By Stuart Groskreutz, Stillwater Gazette (posted with permission)

After leading the Ponies in rushing yards and touchdowns, senior running back Dom Krenz was chosen the Most Valuable Athlete for the East Metro Sub-District champion Stillwater football team.

Award winners for the Ponies were announced during the team’s virtual postseason banquet that was conducted on Monday, Dec. 21.

Stillwater finished the season with a 4-3 record, including 4-1 to join East Ridge (2-1, 4-2) and Roseville (2-1, 2-4) as co-Metro East Sub-District champions.

The Ponies capped the regular season with a dramatic 16-0 victory over previously unbeaten and fourth-ranked East Ridge to capture the program’s first conference or sub-district title since 2012.

Stillwater received a first-round bye as a No. 1 seed in Class 6A and was defeated by fourth-seeded Centennial 27-14 in the second round of the state playoffs.

Krenz, who also received the team’s Most Valuable Player award on offense, finished with 362 rushing yards and six touchdowns in seven games.

Ian Hanlon took home the team’s Most Valuable Player award on defense. The senior defensive back finished with 18 solo tackles, two assisted tackles and a team-high four knocked down passes.

Krenz and Hanlon were among eight Ponies named to the All-Metro East Sub-District Team, a list that also included linebacker Michel Cowley, offensive lineman Cameron Morgan, quarterback Casey Venske, do-everything running back Nick Schlender and defensive linemen Mason Wilson and Gavin Zurn.

Cowley racked up a team-high 115 defensive points, finishing with 34 solo tackles and 23 assisted tackles, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.

Jacob Huenink, Zach Hunter, Eddie O’Keefe, Max Shikenjanski and Ian Tandy each received honorable mention honors in the Metro East Sub-District.

Hanlon was one of just 18 players in Class 6A to receive Academic All-State honors.

As a team, Stillwater received a Silver Academic Award from the Minnesota Football Coaches Association. This marked the eighth time in the last nine seasons the Ponies have earned a Silver or Gold Academic Award.

Tate Kiser (defense) and Tim Fultz (offense) were named the team’s Scout Player(s) of the Year.

Stillwater’s Most Improved Player of the Year awards were presented to Hanlon (defense) and Isaac Bursch (offense).

Mason Buck garnered the Coaches Award and Krenz collected the Mr. Football Award. Krenz also starred on special teams for the Ponies, finishing with an average of 31.8 yards per kick-off return which ranks second on the team’s all-time list in a season behind Brett Oden (33.9 avg.).

Venske also cracked the record book over two and half seasons of play: first in career attempts (427) and completions (182), and third in career yards (2,227) and TD passes (19).

In addition to receiving the Big Red Hitter Award based on a vote of his teammates, Schlender also received the Mr. Weight Room Award.

Schlender ranked third for the Ponies in rushing with 19 carries for 125 yards (6.6 avg) and led the team with 19 receptions for 186 yards, trailing only Shikenjanski’s team-high total of 254 receiving yards on 17 catches.

Morgan was named the team’s Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman while Venske was honored with the Kearney Memorial Award.

In Stillwater’s lop-sided victory over Cretin-Derham Hall this season, Huenink set a school record with nine extra-point kicks. The senior also earned honorable mention all-conference honors as a goalkeeper this fall while helping Stillwater’s boys soccer team to conference and section titles.

He finished a perfect 22 for 22 on PATs this season.

Beau LaBore, who was named the Metro East Sub-District Coach of the Year, was pleased with the many challenges the Ponies overcame during a pandemic on the way to their first winning season since 2016.

“Our football program will forever remember the 2020 team as the one that displayed flexibility, adaptability, resilience and gratitude,” LaBore said at the close of the virtual awards ceremony. “We stayed focused on the things that we had control over and avoided worry about everything else — and we still enjoyed the opportunities that were granted to us.

“In the end, we earned a sub-district championship and played for a section championship. We accomplished common goals that players make for their teams all over the state year in and year out.”

In addition to many juniors and underclassmen contributing on varsity, it was a strong year at the lower levels as well.

“As we turn our focus to 2021, we get to see if those characteristics of flexibility, adaptability, resilience and gratitude and much, much more are going to carry over with a junior class that had a huge impact on the 2020,” LaBore said. “We had a sophomore team that outscored its opponents 200-14 en route to a perfect season, and a freshman team that also went undefeated. None of these classes, our juniors, our sophomores or our freshmen will be judged on this past 2020 season, but rather what they do from now on to ensure their senior season is one we remember for the same reasons as the 2020 team.”

Stillwater will name captains for next year’s team later this winter.

Football

All-Metro East Sub-District: Michael Cowley, Ian Hanlon, Dom Krenz, Cameron Morgan, Nick Schlender, Casey Venske, Mason Wilson and Gavin Zurn; All-Metro East Sub-District Honorable Mention: Jacob Huenink, Zach Hunter, Eddie O’Keefe, Max Shikenjanski and Ian Tandy; Academic All-State: Ian Hanlon; Metro East Sub-District Coach of the Year: Beau LaBore; Scout Defense Player of the Year: Tate Kiser; Scout Offense Player of the Year: Tim Fultz; Most Improved Player — Defense: Ian Hanlon; Most Improved Player — Offense: Isaac Bursch; Coaches Award: Mason Buck; Big Red Hitter: Nick Schlender; Mr. Weight Room: Nick Schlender; Mr. Football: Dom Krenz; Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman: Cameron Morgan; Kearney Memorial Award: Casey Venske; MVP Defense: Ian Hanlon; MVP Offense: Dom Krenz; Most Valuable Athlete: Dom Krenz; Captains elect: To be announced.