Last Monday the Ponies football program put a cap on their 2015 season, honoring graduating seniors and team leaders at their annual Awards banquet.  All of the varsity players and their families attended the event.

Senior running back Stephen Wagner earned the Offensive Most Valuable Player and Team MVP honors, was named “Mr. Weight Room,” and received the Kearney Memorial Award for his overall leadership of the team both on and off the field.  Senior linebacker Charlie Boldt won the coveted “Big Red Hitter” award and was named Defensive MVP.  By tradition, the three MVP honors are awarded as the result of a team vote. 

Team Award Winners

Nathan Novotny, Scout Defense Player

Kevin Jones, Most Improved Defensive Player

Grayson Hosch, Scout Offensive Player

Hunter Howieson, Most Improved Offensive Player

Cris Bradley, Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman

Austin Murr, Coaches’ Award, for outstanding on-field contribution to the Varsity team by an underclassman

Conference and State Award Winners

All-Conference Players – Cory Albertson, Nick Ackerson, Charlie Boldt, Joey Costa, Zach Kelley-Delorme, Stephen Wagner, Andrew Warren

All-Conference Honorable Mention -- Wyatt Blinkhorn, Cris Bradley, Mutt Hoefferle, Andrew Hoy, AJ Laudet

Stephen Wagner, Academic All-State, Minnesota Football Coaches’ Association

“Every season is different and every team has its own personality and character,” said Ponies Head Coach Beau LaBore.  “What we’ll remember most about this team is that they stayed, played and improved together.  They are a resilient bunch of guys and they played the game in a way that honors our program’s history.

LaBore also noted that as part of their commitment, the 2015 team’s sophomores, juniors and seniors completed more than 1,500 hours of community service work. This is the fifth year of the Ponies’ team-based community service program.

At the banquet the team announced that that Grayson Hosch, Graham Laubscher and Ben Peterson have been chosen by their teammates to serve as captains for the 2016 Ponies.   The players select their captains to represent the team and promote the good character, academic achievement, and athletic improvement and performance that is expected of all Ponies football players.  These young men are responsible to carry out the mission and vision of the program throughout the months leading up to and during the 2016 season.