Kelley leads list of 10 Raiders that earn All-GNC awards

ALL-GNC FOOTBALL

The Medford Raiders’ reign over the Great Northern Conference in football ended after two undefeated seasons with a third-place finish, but some strong individual efforts produced another good showing in the voting for the 2021 allconference teams. Medford started the year with little varsity experience on either side of the ball and then never had its best lineup on the field due to injuries, quarantines and other factors. Still the Raiders went 5-2 this season in conference play, 5-5 overall and earned another berth in the WIAA’s Division 3 post-season tournament.

Medford claimed four All-GNC firstteam spots on offense and three more on defense, including two-way honors for senior Brigham Kelley, and added one second-team spot and four honorable mentions to their list of honors.

Kelley was a unanimous choice among the conference’s coaches for his play at tight end on offense and defensive end. Senior running back Aiden Gardner was a unanimous pick on offense for the second straight year and, as usual, Medford’s presence was felt in the voting for offensive linemen with Jake Seifert and Bryce Sperl getting first-team spots and junior Will Haavisto getting honorable mention.

Seniors Caleb Guden and Kolten Ratcliff were first-team picks on defense and Guden got honorable mention on offense. Sophomore Max Dietzman offered glimpses of a bright future and earned a second-team spot on defense. Senior Parker Crass and junior Tukker Schreiner were among the honorable mentionees.

Gardner, the GNC’s Offensive Player of the Year in 2020, had another banner season, winning the conference’s rushing title with 1,423 yards in seven league games. Overall, he finished with 1,631 yards and 17 touchdowns in 10 games. He scored 14 of those touchdowns in conference play and averaged 7.6 yards per carry and 203.3 yards per GNC game. He won the rushing title by 40 yards over Rhinelander’s Cayden Neri.

The highlight of the season was the school-record 352 rushing yards Gardner had in a 45-20 win at Lakeland on Sept. 10. He also had 254 yards in a 30-20 win at Hayward on Sept. 24 and 212 yards in a 30-12 win at Merrill on Oct. 15.

The rushing yards wouldn’t have been possible without the work of the offensive line, which improved as the year went on. Seifert, the team’s center, Sperl, Haavisto and Kelley opened the holes that produced 2,101 rushing yards in conference play, an average of 300 per game. That ranked second in the league, just behind Rhinelander’s 2,149 rushing yards. Medford averaged 363 yards per game overall in GNC play, just behind Rhinelander’s 369.3 yards per game.

Medford ran for 463 yards at Lakeland, 365 yards at Merrill and 351 yards in consecutive wins at Hayward and Antigo.

Kelley also caught five passes for 120 yards and two touchdowns in league play and finished with seven catches for 135 yards overall.

In a season where Medford lost its starting quarterback, Logan Baumgartner, for the season after week two, Guden was the team’s leading receiver with 18 catches for 378 yards and four touchdowns and got honorable mention for his play at the receiver position. Eleven of those catches came in league play and covered 215 yards. Guden’s top game in league play came in a 28-14 loss to Rhinelander on Sept. 17 when he caught four passes for 74 yards and a late touchdown. He had three catches for 107 yards, including an 82-yard touchdown in a stormshortened 29-14 loss to Amherst on Aug. 27.

Guden added 284 rushing yards on 48 carries and four touchdowns during the year.

Schreiner bulled through opposing tacklers to gain 345 yards on 66 carries and score five touchdowns in league play and he finished with 412 yards on 74 carries overall. He had a season-high 84 yards on 15 carries in the win at Lakeland and 71 yards and three touchdowns on just seven carries in a 40-0 win at Antigo on Oct. 1.

Defensively, Medford ranked third in the conference by allowing 240 yards per game, trailing Mosinee (145) and Rhinelander (166.6).

From his defensive end position as a first-year starter, Kelley was credited with 48 total tackles, including 24 solo stops, and two tackles for losses. He had one quarterback sack.

In league play, he was involved in eight tackles, including five solo tackles, in the loss to Rhinelander and he was involved in seven tackles in a 30-14 win over Ashland on Sept. 3. He opened the year with a big game, collecting 10 total tackles, including six solos and his sack, in a 28-6 loss at Rice Lake, a team that has reached this Friday’s semifinals of the WIAA Division 3 tournament.

Guden made the All-GNC team at defensive back, a position he was forced to move to from his more familiar position of linebacker when injuries and absences hit the secondary hard early in the season.

Guden finished with a team high 90 tackles, including seven for losses, two interceptions, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Half of his tackles were solo tackles. In conference play, he had 15 tackles, including six solos in the loss to Rhinelander; 14 tackles, including four solos, in the win over Ashland, and nine tackles in wins at Lakeland and Merrill. He had 12 tackles, including seven solos in a 48-14 playoff loss at Rice Lake on Oct. 22 and 10 tackles, including six solos and two for losses, in the season-opening loss at Rice Lake.

Ratcliff was tough to block in his first season as a full-time starter at defensive tackle. He registered 52 total tackles, four tackles for losses and two sacks. Nine of the tackles, including two solo tackles, came in the win over Ashland. He had three solo tackles, five assists, two tackles for loss and a sack at Lakeland and he was involved in seven tackles in the Rhinelander game. He was involved in seven tackles, including one for loss at Merrill.

Dietzman, an interior lineman for the defense, got better as he gained experience and finished with 37 total tackles, including 12 solo stops, three tackles for losses, a sack and two fumble recoveries. His sack came against Mosinee’s Trevor Garski. He had seven tackles, including one for loss, against Ashland and six tackles, including one for loss against Rhinelander. He had three solo tackles at Antigo.

Crass, a senior defensive lineman, had 24 total tackles in seven games, 10 of which were solo stops. He had one tackle for loss, which came in the loss to Rhinelander. He had seven total tackles, including four solos in that game.

Mosinee swept the major awards after an undefeated season in conference play under GNC Coach of the Year Craig Martens. Garski was named the Offensive Player of the Year after throwing for 1,324 yards and 18 touchdowns in just five conference games. Mosinee won two league games by forfeit. He completed 73.2% of his passes (104 for 142) and had only three passes intercepted.

Linebacker Nolan Harris was named the Defensive Player of the Year. He had 97 tackles and 4.5 sacks overall in the 10 games Mosinee played.

Mosinee finished 8-2 overall after falling 35-28 in an exciting WIAA Division 3 Level 2 playoff game. Baraboo also beat Rhinelander 13-7 in Level 1, ending the Hodags’ best season in years at 8-2. Hayward, in its second season in the GNC, also made the Division 3 playoffs, falling to Mosinee 43-8 in Level 1.

Caleb Guden First Team Defense Hon. Mention Offense

Aiden Gardner First Team Offense

Max Dietzman Second Team Defense

Jake Seifert First Team Offense

Parker Crass Hon. Mention Defense

Bryce Sperl First Team Offense

Tukker Schreiner Hon. Mention Offense

Kolten Ratcliff First Team Defense

Will Haavisto Hon. Mention Offense