Smith was voted the Mitchell Synder Lineman of the Year in all of U.P. 11-player football, a year after his brother Dasan Smith won the same award. With Dasan already there, both will also be playing football next year at Central Michigan University.

In the Big North, senior Talon Smith earned First Team designations on both the offensive line and defensive line.

Another half-dozen of his teammates were also First Teamers, with another Marquette player gaining Second Team distinction and a handful more earning Special Mention and Honorable Mention.

On offense, Sentinels senior Kyler Sager won First Team honors at wide receiver, just as senior Drew Bradley did at running back and junior Pavel McCutcheon on the offensive line.

Marquette’s Chase Niemi, left, closes in on the end zone as teammate Talon Smith, far right, blocks on the play during a high school football game played against Escanaba at William R. Hart Stadium in Marquette on Oct. 4. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)

For Marquette on defense, senior Zachary Leonard made the First Team at back, while seniors Noah Wautier and Jacob MacPhee did the same at linebacker.

The Sentinels’ only Second Team honor went to junior quarterback Ford Richardson.

Marquette’s Special Mention player was junior Grant Simon at running back, while earning Honorable Mention were senior kicker Sawyer Johnson and senior linebacker Chase Niemi.

The Big North Conference is made up of seven U.P. and Lower Peninsula schools. The others in the U.P. are Escanaba and Sault Ste. Marie, while from below the Mackinac Bridge are Petoskey, Alpena, Gaylord and Cadillac.

Petoskey won the Big North title with a perfect 6-0 league mark while going 11-1 overall. The Sentinels were runners-up at 5-1 and 6-3 overall, followed by Escanaba (5-4 overall), Cadillac (4-6) and Gaylord (3-6), all with 3-3 conference marks. The Soo (1-8 overall) was 1-5 and Alpena (0-9) 0-6 in league contests.

Here are the remainder of the conference honorees on the First Team and Second Team, broken down by position with each player listed with his year and school:

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OFFENSE

Quarterback — First Team: Korbin Sulitis, sr., Petoskey

Tight end — First Team: Kyle McGowan, sr., Cadillac

Wide receiver — First Team: Seth Marek, sr., Petoskey. Second Team: Mitch Eberhart, sr., Petoskey; Brady Chapman, jr., Alpena

Running back — First Team: Brendan Swiss, sr., Petoskey; Brody Ison, soph., Escanaba. Second Team: Tristan Walcher, jr., Sault Ste. Marie

Offensive line — First Team: Brad Flynn, sr., Petoskey; Zach Cowper, sr., Gaylord; Bailey Wade, sr., Cadillac. Second Team: Coby Franklin, sr., Cadillac; Rowan Dohm, sr., Petoskey; Cody Noel, sr., Escanaba

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SPECIAL TEAMS

Punter — First Team: Seth Marek, sr., Petoskey. Second Team: Kaleb Werth, sr., Alpena

Kicker — First Team: Finn Yurek, sr., Petoskey. Second Team: Kyle McGowan, sr., Cadillac

Return specialist — First Team: Ethan Chandler, sr., Gaylord

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DEFENSE

Back — First Team: Haden James, sr., Petoskey; Masno Fralick, sr., Petoskey. Second Team: Collin Piehl, sr., Gaylord; Evan Kennedy, sr., Sault Ste. Marie; Noah Vanderveer, sr., Gaylord

Linebacker — First Team: Logan Lahaie, sr., Petoskey; Brody Ison, soph., Escanaba. Second Team: Eli Main, sr., Cadillac; Cale Bell, sr., Sault Ste. Marie; Javon Stevenson, sr., Escanaba; Jaron Bensinger, jr., Gaylord

Line — First Team: Keaton Abraham, sr., Gaylord; Kaleb Gagne, sr., Escanaba; Ely Pethers, sr., Petoskey. Second Team: Luke Phillips, sr., Cadillac; Eric Eades,

Information compiled by Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee. His email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.