Daniel, Mohawk lead all-district football picks

Eric Daniel was named one of the Northwest District Division VII coaches of the year, and seven of his Mohawk players were named to the All-District team, including seven receiving first team honors.

Daniel led Mohawk to their first N10 championship in six years as they improved from just 2-8 last year to 10-3 this season. The Warriors qualified for the playoffs for the first time in three seasons and won a playoff game for the first time since 2020, reaching the regional semifinals for the first time since 2010. He shared top district coaching honors with Columbus Grove’s Andy Schafer, Norwalk St. Paul’s Chris Doughty and Crestline’s Hastings Robinette.

Mohawk’s first team selections were wide receiver Kahne Hayman, quarterback Ben Bogner and offensive lineman Garrett Rinehart on offense, as well as linebacker Owen Patrizi and defensive back Kaleb Bish on defense.

Carey running back Eli Steen, defensive lineman Carter Bame and defensive back Tripp Phoenix also were named to the first team in Division VI.

Hayman, a senior, was second in the N10 in receiving yards with 1,131, receptions with 63 and receiving touchdowns with 11, even though he also missed time with an injury. His 102.8 yards per game ranked first. He added 159 yards and five touchdowns rushing.

A senior, Bogner was second in the N10 in passing yards with 2,393 and third in rushing yards with 1,351, accounting for more than 3,600 yards of offense on his own, more than any other player in the league. He completed 58.1% of his passes for 26 touchdowns with only six interceptions. He averaged 6.6 yards per carry while scoring 11 more times on the ground.

Rinehart, a 6-4, 210-pound senior, led the Warriors to average 33.1 points per game, second-best in the N10, while putting up 356.6 yards per game.

Patrizi, a junior, was second in the N10 in tackles with 136 and has 17.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, two interceptions and has forced a fumble.

Bish, a senior made 58 tackles, with three of them for loss, and had two interceptions, returning one for a score, and a forced fumble. That is in addition to his 45 catches for 751 yards and eight touchdowns on offense and two return touchdowns.

Steen, a junior. was second in the N10 in rushing yards with 1,528 and scored 19 touchdowns while averaging 6.6 yards per carry.

Bame, a junior, ranked among the league in tackles with 87 and tied for third with 20 tackles for loss. He had two sacks, two interceptions and two fumble recoveries, along with a forced fumble.

Phoenix, a sophomore, tied for the N10 lead in interceptions with five and made 22 tackles.

Upper Sandusky had three second team honorees in Division IV: kicker Kobe Beidelschies, defensive lineman Kail Vince and linebacker Ethan Lewis. In Division VI, Carey offensive lineman Garrett Boes and linebacker Dash Puckett, as well as Wynford offensive lineman KJ Kotalik, running back Anthony Evans, linebacker Rakim Deaver and defensive back Hunter Routson all were named to the second team.

Beidelschies, only a freshman, went 5 of 6 on field goals this year, including making a 47-yarder, and was 28 of 29 on extra points for 43 points scored.

Vince, a senior, was among the league leaders with four sacks and made 25 tackles with two additional tackles for loss.

Lewis, a junior, set an N10 record with 177 tackles this year and had 12 of them for loss with two sacks and one interception.

Boes, a 6-foot-1, 255-pound junior, helped the Blue Devils average 5.9 yards per carry and 260.7 yards rushing per game, the latter ranking first in the N10.

Puckett, a junior, was near the top of the league with 112 tackles, 18 tackles for loss, four sacks and three interceptions. He also had a fumble recovery.

Kotalik, a 6-8, 315-pound senior, helped the Royals be one of the top rushing teams in the N10 with an average of 220.1 yards on the ground each game.

Evans, a senior, ranked fourth in the N10 with 1,298 rushing yards, third with 12 touchdowns, caught 22 passes for 400 yards and four touchdowns and also threw a touchdown pass. His 1298.8 yards per game average was first in the N10.

Deaver, a senior, tallied 90 tackles with 10 for loss, two sacks and a forced fumble.

Routson, a senior, was third in the N10 with four interceptions and was among the league leaders with 62 tackles. He had one tackle for loss and forced a fumble.

Honorable mention went to the Rams’ Justin Heilman, Kaleb Francis and Brodie Cox in Division IV; the Blue Devils’ Brandon Tanner, Mace Puckett, Logan Summit, Louis Watkins and Caleb Putnam, the Royals’ Codan Teynor, Jake Stover and Bryce Locker; and Riverdale’s Loukas Carter in Division VI; and the Warriors’ Brady Coffman in Division VII.

Heilman, a senior quarterback, was third in the N10 with 1,653 yards passing and 16 touchdowns with six interceptions. He completed 59.6% of his passing attempts and had one rushing touchdown.

Francis, a senior wide receiver, finished the season with 61 receptions for 674 yards and 10 touchdowns and also threw a touchdown pass. As a defensive back, he had 30 tackles, two interceptions and a fumble recovery.

Cox, a junior linebacker, finished with 80 tackles, including 12 for loss, and five sacks with one interception.

Tanner, a senior, was the N10’s leader in punting average at 35.8 yards averaged on 16 attempts, and as a linebacker, he made 37 tackles, eight for loss and 1.5 sacks, with two interceptions.

Mace Puckett, a sophomore linebacker, was third in the N10 with 125 tackles and second with 21 for loss. He had two sacks and a fumble recovery.

Summit, a sophomore linebacker, had 109 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss, four sacks and forced two fumbles.

Watkins, a sophomore defensive lineman, had 58 tackles and was fifth in the league with 18 for loss. He also had three sacks and a fumble recovery.

Putnam, a 6-0, 220-pound freshman, helped the Blue Devils average 27.3 points and 324.7 yards per game.

Teynor, a senior defensive lineman, made 53 tackles, with 11 of them for loss, and five sacks, which ranked him fourth in the N10. He also forced two fumbles and recovered one.

Stover, a junior outside linebacker, had 39 tackles with 6.5 for loss, including 3.5 sacks. He forced two fumbles and recovered one.

Locker, a junior running back and linebacker, rushed for 691 yards and four touchdowns and made 56 tackles, including seven for loss, with three sacks and two fumble recoveries.

Carter, a senior running back and linebacker, was the Falcons’ leader with 99 tackles, including 15 of them for loss. He had one sack and forced a fumble. Offensively, he rushed for 803 yards and nine touchdowns.

Coffman, a 6-6, 285-pound junior, aided the Warriors in their dynamic offense that averaged 168.7 yards rushing and 187.9 yards passing per game.