Dillon Croff wins GHT Player of the Year for 2022 football season, leads All-GHT teams
GAYLORD ― As the final high school football games wrapped this weekend in Detroit, the finishing touches we being put the first All-Gaylord Herald Times dream teams and award winners in my time as editor.
Top players from Gaylord, St. Mary's and Johannesburg-Lewiston will all receive recognition for their contributions to their teams this year with first-team, second-team and honorable mention lists for the top players in the area.
We start with football, with volleyball soon to follow.
First, the individual award winners:
Player of the Year: Dillon Croff, Gaylord St. Mary's
Just because Dillon Croff and the St. Mary's Snowbirds play 8-man football does not mean they don't deserve to be in the running for these awards. On the contrary, the Snowbirds were arguably the most consistent and dominant football team in the area this season, and Croff's breakout junior season had a significant role in that.
Coming into the season as one of a variety of weapons at head coach Kevin O'Connell's disposal, Croff's role changed quickly as the injury bug bit St. Mary's hard from the first week of the season. First, starting quarterback and 2021 Player of the Year winner Gavin Bebble went down in training camp with a broken hand. Then, in the opening week matchup with Pickford, Bebble's replacement, Brody Jeffers, suffered his own serious injury, knocking two of the best weapons out of the Snowbirds' lineup indefinitely.
That meant St. Mary's went from a team overflowing with options to a team with one; feed Dillon Croff.
The junior responded with a breakout season.
Finishing the year with 1,430 total offensive yards and 21 touchdowns, Croff went from a developing young back to the most feared back in the conference. His best statistical output came in that opening matchup with Pickford as the injury to Jeffers forced Croff into emergency quarterback duty. That allowed him to rack up 26 carries for 197 yards on the ground, two catches for 48 yards and four completions for 87 yards; 332 yards in total to go along with two touchdowns, one rushing and one receiving.
As his teammates returned from their injuries and he moved back to his more traditional role, Croff continued to dominate, posting back-to-back games with 100+ rushing yards and multiple touchdowns in wins over Pellston and Onekama.
All that helped the Snowbirds to a 7-2 regular season record, another run to the regional championship game in the 8-man Division 2 playoffs and helped him secure the Ski Valley Player of the Year. Now, he is officially the GHT Football Player of the Year.
Defensive Player of the Year: Brady Pretzlaff, Gaylord
The Blue Devils' junior linebacker continues to turn the heads of defensive coordinators nationally, so it's only fitting he finishes his 2022 season as the GHT Defensive Player of the Year for 2022.
As the leader of a defensive coached by his father, defensive coordinator Jeff Pretzlaff, Brady has become the anchor of what was arguably the best unit of any area team this season, with the Gaylord defense allowing just 13.4 points per game in their nine regular season matchups.
Brady led the way statistically, posting 115 tackles, five sacks and two interceptions, while also leading vocally and mentally. No moment showed that more than his game-sealing interception against Lake Fenton in week one, putting away a 15-14 comeback victory to start the Blue Devils' season on the right foot.
He recently earned a three-star recruiting rating from 24/7 Sports, and has racked up first-team All-State, All-Region and All-Conference honors all from his efforts in 2022. Add GHT DPOY to that list.
Offensive Player of the Year: Ty Bensinger, Gaylord
A third junior rounding out the player of the year awards seems fitting for the year the Class of 2024 had this season, and no one player may deserve recognition more than junior Ty Bensinger.
The junior back became the go-to guy in Gaylord's run-heavy offensive scheme, ending the season atop the team in both rushing yards and receiving yards.
Over nine games, he ran the ball 146 times for 756 yards and six touchdowns while catching it 19 times for 182 yards and another two touchdowns. His best performance came in the annual Valor Game against Escanaba, racking up 162 yards and two touchdowns in one of their six regular-season wins.
An injury kept him out of Gaylord's playoff loss to Mount Pleasant, but the junior back did all he could to get his team to that spot. His efforts have been recognized accordingly, earning first-team All-Big North honors along with the best players in the BNC.
All-GHT Teams
First Team
Offense
Quarterback: Caleb Aungst, Gaylord, Junior
Runningback: Dillon Croff, St. Mary's, Junior
Runningback: Ty Bensinger, Gaylord, Junior
Wide Receiver: Donovan Blust, St. Mary's, Senior
Offensive Line: Keaton Abraham, Gaylord, Sophomore
Connor Calano, Gaylord, Junior
Noah Hill, St. Mary's, Senior
Jacob Chartrand, Johannesburg-Lewiston, Junior
Owen Smith, Gaylord, Senior
Defense
Defensive Line: Mason Davis, Gaylord, Junior
Riley Bright, Gaylord St. Mary, Senior
Keaton Abraham, Gaylord, Sophomore
Linebackers: Brady Pretzlaff, Gaylord, Junior
Brett Koscielniak, St. Mary's, Junior
Riley Hush, Gaylord, Junior
Defensive Backs: Louden Stradling, Gaylord, Senior
Russell Hush, Gaylord, Junior
Donovan Blust, St. Mary's, Senior
Thomas Fox, Johannesburg-Lewiston, Senior
Special Teams
Kicker: Connor Byram, Gaylord, Sophomore
Returner: Russell Hush, Gaylord, Junior
Second Team
Offense
Quarterback: Colin Basinski, Johannesburg-Lewiston, Senior
Runningback: Nate Hummel, Johannesburg-Lewiston, Sophomore
Runningback: Russell Hush, Gaylord, Junior
Wide Receiver: Ty Bensinger, Gaylord, Junior
Offensive Line: Connor Byram, Gaylord, Sophomore
Mason Davis, Gaylord, Sophomore
Thomas Fox, Johannesburg-Lewiston, Senior
Defense
Defensive Line: Owen Hummel, Johannesburg-Lewiston, Senior
Caden Sides, Gaylord, Sophomore
Owen Smith, Gaylord, Senior
Linebackers: Carter Sitz, Gaylord, Junior
Jacob Chartrand, Johannesburg-Lewiston, Junior
Elijah Lindbert, Johannesburg-Lewiston, Senior
Defensive Backs: Gus James, Gaylord, Senior
JT Greenier, St. Mary's, Junior
Special Teams
Kicker: Lasse Felten, Senior, St. Mary's
Honorable Mentions
Gavin Bebble, St. Mary's
Brody Jeffers, St. Mary's
Alex Gapinski, Johannesburg-Lewiston
Noah Vanderveer, Gaylord
Nate Starasinich, St. Mary's
Javier Baragrey, Johannesburg-Lewiston
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Dillon Croff wins GHT Player of the Year for 2022 football season, leads All-GHT teams
