Gumz, Yanko get first-team nods; 4 more Hawks earn awards

ALL-LAKELAND FOOTBALL

After earning one win on the field in conference play this fall, the Rib Lake-Prentice Hawks landed one player in each level in the voting for the 2021 All-Lakeland Conference football team.

Rib Lake-Prentice’s offensive representation for 2021 includes seniors Sam Gumz on the first team, Ty Annala on the second team and Johnathan Konrad for honorable mention.

Defensively, the Hawks put senior Jordan Yanko on the first team, junior Ty Heikkinen on the second team and senior Trey Klemann got honorable mention.

The awards follow a season where the Hawks went 1-7 overall in games played on the field. Officially their Lakeland Conference record went down as 3-4 and included forfeit wins over Flambeau and Lake Holcombe-Cornell, who bolted the conference and went to eight-player football.

The Hawks’ win was a 35-7 league victory over Ladysmith in the Oct. 15 season finale.

Annala, a guard, and Konrad, the team’s center, anchored an offensive line that paved the way for the Hawks to compile 1,063 rushing yards this season, including the 570 gained by Gumz, the team’s top running back. The Hawks added 437 passing yards during the season for 1,500 yards of total offense against some tough competition throughout the year. That came out to an average of 187.5 yards of offense per game.

The offensive highlights included a strong game by the Hawks in a 47-18 non-conference loss to Abbotsford on Sept. 9 where they gained 279 total yards, including 208 on the ground; a 172-yard ground attack in a 28-6 loss on Sept. 24 to Unity, the conference’s 2021 runner-up, and the five touchdowns in five possessions to start the big win over Ladysmith at season’s end.

Gumz, played in seven of the team’s eight games this year and gained his 570 yards on 104 carries to average 5.5 yards per attempt. He scored five touchdowns and was only credited with one lost fumble.

He had big nights in the Ladysmith and Unity games. He scored three times and had 179 yards on 20 carries against Ladysmith and had 140 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries in the loss to Unity. He had 75 yards in the loss to Abbotsford and 63 yards on 14 carries in a tough 8-6 loss to Webster, another of the Lakeland Conference’s playoff teams, on Sept. 3.

Gumz was part of a nine-member firstteam offense that includes backs Maximus Blamey of Hurley, Aaron Burkman of Grantsburg and Brody Allen of Unity, receiver Zach Miller of Grantsburg and linemen Tadan Niemi and Ryder Colassaco of Hurley, Gage Hall of Grantsburg and Mike Nelson of Unity.

Yanko and Heikkinen were Rib Lake-Prentice’s top two linebackers, while Klemann was the leader in the secondary this fall.

Yanko compiled 64 total tackles in 2021, including 25 solo stops to secure his place on the All-Lakeland first team. He also had two forced fumbles and fumble recoveries. He had a season-high 14 total tackles, five of which were solo tackles, in the 8-6 defensive struggle with Webster and 12 tackles, including six solo stops, at Unity. He forced and recovered a fumble in that game.

Yanko had 12 tackles, including three solos, in the Ladysmith win and nine tackles, including five solos, in a 47-0 loss at WIAA Division 6 Level 3 playoff team Auburndale on Sept. 17.

Yanko is part of a 12-player first-team defense that includes linebackers Tony Cummings of Hurley, Myles Schleusner of Unity and Gavin Rossow and Sawyer Winkler of Webster; linemen Sam Prusinski of Grantsburg, Mike Nelson of Unity, Brady Madsen of Webster and Grant Rydlund of Ladysmith, and backs Derek Ransanici and Ty Gilbertson of Hurley and Brody Allen of Unity.

Heikkinen was credited with 23 total tackles in five games played, including nine in the win over Ladysmith and four each in the Webster and Auburndale games.

Klemann was credited with 29 total tackles and an interception during the season. The pick came in the Webster game. He had seven total tackles, including three solos in the Unity game and seven total tackles in a 52-6 loss at Grantsburg on Oct. 8.

Blamey was named the Lakeland Con- ference’s Offensive Player of the Year, while Cummings is the Defensive Player of the Year. Blamey ran for nearly 1,500 yards and 26 touchdowns while leading the Northstars to a 7-0 conference record, an 11-1 overall mark and advancement to Level 3 of the WIAA Division 7 playoffs. Cummings had 70 tackles, including five for loss for the Northstars, who were eliminated from the post-season Friday with a 36-6 loss to Coleman.

Unity also made it to Level 3 in Division 3 before falling Friday at Durand 36-16.

Jordan Yanko First Team Defense

Ty Annala Second Team Offense

Ty Heikkinen Second Team Defense

Johnathan KonradHon. Mention Offense

Trey Klemann Hon. Mention Defense