Above: Top football awards winners, are, from L-R, Carson Lyons (Rookie of the Year), Tanner Simonette (Rookie of the Year), Blake Lyons (Back of the Year, All District), Henry Strobel (Special Teams Plyer of the Year), Carter Barto (All District Honorable Mention, Unsung Hero), Gabe Sullivan (MVP, Torpedo award, All District), Jacob Rohlfing (Clipper Award), Kale Kelley (All-District Honorable Mention).
While the résumé for Cleveland/Immanuel Lutheran football 2022 lists just a single win, head coach Erik Hermanson said at the awards banquet in the school commons on Sunday, November 12 that the season was positive for several reasons.
First off, the fledgling Clippers upped their skills from game to game, even though they were progressively taking on tougher teams after their opening win over Wabasha.
“It might sound like I’m trying to find a silver lining in a 1-8 record, but we had an incredibly successful season, starting with the improvement from the first day to when we played Mayer Lutheran (the last game of the regular season), which I thought was our best game.”
Because of the day-to-day development, practices were enjoyable for the coaching staff, but Hermanson understood that suiting up each day wasn’t always fun for the players, especially when the hard work didn’t pay off in dubs.
“Practice has never been this fun and not just because they are great kids and fun to be around. They took coaching. They listened. They improved. That’s why we thank everyone who stuck it out—because football is tough, physically football is very hard to practice every day—everyone who made it to the end of the season. Shooting baskets is fun. Hitting a baseball is difficult, but it’s fun. But football practice is not fun. Friday nights are fun, and Friday nights are so much more fun when you win.”
Secondly, that the Clippers managed to complete a varsity season with just a few upper classmen and having to rely on eighth and ninth graders to round out the lineup.
“If you would have asked us last fall and this summer and this fall, we would have thought that we would just have to play a JV schedule or somehow try to play down to nine man and not play in the playoffs,” Hermanson said. “But we played all our games, and that’s an attribute to the toughness and the dedication of everyone on the team because younger players had to step up, and older players had to stick it out.”
So, most of the Clippers lasted until the season ended in the first round of the playoffs, and Hermanson and the rest of the coaching staff were grateful for the majority that stuck with the program.
“Thank you everyone in grades eight through 12 for being there for us, being there for each other, being there for your school, being there for your town and having the incredible accomplishment that we did this year, which was playing nine games.”
Chosen by the team as the most valuable player was Gabe Sullivan. The junior linebacker and team captain wrestled 41 solo tackles and 85 assists to lead the Clippers. He forced and recovered a fumble and deflected one pass. He returned five kickoffs for a total of 43 yards.
“I am not sure we ever made a better choice in choosing a captain, because he was a leader on the field by helping people get where they should be” Hermanson said. “He was also a leader on the field by example with his incredible play. If everyone is as dedicated as he is, Cleveland will have no problem being very successful. I put Gabe up for district defensive player of the year at the district meeting, but of course Lester Prairie won about every award, but all the coaches remembered number 60 and respected him, so that’s a notch in his belt.”
For his efforts, Sullivan was voted by district coaches to be a member of the All-District team. As the Clippers’ clear statistical defensive leader, Sullivan also took home the team’s Torpedo Award.
“Every week he was very humble about it,” said assistant coach Kyle Atherton. “In games, he knew where everyone needed to be. He knew every defensive call. He knew what everyone of the 11 needed to do, not just him.”
Sophomore quarterback Blake Lyons also was named to the All-District team.
Last year, Lyons stepped into the limelight when Jackson Meyer (CHS 2022) suffered a season-ending injury. The freshman QBd two more games, was injured himself, missed two games and got back for the homecoming game, where he lasted three quarters before an injury ended his season.
This year, he stayed healthy and got the turf time he needed. He completed 101 of 220 pass attempts for 893 yards, four touchdowns and two PATs. Leading the Clipper ground game, Lyons also legged 257 yards in 49 carries and one touchdown.
“Blake has done something that no one has ever done since I started as sole head coach, and that is play quarterback for the entire season,” Hermanson said. “And that is no joke; you have to be tough. All the other coaches in the district wish they had this guy on their team.”
The Clippers chose him as the Back of the Year. As a safety, he had 44 tackle assists and 23 solo tackles and forced and recovered one fumble and deflected on pass.
“The back of the year gets a lot of recognition, but on Saturday morning, he has a tough time getting out of bed in the morning,” Hermanson said. “Football hurts. Football is hard. It is a great game and teaches a lot about life but is physically taxing. Blake took it because he wanted to do everything he could for Cleveland. He wanted to do everything he could for anyone on his team, and he never complained about a missed block or missed assignment and played his heart out.”
The lineman of the year award went to Nick Simonette. The Clippers typically ran off the 235-lb sophomore guard, and on defense he had 15 solo tackles and 31 assists.
“Linemen don’t get a lot of stats, but we really felt good about Nick,” said assistant coach Matt Miller. “He is big and tough and has a little bit of nasty to him, like we like our lineman. Defensively, he plays a tough position because the other teams go after him, and he typically gets double teamed, but he had to find his way to make it through the mess and get a tackle, and he did a lot of that, and we’re really proud of him.”
An anchor on the offensive line, Simonette was also chosen as an All-District Honorable Mention.
“Nick was one of our most dominant players,” Hermanson said. “Offensive linemen don’t get much glory. He was someone we would run behind and someone who would pass block and someone who has a bit of a chip on his shoulder and doesn’t mind mixing it up with those older, stronger guys. The future is bright for Nick.”
Also an All-District Honorable Mention and another anchor on the O line was junior tackle and defensive end Carter Barto.
Still recovering from a knee injury he suffered last fall, Barto missed the first game but had 30 solo tackles and 25 assists. He led the team with seven sacks and 17 tackles behind the line. He recovered one fumble and deflected one pass.
“Carter was one of the players who was actually big enough and strong enough to play,” Hermanson said, “and if you look at the stats he had an incredible amount of tackles for losses. He had a great season statistically, but it was the heart, him going out there and playing against their toughest linemen usually. He helped the younger guys. We couldn’t ask for a better leader and a better player.”
His teammates picked Barto for the team’s Unsung Hero award.
“He does quite a bit but doesn’t get recognized for it,” said Atherton. “He sometimes took a chewing that he didn’t deserve, and we didn’t know it until we looked at the film. He never chirped back. He might have gotten frustrated but never showed it physically.”
Kale Kelley, a sophomore wide receiver and defensive back, also was chosen as an All-District Honorable Mention. With 36 catches for 351 yards total and one TD and one PAT, he was Lyons’ favorite target. On defense, Kelley had 25 solo tackles, 21 assists and an interception. As a return man, he took 15 punt returns for a total of 77 yards and 15 kickoff returns for a total of 282 yards.
“Kale on any other team would probably have been too young to play or too small to play,” Hermanson said. “On our team, we were expecting him to do everything.”
While there were so many young players who had great first seasons, Hermanson said, the Clippers narrowed them down to a pair for the Rookie of the Year award.
One of them went to Simonette’s eighth-grade brother Tanner Simonette. As a wide receiver, he caught seven passes for a total of 35 yards. As a defensive back, he had 20 solo tackles, 23 assists, one sack and one forced fumble.
“We all started taking Tanner for granted after just a couple of games because it wasn’t like he was in eighth grade anymore,” Hermanson said “We found out when he hurt his ankle and had to go out that he was just a very good football player.”
Continuing with the sibling and eighth-grader themes, Carson Lyons was the other Rookie of the Year. He caught 24 of his brother’s throws for a total of 348 yards. He picked up a Clipper fumble for and ran it in for a TD and also scored a 19-yard TD on his one carry.
“Carson was one of our leading receivers and luckily got to play quarterback on JV,” Hermanson said. “Having the entire JV season has been unheard of for the last couple of years, so thanks to him and the rest of the younger guys.”
Senior Henry Strobel was named as the Special Teams Player of the Year. He booted 35 punts for a total of 1112 yards. He also kicked off 19 times and made one field goal. He returned 14 kickoffs for a total of 281 yards with one of them an 85-yarder to the end zone.
“We were always trying to harness him and to utilize his abilities the best we could,” said assistant coach Larry Walechka. “We were trying to find a spark, so coach (Brady) Hahn and I came up with a wall return, and Henry took it to the house.”
Strobel also had 31 carries for a total of 131 yards and hauled in 17 passes for a total of 84 yards. As a defensive back, he had 19 solo tackles and 22 assists.
“He’s just a jack of all trades,” Hermanson said. “Every special teams he had to be the key on. His spirt not only in football but throughout the whole school is just fantastic. He will truly be missed.”
Senior tackle and defensive end Jacob Rohlfing earned the Clipper award.
“When you think of the Clipper award, you have to think of leadership both on and off the field,” Hahn said. “You have to think of a positive attitude, getting the players to be upbeat and to make positive choices. That’s not always easy to do. Being loud helps too, and you see him at volleyball games too just promoting that positive spirit.”
Rohlfing had nine solo tackles and 34 assists and recovered two opponent fumbles. He was a team captain.
“Jacob put in a lot of hard work in the weight room,” Hermanson said. “He is one of our biggest, strongest players, very fast and very athletic. The only thing is he is so nice. He was someone who was saying to the other team ‘Great block’ or ‘Great tackle’ or helping them up. But you don’t have to try to hurt people to play football. You can play in in the right way, and Jake is an example of that and tried to be the best he possibly could for the school and for the team.”
Besides the awards, letters were handed out.
Eighth graders
“Braeden Smith is a very talented guy,” Hermanson said. “He had to play defense a couple of times against some serious competition, and I’ve never seen a guy get pinballed right around us by huge guys, but Braeden is super tough, and you can see on JV games how skilled he is and how he is going to be a great receiver besides a good defensive player.”
Absent were Sam Ternes and Caleb Connor.
Freshmen
“David Draheim is a very good football player, and we hope that he likes football more than hockey and can keep lifting because he and Daniel McClune, when they would pull and run our buck sweep on JV it was a thing of beauty.” Hermanson said. “It looked like NFL films out there just playing really fun, solid football, and we know that he can do that on varsity defense already.”
“Gavin Karels is smart enough and skilled enough, we just have to find out where he will be playing next year,” Hermanson said. “But he will be on the field because he is a talented guy.”
“Mason Kluntz may be the guy who steps into Gabe’s role,” Hermanson said. “He is the guy we trusted to make the calls on the JV squad, and it was pretty obvious that when he goes to varsity he's going to be able to do the same thing.”
“The person who people might have thought that he was in seventh grade when he was racing out there risking his life and reminds us so much of Austin Plonsky (CHS 2017) was Bode Bartell,” Hermanson said. “He’s going to have a great career.”
Max Esser was one of the guys who just got better as the season went along, and he really had some highlights on JV: an interception for a touchdown, all kinds of tackles,” Hermanson said. “He has everything he needs to be a great football player.”
Absent were Caleb Possin, Nathan Seeman, Dominic Anderson and McClune.
Sophomores
“The scout team guys take a punishment,” Hermanson said, “and Alex Johnson was out there every second of every day giving the varsity a great look, and that is going to pay off.”
“Blake Gibbs is another guy who came out early and took his lumps when he was young but just got smarter and smarter and better, and next year he might never leave the field,” Hermanson said.
Juniors
“We are so lucky to have some students from Immanuel Lutheran come and play this year,” Hermanson said. “Munya Kuvaoga had never played organized football before, and he made incredible strides from starting camp and step one on ‘How do I stand, and where to I go?’ And he has the athletic ability to be a really key component, and he can fly all over the field. We just need to give him the right spot.”
“Unfortunately, Cameron Leighter got hurt this year because he is a guy who is big enough and strong enough to actually be on the field,” Hermanson said. “I know that next year that we will see he is a great football player.”
“It took a lot of bravery for Brady Bostic to come out last after having not played,” Hermanson said. “He took his lumps last year but this year he made that huge step to playing a lot more, and he got on the stat sheet with tackles, tackles for losses, and probably next year, he’ll never leave the field.”
Absent was IL's Jaxon Libby. He had 30 carries for 130 yards and a pair of TDs.
Seniors
“Jack Voit started every game on the offensive line,” Hermanson said. “He was someone old enough to be out there, strong enough to be out there. He had a really good season going against opponents’ tougher, stronger guys.”
“Martin Gibbs is a hard worker,” Hermanson said. “He loves to work, and I’m not talking about football yet. I had to beg him for years to come out because he loves to mow lawns and work at BP. But we finally got him to come out, and I think he not only enjoyed it, he became a starter, and he because an incredibly useful and helpful player, and I think he had a lot of fun too.”
With a GPA of 3.5 or higher during the season, Rohlfing, Karels, Kluntz, the Lyons brothers, Johnson, Kelley, Connor and Tanner Simonette made the district All-Academic Team.
Also during the ceremony, Hermanson thanked coaches Atherton, Walechka, Miller and Hahn. Atherton thanked behind-the scenes people, admin and school staff who put up with the players on game day, for example when they needed to call home to have a parent bring some equipment. He thanked AD Rich Kern for preparing the field, the fans, the chain gang, the Booster Club and concession staff and ticket takers, the staff in the crow's, including scoreboard keeper Greg Davis, regular announcer Steve Biehn and Brett Bartell, who announced for a game, family members who gave players a ride to practices and games and this author.
Miller said that the weight program, which started at 6:00 am on the following Monday, teaches players from 7-12 how to lift to make them bigger, stronger, more confident and help avoid injuries. The coaching staff will arrange rides for anyone who needs one.
Walechka said the football softener salt fundraiser is in place this year. See players for an order.
“It really helps get the extra money we need for equipment,” he said.
Hermanson concluded by reiterating thanks to his players.
“We really can’t express in words how much we care about every one of you and how great it is coaching you, so I really hope you can stick with football and get back to the level we were.”
Senior letter winners Martin Gibbs, Jacob Rohlfing, Henry Strobel and Jack Voit.
Junior letter winners Gabe Sullivan, Cameron Leighter, Brady Bostic, Carter Barto and Munya Kuvaoga. Absent is Jaxon Libby.
Sophomore letter winners Blake Gibbs, Alex Johnson, Nick Simonette, Blake Lyons and Kale Kelley.
Freshmen letter winners Max Esser, Bode Bartell, Mason Kluntz, David Draheim and Gavin Karels. Absent are Caleb Possin, Nathan Seeman, Daniel McClune and Dominic Anderson.
Eighth grade letterwinners Carson Lyons, Tanner Simonette and Braden Smith. Absent are Sam Ternes and Caleb Connor.
The players who attended the banquet.
Head coach Erik Hermanson at the podium. In the background are assistant coaches Kyle Atherton, Matt Miller and Larry Walechka.