Diedrich leads the North

Lepak helps out too in allstar victory

By Casey Krautkramer

Cooper Diedrich of Athens showed people attending the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association (WFCA) 8-player senior all-star game on Friday night why he was one of the best players in the entire state last fall.

Diedrich dazzled the crowd with his dual threat big-play ability at quarterback in leading the North 8-player team to a 23-6 win against the South 8-player squad on J.J. Keller Field at Titan Stadium in Oshkosh.

He accounted for 246 or 75 percent of the North’s 326 yards of total offense. He completed 18 of 31 passes for 186 yards along with 60 yards rushing and a 12-yard touchdown scamper in the second quarter.

Diedrich benefited from receiving the ball snapped to him from his starting Athens center, Kody Lepak, who played the same position on the offensive line for the North 8-Player all-star team.

Diedrich also kicked a successful 40-yard field goal as time expired in the first half to give the North team a 15-0 halftime advantage. He ran two kickoffs for 112 yards for an average of 56 yards per attempt.

The pair of recent Athens graduates also benefited from receiving instruction from their varsity high school head coach, Todd Diethelm, who was an assistant coach for the 8-player North squad in the all-star game.

Ryan Karsten, an Abbotsford native who is the head varsity football coach in Siren, was the North 8-player all-star team’s head coach on Friday night. His other assistant coaches in the all-star game besides Diethelm were Jordan LaBlance of Clayton, Tom Tallier of Gilman and Keldric Stokes of Thorp.

Players and coaches competing in the WFCA 8-player all-star game raised money for the Wisconsin Children’s Hospital. Diedrich will play basketball at UW-Stout while Lepak will attend UW-Stevens Point this fall.