Horsemen bid farewell to a successful season

The Horsemen football team has bid farewell to a season that coaches say was a great foundation to build on.

“We are a rookie coaching team, but I’m proud with what we were able to accomplish and get done. It’s a great foundation we have set to build off in years to come,” said head coach Eddie Fultz at the team banquet.

The coach began the night’s proceedings thanking the parents of the players saying that they played a pivotal part in the team’s success, helping out when they traveled to away games.

A special mention went to Randy Garrison of the Printery in Plains for his game commentary and also for his help with the special memorabilia book that was a co-project with Jessica Peterson who took many photos throughout the season.

There were over 10 awards and special mentions made on the night to players, including some special awards that were voted on solely by the coaching staff.

Players were fist presented with the Outstanding Horsemen award to kick the night off, followed by Lettering awards, Academic All-State, All-Conference Announcements, All-State receivers, and the Bob Cleverly Game awarded positions.

Fultz went to explain a little further in-depth on a couple of the awards for players, saying that there were a few standouts when it came to deciding who would be receiving a certificate. He also explained to the friends and parents that when it came to the All-Conference nominations, that any player that started a game was nominated. When it came down to voting, he was humbled with the votes that all his players received, in particular Jay VonHeeder and Kyle Weeks, who both were a unanimous vote.

For the All-State awards, Fultz mentioned that VonHeeder was selected for the No. 2 position in the entire state. VonHeeder played both tight end and defensive end for the Horsemen.

The “Up Next” award went to Ervin Reyes; an award that is seen to acknowledge who coaching staff see as the next player who will be the go-to guy.

Most improved for the season was awarded to Malachi Paulsen. Fultz joked that when he turned up to the first practice he had pegged him as a star receiver by his build, then shortly saw that he needed to work on his ball-handling skills. The crowd chuckled, but Fultz quickly said that Paulsen finished the season strong and improved as a player on the field.

The Offensive MVP was awarded to Tanner Ovitt, while the Defensive MVP was awarded to VonHeeder.

The Horsemen Award was awarded to Weeks. The coach explained that this was in the spirit of more than just a sportsmanship award; it truly encompassed how the young man held himself both on and off the field.

“Anything good you can say was represented in Kyle. He was a good leader, good student, good teammate and really engulfed what the award represented,” said Fultz.

“Both myself and the coaches are very proud of the team and grateful for the group of seniors we had this year. Hopefully we built a solid foundation to which we can continue to build off.”

Official end of season award winners are:

Letters

FR Parker Flock

FR Tucker Foster

SO Esvin Reyes

JR Cameron Hill

JR Jacob Peterson

JR Malachi Paulsen

JR Orion Pry-Hyde

JR Rusty Stuart

SR Jubal Ryan

SR Sinjin LaDeux

SR Tanner Ovitt

SR Kyle Weeks

SR Jay VonHeeder

Academic All-State

Kyle Weeks

Jubal Ryan

Malachi Paulsen

All-Conference

Orion Pry-Hyde

Tanner Ovitt

Sinjin LeDeaux

Rusty Stuart

Kyle Weeks

Jay VonHeeder

All-State

Jay VonHeeder

Kyle Weeks

Bob Cleverley All-Star Game

Kyle Weeks

Jay VonHeeder

Reserves: Tanner Ovitt, Sinjin LeDeaux