Eight Eagles named all-league

The Sauk Prairie football team got defensive in 2019. And they were rewarded for their efforts. On the heels of their first playoff berth since 2007, eight Eagles were recognized with All-Northern Badger Conference honors. Defensively, seven Eagles were honored. Linebackers Garrett Hertzfeldt and Brooks Leister, defensive linemen Marcus Hankins and Parker Breunig, and defensive back Ben German all received second-team honors. Linebacker Dayton Goette and defensive back Jay Liedtke received honorable mention all-conference honors. Leister was also named honorable-mention all-conference as a punter. All seven defensive players are seniors. On offense, German (receiver), Hertzfeldt (running back), and Hankins (center) all received second-team honors, while junior Tyler Uselman (running back) received honorable mention recognition. “I am proud of all of our kids,” Sauk Prairie head coach Clay Iverson said. “All-conference is great and I would never diminish any of those awards, but I think if you ask any of our all-conference performers, they would tell you it is a reflection of team, like everything was this year.” Defensively, Leister led the Eagles with 54 tackles and added three sacks, five tackles for loss, and one forced fumble at linebacker. Hertzfeldt finished with 48 tackles, one sack, and three tackles for loss at linebacker. Goette had 51 tackles, three sacks, seven tackles for loss, and two interceptions at linebacker. At outside linebacker, Breuing finished with 36 tackles, one sack, 11 tackles for loss, one interception, and one defensive touchdown. Breunig also played quarterback the whole year after the first game of the season, filling in for injured starter Ethan Gibbs. Breunig had 440 yards and six touchdowns through the air, adding 263 yards and six touchdowns on the ground. Liedtke and German were part of a secondary that limited opponents to 88 passing yards per game and a 45% season completion rate. Each player also registered an interception. Hankins was part of a defensive line that limited opponents to 112 rushing yards per game and nine rushing touchdowns. The defense registered two shutouts, held opponents to 18.9 points per game, and limited opponents to 220 yards of offense per game. “Our defense was a complete unit — every position doing their job so the other positions can do theirs,” Iverson said. “If you can line up correctly, use technique, get to the ball, and tackle, the rest takes care of itself.” “We had multiple big defensive unit plays,” Iverson added. “I think having seven kids recognized is a credit to the entire defensive unit and the kids on our prep teams that prepared them.” At running back, Hertzfeldt finished with 890 yards on 153 carries (5.8 avg) and nine touchdowns. It was the second consecutive all-conference selection for Hertzfeldt. Hertzfeldt received second-team honors at running back last season. German hauled in 15 passes for 249 yards (16.6 avg) with four touchdowns at receiver. Hankins helped anchor an offensive line that paved the way for 2,553 rushing yards and 25 rushing touchdowns. The 232 yards per game on the ground was good for third in the Badger North. The eight players are a stark contrast from a year ago when Hertzfeldt was the only Eagle to receive all-conference honors. Sauk Prairie put in the work in the offseason after Iverson was named head coach in April. “We had a very short off-season, starting in late April. All the boys had to pour everything into a short amount of time. They worked really hard,” Iverson said. “Individual goals normally occur within the success of the group. We had great workouts in the off-season and I think it showed in a lot of different areas.” Not only did eight players get selected this year, three players were recognized on both offense and defense (Hankins, Hertzfeldt, and German). “We had so many kids playing both ways. That is something we would actually like to limit as the program grows,” Iverson said. “To have to go offense, defense, and (special teams) and excel is really impressive, especially in new systems. It is a credit to those boys and all the kids.” Uselman was the lone junior after rushing for 688 yards on 97 carries (7.1 avg) and three touchdowns, while adding 47 yards on four catches with one touchdown through the air. Uselman also had a kick return for a touchdown. “Tyler was asked to do a lot this year. He worked really hard in our lifting sessions and it showed,” Iverson said. “I can’t wait for him and the other seniors to take the reigns from our graduating class and keep getting better. If Tyler and the rest of the guys do that, the sky is the limit.” The Eagles lose 14 seniors from this year’s team, but will return plenty of experience as they look to build on a 6-4 season and a playoff appearance. Iverson had a successful first year as head coach of Sauk Prairie, but gave praise to the kids. “Obviously, I’m incredibly proud of our all-conference kids, and equally proud of the whole team,” he said.