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| Junior Wide Receiver Derek Kief from La Salle with his 2012 GCL South First Team All-GCL & Wide Receiver of the Year Awards Derek was the only Junior to receive a Special Award |
Seriously though, in addition to being thankful to be included by Derek as well as his mother and father, I learned a lot about the GCL last night. The GCL South is one of, if not THE toughest high school football leagues in the country. The GCL South has consistently produced new crops of top college athletes as well as many NFL players over the years.
Head Coach and MC for the night, Ron Huber from Mount St. Joseph shared a story which really resonated with me. He said that when he attended his very first American Football Coaches Association Conference, he was sitting around the table with top coaches from all over the country, as he said, "shooting it". They went around the table and the coaches were introducing themselves. He said, "I'm Ron Huber, Mount St. Joseph, Cincinnati, Ohio". All the coaches looked at each other and in near unison they replied, "is that where the GCL is?"
Here are a few pictures from the evening and the young men that continue to put the GCL and Cincinnati on the map:
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| Senior Keith Watkins (Northwestern commit) from Moeller with his 2012 GCL South First Team All-GCL & Player of the Year Awards and Junior Wide Receiver Derek Kief from La Salle with his 2012 GCL South First Team All-GCL & Wide Receiver of the Year Awards |
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| All-GCL Special Awards, from left to right: Coach of the Year Steve Specht (St. Xavier), Athlete of the Year - Senior RB Keith Watkins (Moeller), Kicker of the Year - Senior Sam Geraci (Moeller), Linebacker of the Year - Senior Shane Jones (Moeller), Co-Offensive Lineman of the Year - Senior Alex Gall (Moeller, Miami FL commit) and Senior Jake Hilvert (Elder), Defensive Back of the Year - Senior Rob Ries (St. Xavier), Offensive Back of the Year - Senior Kevin Milligan (St. Xavier) |
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| Junior Wide Receiver Derek Kief from La Salle with his 2012 GCL South First Team All-GCL & Wide Receiver of the Year Awards and La Salle Head Football Coach, Tom Grippa |
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| All 2012 First & Second Team All-GCL and Academic All Star players from La Salle High School |
2012 GCL South All Stars:
| Coach Of The Year | |
|---|---|
| NAME | SCHOOL |
| Steve Specht | St. Xavier |
| Athlete Of The Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| NAME | SCHOOL | ||
| Keith Watkins | Moeller | ||
| First Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NAME | SCHOOL | POSITION | GRADE | HEIGHT | WEIGHT |
| Joe Barrett | St. Xavier | DB | Senior | 6' 1" | 195 |
| Dave Baumer | LaSalle | OL | Senior | 6' 6" | 290 |
| Ryan Berning | St. Xavier | DB | Senior | 5' 10" | 185 |
| Nick Carovillano | St. Xavier | DL | Junior | 6' 4" | 230 |
| Alex Gall | Moeller | OL | Senior | 6' 5" | 295 |
| Sam Geraci | Moeller | PK | Senior | ||
| Chris Henke | Moeller | OL | Senior | 6' 2" | 260 |
| Jake Hilvert | Elder | OL | Senior | 6' 5" | 290 |
| Spencer Iacovone | Moeller | QB | Senior | 6' 1" | 210 |
| Mark Jacob | St. Xavier | LB | Senior | 6' 2" | 215 |
| Shane Jones | Moeller | LB | Senior | 6' 1" | 215 |
| Logan Kelleher | Moeller | DB | Senior | 5' 9" | 180 |
| Derek Kief | LaSalle | WR | Junior | 6' 5" | 185 |
| Jeff Larkin | LaSalle | DB | Junior | 5' 11" | 165 |
| Carl Lengerich | Elder | DL | Junior | 5' 11" | 230 |
| Max Mazza | Elder | WR | Senior | 5' 11" | 180 |
| Tony Mazza | Elder | DB | Junior | 6' | 180 |
| Marc McGeorge | Elder | LB | Senior | 6' 1" | 225 |
| Kevin Milligan | St. Xavier | WR | Senior | 5' 9" | 180 |
| Joe Ramstetter | Elder | WR | Senior | 6' 3" | 195 |
| Rob Ries | St. Xavier | DB | Senior | 5' 10" | 175 |
| Chris Schroer | Elder | RB | Junior | 6' | 210 |
| Nate Sparks | LaSalle | LB | Senior | 6' 1" | 220 |
| Nick Tensing | St. Xavier | QB | Junior | 6' 4" | 190 |
| Keith Watkins | Moeller | RB | Senior | 6' | 180 |
| Second Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NAME | SCHOOL | POSITION | GRADE | HEIGHT | WEIGHT |
| Tom Autenrieb | Elder | DB | Junior | 5' 11" | 170 |
| Jason Bell | LaSalle | RB | Senior | 5' 10" | 185 |
| Brad Burkhart | LaSalle | QB | Senior | 5' 11" | 190 |
| Garrett Campbell | St. Xavier | OL | Senior | 6' 4" | 295 |
| Ben Carroll | St. Xavier | DB | Senior | 6' 3" | 185 |
| Blake Chambliss | Moeller | OL | Junior | 6' 3" | 235 |
| Ryan Frey | St. Xavier | WR | Junior | 6' 1" | 175 |
| Chalmer Frueauf | Moeller | DL | Junior | 6' 2" | 240 |
| CJ Hilliard | St. Xavier | RB | Junior | 5' 11" | 185 |
| Sam Hubbard | Moeller | DB | Junior | 6' 5" | 200 |
| Jaleel Hytchye | LaSalle | DB | Senior | 5' 11" | 160 |
| Rick Kurz | St. Xavier | OL | Junior | 6' 2" | 245 |
| Nick Marsh | Elder | OL | Senior | 6' 4" | 275 |
| Jake McCluskey | Moeller | DL | Senior | 6' | 205 |
| Josh Moore | Elder | QB | Senior | 6' 2" | 195 |
| Matt Noble | Moeller | OL | Senior | 6' 3" | 295 |
| Caleb Nypaver | Moeller | LB | Senior | 6' 2" | 190 |
| Casey Pieper | Moeller | WR | Senior | 6' 6" | 215 |
| Jimmy Rodenberg | Moeller | LB | Senior | 5' 11" | 220 |
| Mike Schroer | Elder | OL | Senior | 5' 11" | 250 |
| John Schwettmann | LaSalle | DL | Senior | 6' 4" | 240 |
| Nick Szabados | Moeller | LB | Senior | 6' | 180 |
| Jordan Thompson | LaSalle | DL | Sophomore | 6' 2" | 235 |
| Brennen Walsh | LaSalle | WR | Senior | 6' 3" | 185 |
