Karchner named Northwest District Coach of the Year

Maumee coach Evan Karchner was named the Northwest District Division III Coach of the Year after leading the Panthers to an 8-3 record and a playoff berth. / Pride of the Panthers

By JEREMY SCHNEIDER

IMA SPORTS

After leading Maumee to its first playoff appearance in 15 years, Panthers football coach Evan Karchner was named the Division III Northwest District Coach of the Year.

The district awards are selected by a panel representing the Ohio Prep Sports Media Association.

"Getting this award is a great honor but was never my main goal," Karchner said. "I am happy that our program and players got so much recognition with the all-district voting. None of this would be possible without great assistant coaches.

"I am proud of everybody that has contributed to our success, and I want to thank the community for supporting our players and our team since the moment I came back to Maumee. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. Like I said a few weeks ago, this is just the beginning. We are Maumee."

Maumee went 8-3 in Karchner’s second season coaching his alma mater. He is 13-8 in his two seasons.

Seniors Carson Graetz (wide receiver), Cody Wulf (running back) and Blake Wagener (kicker) were named to the Division III first team offense.

Senior defensive tackle Pierce Simpson was named to the first team defense.

The Panthers also had five players appear on the honorable mention list: seniors Bryson Bonds-Crawford, Donovan Mays and Espn Hurt, and juniors Will Kubicz and Ryan Patterson.

Elsewhere in the Northern Buckeye Conference, Oak Harbor's Mike LaLonde was named the Division V Offensive Player of the Year and teammate Jacob Ridener was Lineman of the Year. Rockets coach Mike May was the Coach of the Year.

All together, the NBC had 13 players make first team All-District.

The Panthers had their best record and first home playoff game since 2009. Their season included a 3-0 start, with lopsided wins over Springfield, Bryan and Bowsher, and key NBC wins over Genoa and Otsego.

The All-Ohio teams will be released in early December. Those teams have traditionally been comprised of players and coaches who have made up the various all-district teams from around the state.

Photo courtesy of Pride of the Panthers

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