And the Schmidy Awards go to …
Written by Chris Schmidbauer | | sports@toledofreepress.comIt is time to announce the first (in what I hope will be annual) Schmidy Award winners for achievements in high school football for 2010.
If we actually had some form of banquet, it would be a cross between the Heisman Trophy presentation and a Saturday afternoon watching college football at a local sports bar.
Before we get to the awards, I want to thank all the readers who voted for these awards.
"Schmidy Award"
Without further ado, here are your 2010 Schmidy winners.
We’ll start with the Specialist Award. This is the Schmidy that honors the best special teams’ player for this season. While the race for this one was pretty tight, the winner is Brandon Smith from St. John’s Jesuit. Smith was the City League’s sixth leading scorer this past season. He was tops in the City League in number of field goals made (7) and he also converted on 43 extra points this season. Honorable mentions for this award go to the runner up in Patrick Wesolowski from Central.
Moving along w go to the All Heart Award. This honor goes to the team that played hard all season long despite tough odds and insurmountable obstacles at times this season. This seemed like an easy choice, but I was a bit surprised to tally the votes and see who the winner was. The Schmidy goes to the Woodward Polar Bears. Many of the voters felt that with the tough times in the Toledo Public School System, it was tough sledding for Woodward’s football team this season. The runner up for the All Heart Award was the Lake Flyers, who finished 6-4 this season despite the summer tornado that damaged the school and devastated the community.
Now, the winner of the John Doe Award. This Schmidy goes to the best player in Northwest Ohio that nobody talked about this season. This award ended up being a runaway winner. The winner is Shannon Geren, RB, from Edon. Whether it is the fact that Edon High School is located near the Ohio-Indiana border or because he played in the Toledo Area Athletic Conference (TAAC), Geren flew under almost everyone’s radar this season. His stats were nothing short of amazing. Geren ran for 2,040 yards, 22 TD, and also kicked 30 extra points this season. The gap between him and the second leading rusher in the TAAC was almost 900 yards. The Bombers rode Geren’s back and almost made the state playoffs because of it. The runner up for this award ended in a tie between two players: Damond Powell, WR, from Rogers and Jake Wawrzyniak, RB, from St. Francis.
Our last team award is the Iron Curtain Award. This honor is given to the defensive unit that was most dominant throughout this season. This award was decided by a single vote. The winner is the Whitmer Panthers. It is hard to ignore what this team did on defense this season. The Panthers allowed just 10.7 points per game this season, and they were fantastic in stopping the run. Led by Ohio State bound Kenny Hayes, linebacker Jamar Ridley, and safety Mark Meyers, Whitmer’s defense was a main ingredient in the Panther’s CL championship recipe. The runner up for this award was the Genoa Comets. The Comets allowed just 7.5 points per game, but the voters who left feedback said they felt the Panthers’ competition was tougher during the regular season than Genoa’s.
Finally we come to the Walks on Water Award. This one goes to the best player in Northwest Ohio for the 2010 season. There was a lot of talent that was up for this award, and you could make a case for each of the nominees to win this Schmidy. One player stood out to the voters amongst all others this season though, and that player was Jody Webb, RB, from Whitmer. Webb was electric on the football field this season rushing for 1,139 yards and 19 TD. What is more impressive about Webb’s season though were his statistical averages. He averaged almost ten yards per carry this season (9.8 ypc) and he scored a touchdown once out of every seven times he touched the football. Webb also was the CL’s fifth best receiver, gaining 378 yards on 16 catches. The runner up for this award was Central Catholic’s Calebb Goings, who was the CL’s leading rusher this season.
That is all for the 2010 Schmidy Awards. Congratulations to all of the winners for a fantastic 2010 football season.
Chris Schmidbauer is sports editor for Toledo Free Press and Toledo Free Press Star. Contact him at cschmidbauer@toledofreepress.com. He is also the co-host of the “Odd Couple Sports Show” on Fox Sports Radio 1230 WCWA and can be heard every weekday from at 10 a.m. to noon. He can also be seen weekly on the “Friday Night Frenzy Tailgate Show” on NBC 24’s America One.
Tags: Chris Schmidbauer, high school football, Prep Sports, The Cheap Seats
