards and two touchdowns, and as a linebacker, he made 41 tackles, including six for loss, with two interceptions, a fumble recovery and a forced fumble.

Gery, a junior, was the top kicker in the area and was named to the All-N10 second team. He made 36 of 40 extra points and was good on his only field goal attempt, a 33-yarder.

Evans, a junior, was an All-N10 second-team running back and earned honorable mention in the district. As a kick returner, he averaged 19.6 yards on 17 attempts and had one touchdown. As a running back, Evans was third in the N10 with 1,241 rushing yards and averaged 7.4 yards per carry with 10 touchdowns. He also made 37 tackles and recovered a fumble while playing as a defensive back.

Earning All-DC-U honorable mention were Upper Sandusky senior wide receiver, defensive back and kick returner Gavin Frey, Riverdale sophomore safety and wide receiver Grant Inbody, Mohawk junior quarterback Ben Bogner, Riverdale senior wide receiver and defensive back Cam Furr, and Wynford junior tight end and defensive lineman KJ Kotalik.