MHS Warriors earn MCAA all-league football honors
Three members of the Marion High School Warrior football squad were honored Thursday by being selected for the Mid — Central Activities Association all-league first team defense.
Senior Jason Hett was a unanimous selection at defensive back, even though he missed several games due to a broken finger.
"You put together a body of work over a career, and other coaches knew he was a player who could have started for any of the 12 schools in our league," said Marion head coach Grant Thierolf.
"They knew how much Jason impacted our entire team, and in the three games he did play in, he had some really impressive numbers," Thierolf said.
Emmanuel Jackson, also a senior, was honored for his efforts at defensive end.
"Emmanuel is one of those kids who just stood out," said Thierolf. "They saw that he was always around the ball. Everyone knew he was somebody you had to account for, wherever we were on the field."
The Warriors utilized a large number of underclasssmen this season. One, Brad Klenda, rose to the top with his selection as first-team linebacker.
"That was a kind of a surprising pick, because our league is usually loaded at linebacker," Thierolf admitted. "Brad was one of those kids that never came off the field for us. He became a young leader of our defense."
Senior linebacker John Barr III was the only Warrior named to the second-team defense. Place kicker Toby Brauer and kick returner Kyle Hett, both seniors, were designated second-team honorees at those positions.
"For John, this was a case where coaches understood he was playing a new position for the third year in a row," said Thierolf.
"We were thrilled with Toby," he continued. "It was unfortunate we weren't able to use him as much as we'd have liked to."
"Kyle did what every good returner does — he caught the ball and brought it right up the field," Thierolf said. "He was hurt much of the year, and it took a lot of courage to do that."
No Warriors were named to the first team offense, but three Marion juniors received second-team honors.
Brett Billings and Hank Collett anchored the offensive line, and leading Warrior rusher Austin Hager was among the honored running backs.
"In Brett and Hank's case, it was a recognition of undersized kids who just played hard," said Thierolf. "Coaches have a heart for kids who play like that."
"Once they (league coaches) realized Austin had an injury and he kept playing through it, they recognized he has a chance to be an impact back next year," the coach said of Hager.
When queried about the absence from the list of Calvin Jeffrey, who was one of the state's top defensive interceptors in the regular season, Thierolf said, "I think Calvin sure had some opportunites there.
"Hopefully he'll use this as motivation for next year, to prove that he belongs on the first team," concluded Thierolf.
The Marion head coach was pleased with the accolades his players received.
"When you finish fifth in the league, you don't expect to have a high number of picks," he said. "It would've been real nice to get some more kids in there."
