8-player teams

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Dream Team Offense

Position/Player/School Height Weight Year

Ishpeming quarterback Caden Luoma takes off from the pocket in the first quarter of a high school football game played against Indian River Inland Lakes at the Ishpeming Playgrounds on Sept. 28. (Journal photo by Caden Sierra)

Line — Carlos Perez, Ishpeming 6-2 290 Sr.

Kevin Giuliani, Forest Park 6-5 270 Sr.

Haydn Rader, Pickford 6-1 210 Sr.

Quarterback — Tommy Storey, Pickford 5-8 175 Sr.

Running back — Gunner Bennin, Pickford 5-11 170 Jr.

Ishpeming quarterback Caden Luoma breaks free to gain a few rushing yards for the Hematites in the first quarter of an MHSAA eight-player Division 1 football playoff game at the Ishpeming Playgrounds on Nov. 2. (Journal photo by Caden Sierra)

Lane Gorzinski, North Central 6-0 190 Sr.

Receiver/End — Owen Baij, Norway (NA) (NA) Jr.

Caden Besonen, Ontonagon 5-11 175 Sr.

Hybrid — Austin Gordon, Ontonagon 6-2 185 Sr.

Dax Huuki, Forest Park 6-0 175 Soph.

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Dream Team Defense

Position/Player/School Height Weight Year

Line — Seth Miller, Pickford 5-8 200 Sr.

Matthew Showers, Forest Park 6-2 205 Sr.

End — Ian Browne, Pickford 6-3 175 Sr.

Spencer Willa, North Central 6-1 185 Sr.

Linebacker — Carter Deatsman, Munising 5-10 171 Sr.

Matthew Rahilly, Newberry 6-0 190 Sr.

Eli MacDonald, Pickford 6-1 185 Sr.

Back — Ethan Corp, Ishpeming 6-0 175 Sr.

Carson Kienitz, Munising 6-4 204 Sr.

Trey Lynn, Brimley 5-4 (NA) (NA)

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Dream Team Special Teams

Position/Player/School Height Weight Year

Kicker — Dietrich Rasner, Forest Park 5-7 140 Soph.

Punter — Wes Bennett, Cedarville-DeTour 6-2 300 (NA)

Returner — Owen Baij, Norway (NA) (NA) Jr.

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First Team Offense

Position/Player/School Height Weight Year

Line — Ethan Pavey, Newberry 6-2 320 Sr.

Wes Bennett, Cedarville-DeTour 6-2 300 (NA)

Maddex Burklund, Norway 6-0 277 Jr.

Quarterback — Cole Baij, Norway (NA) (NA) Sr.

Running back — Damon MacDowell, Rudyrd 5-9 163 Sr.

Nate St. Onge, Lk Linden-Hbll 5-7 140 Sr.

Receiver/End — Jack Dusseault, Munisng 6-2 183 Sr.

Gus Vonseggern, Brimley 5-9 (NA) Jr.

Hybrid — Caden Luoma, Ishpeming 6-0 185 Sr.

Trent Kannich, Forest Park 5-10 215 Jr.

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First Team Defense

Position/Player/School Height Weight Year

Line — Micah Morrison, Brimley (NA) (NA) (NA)

Myles Nehring, North Central 6-0 200 Fresh.

End — Christopher Steele, Ishpeming 5-4 160 Sr.

Evan Arnold, St. Ignace 6-3 185 Jr.

Cody McPhail, Cedarvle-DeTour 6-0 170 Sr.

Linebacker — Caden Chromy, Pickford 6-1 175 Soph.

Spencer Kramer, N Dickinson (NA) (NA) Jr.

Nik Stephens, Forest Park 6-0 150 Sr.

Back — Wyatt Aspinwall, Gogebic 5-5 145 Sr.

Vic Giuliani, Forest Park 6-2 165 Soph.

Danny Mikus, Lk Linden-Hubbell 5-8 140 Sr.

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First Team Special Teams

Position/Player/School Height Weight Year

Kicker — Leland Hollenbeck, Gogebic 6-3 185 Jr.

Punter — Matthew Rahilly, Newberry 6-0 190 Sr.

Returner — Kaden Malone, North Central 5-8 145 Soph.

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Special awards

Mr. Football — Lane Gorzinski, North Central

Offensive Player of the Year — Tommy Storey, Pickford

Defensive Player of the Year — Matt Rahilly, Newberry

Mitchell Snyder Lineman of the Year — Kevin Giuliani, Forest Park

Teams of the Year — Division 1: Pickford

Division 2: Forest Park

Coach of the Year — Division 1: Josh Rader, Pickford

Division 2: Brian Fabbri, Forest Park

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*** (NA) — Players’ statistic not available

Source: Upper Peninsula Sportswriters & Sportscasters Association

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MARQUETTE — Led by a quintet of Dream Team players, a dozen area high school football players from three schools have been honored with All-Upper Peninsula awards in eight-player football.

The awards were nominated by and then voted upon among the general membership of the U.P. Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association at its annual fall meeting on Monday at Northern Michigan University in Marquette.

Players who won awards were from Ishpeming, in its first season in the eight-player game, Munising and Newberry.

Leading the way was senior Matt Rahilly of Newberry, who after the top honor squads were named, was voted as the U.P. Defensive Player of the Year.

He was actually a three-time honoree, also being named to the Dream Team as a linebacker on defense and punter on special teams.

Players can only win once between offense and defense, but they can win a second award for special teams.

Rahilly won a close three-way vote for All-U.P. Defensive Player of the Year, garnering six votes to five for Lane Gorzinski of North Central and four for Eli McDonald of Pickford.

Rahilly, who is expected to finish his high school career earning 24 varsity letters as a full-time, six-sport athlete, was named to the First Team in the Great Lakes Eight East Division as a linebacker.

He made 104 tackles, including 53 solo and four for a loss, along with a quarterback sack, three forced fumbles, three interceptions — one for a touchdown — and five pass breakups.

Rahilly was the leading vote-getter in a crowded linebacker group that included 20 nominees originally.

As a punter, he averaged 43.7 yards per punt with a longest boot of 63 yards, and pinned opponents inside their 20-yard line three times.

Ishpeming and Munising each had two All-U.P. Dream Teamers.

The Hematites’ Carlos Perez was the lone area player to win favor on offense.

Perez, at 6-foot-2 and 290 pounds, not just figuratively but literally anchored Ishpeming’s offensive line to help the Hematites finish at 7-3, including its two-game run in the Division 1 playoffs.

A three-year starter on Ishpeming’s varsity team, he couldn’t earn any all-conference honors this year as the Hematites played as an independent in their transition to eight-player.

“He’s a force on the offensive line and always reliable to run the ball behind,” IHS head coach Mike Lyman said, adding more comments as Perez was also nominated on the defensive line.

“On defense, he forces the opposing line to double-team him or try to cut-block him to attempt to eliminate him from the play.”

Defensively, he had 32 tackles, five QB sacks, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.

Ishpeming’s other Dream Team honoree is defensive back Ethan Corp.

This senior played both safety on defense and wide receiver on offense. But he has also played other positions in the Hematites’ transition to the eight-player game.

“Ethan is one of our hardest-working kids I’ve ever coached and is our biggest leader on the team,” Lyman said. “He has all the intangibles you could ask for in a player.

“He has been a three-year starter on varsity and has contributed significantly each year.

“We had to move Ethan to receiver this year and he has really taken off in that role.”

Defensively, Corp made 57 tackles with two QB sacks, two interceptions, three forced fumbles and five fumble recoveries, including one returned for a TD.

As a receiver, he caught 39 passes for 437 yards with six TDs, ran 14 times for another 133 yards and one more TD, and even threw a pass that was completed for a 37-yard TD.

Munising also had a pair of seniors honored on the Dream Team, both on defense.

Carter Deatsman was named an All-U.P. linebacker.

As a team captain, he made a whopping 139 tackles, including 74 solo, along with two interceptions, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries in eight regular-season games.

“Pound for pound, he is one of the best players I’ve ever coached,” Mustangs head coach Matt Mattson said in support of Deatsman’s nomination. “He is a tackling machine.”

He has been a two-time all-conference First Team linebacker and was on the 2023 All-U.P. First Team at his position.

Munising also got defensive back Carson Kienitz on the All-U.P. Dream Team.

He had 51 total tackles, including three interceptions, one returned for a touchdown, to go with nine passes defended.

Mattson also mentioned that Kienitz had three other interceptions, including another “pick-six,” that were nullified due to penalties.

“I’ll mention he had 31 touchdowns on offense, rushing for over 1,000 yards and passing for over 1,500 yards,” Mattson said in support of his nomination. “He also has a 4.0 grade-point average.”

Five more area seniors, two each from Ishpeming and Newberry and one from Munising, made the All-U.P. First Team.

Ishpeming’s Christopher Steele was the only one on defense, earning his First Team nod at defensive end, or the “edge” position as he was nominated.

He made 52 tackles with 10 QB sacks, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery on defense, then added in five pass catches for 191 yards — a whopping 38.2 yards per catch — and two TDs while playing as a receiver on offense, a mighty transition as he started as a guard and was a tight end before his final move.

“Chris sets the foundation for what we expect from our players during the offseason and has been a three-year starter on varsity,” Lyman said. “He never misses workouts or practices. His work ethic is second to none.

“The week after our season was over last year, he was already back in the weight room getting ready for his upcoming season.”

Hematites’ teammate Caden Luoma earned the unique eight-player position of “hybrid” on offense for his All-U.P. First Team recognition.

That honor has been created as many players shift around from position to position either in-game or from game to game because of the fluid approach usually taken in this style of football.

Luoma, who primarily played quarterback on offense while also being a safety on defense, rolled up impressive numbers as both a passer and a runner.

He completed 54 of 87 passes for 857 yards and 12 TDs in seven regular-season games, then ran 132 times for 1,035 yards and 14 TDs.

With the two playoff games added in, his total offense shot up to more than 2,300 yards.

“Caden is an outstanding, hard worker and is one of the leaders of our football team,” Lyman said. “He has been a three-year starter on varsity.

“One of the unique things about Caden is that he had never played quarterback until last season, when we had to put him in during Week 3 after we had an injury.”

Lyman mentioned that Luoma was named an honorable mention QB in the 11-player West PAC last season while also getting the All-U.P. nod at safety then.

As a defender playing both defensive back and linebacker, Luoma made 55 tackles and had two interceptions, one returned for a TD; four forced fumbles; and two fumble recoveries.

Munising’s Jack Dusseault made the All-U.P. First Team at wide receiver after being a two-time all-conference honoree and making the 2023 All-U.P. Dream Team.

He caught 34 passes for 64 yards, 19.5 yards per reception, with 11 touchdowns. As a runner, he added in 84 yards in 13 carries, scoring three more TDs for 14 total.

He caught four and ran for two 2-point conversions, six in total.

And all those numbers were accomplished in just six games during to a broken collarbone.

From Newberry, Rahilly as a punter was joined on the All-U.P. First Team by teammate Ethan Pavey on the offensive line.

A team captain and four-year starter, this 6-2, 320-pound immovable force anchored a line that helped the Indians rush for more than 2,000 yards.

He is looking at several NCAA Division II and III colleges to continue his football-playing career.

Another three players from Ishpeming earned Special Mention and Honorable Mention.

In the Special Mention category, for those earning multiple votes in First Team balloting, are senior Hadden Hyry, 6-2 and 250 pounds, on the offensive line, and junior Grady Gauthier (5-6, 140) as a defensive back.

The Honorable Mention winner was senior Luke Laitinen (5-8, 160) at linebacker.

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