Nine Wildcats earn spots on All-Frontier League football team

By Andy Brown
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Updated: November 21, 2023

Louisburg’s Declan Battle, Ashton Moore, Conlee Hovey and Brayden Yoder each earned first team all-league honors on both sides of the ball.

The 2023 football season was another memorable one for Louisburg thanks to a 9-1 season and its second straight Frontier League championship.

After putting together an undefeated league campaign, the Wildcats were rewarded for their efforts when the All-Frontier League team was released earlier this week.

Louisburg earned four first-team selections as Declan Battle, Ashton Moore, Conlee Hovey and Brayden Yoder were named at the top of the respective positions on both sides of the ball.

Along with the four first team selections, seniors Wyatt Holland and Caden Caplinger were named to the second team, while seniors Brady Hickey, Brody McGreer and Jaymes Melton were selected as honorable mention.

In total, Louisburg had nine players represented on the all-league squad.

“As always the Frontier League was tough week in and week out,” Louisburg coach Drew Harding said. “The league was filled will high quality football teams, and even the teams that have been down recently made good strides this year, so that made every week a challenge. I thought our team was represented well on the all-league team. It is a huge honor to be named to a team by making an impression on opposing coaches.”

Battle led the Wildcat offense as he earned first team all-league quarterback honors. He finished with more than 2,300 total yards and had 32 touchdowns.

The Louisburg senior was also a first-team selection as a defensive back. Battle finished with 36 tackles and also had an interception for a touchdown.

In the backfield, Moore carried the load for the Wildcats as he carried the ball 151 times for 1,110 yards and had 15 touchdowns. He also finished with 292 yards receiving and three more scores to earn first team honors at running back.

Moore was also one of the leaders of the Wildcat defense. He earned first team honors at linebacker after he posted a team-high 125 tackles, including eight for a loss. Moore had four forced fumbles and two sacks.

Hovey earned first team honors on both sides of the ball at tight end and defensive end. The Louisburg junior finished with 42 tackles on the year to go along with two sacks and a forced fumble.

Offensively, Hovey had 20 catches for 250 yards and two touchdowns. He also helped the Wildcat offensive line as well.

Yoder was another first-team selection for his work on the offensive and defensive lines. At defensive tackle, the Louisburg junior finished with 61 stops, including six tackles for a loss.

He was also a big piece of the Wildcat offensive line as he helped pave the way for more than 4,000 yards of total offense.

“To be named all-league on both sides of the ball is a huge honor,” Harding said. “All of those guys had tremendous seasons for us. Declan was really what made us go offensively and was the leader of that unit. He also was very solid on the defensive side of the ball and got the secondary lined up. Ashton was the leader of the defensive unit and had a very productive year from his linebacker spot. He also had a great year at running back and was very difficult to tackle for opponents.

“Conlee was a huge part of our offense as a tight end. He was big for us in the running game as a blocker and then was also a weapon for us in the passing game. I think he played his best defensive football towards the end of the season, so that is exciting to see what he can do next year. Brayden was just rock solid all year. He never came off the field all year and he just played with great effort and energy at all times. He was huge for us offensively and this was his first year playing defensive tackle and for him to be named all league in his first year was very impressive.”

Caplinger was named second team on both sides of the ball at wide receiver and defensive back. He led the Wildcats with 33 catches, 510 yards receiving and four touchdowns.

On defense, he finished with 41 tackles, 1.5 sacks, six pass breakups and an interception.

As for Holland, he was another leader of the Wildcat defense and earned second team honors at linebacker. Holland was second on the team with 90 tackles, five tackles for a loss and an interception.

“Wyatt and Caden are both for sure first team caliber players,” Harding said. “Caden had a knack for making big time plays in key situations for us throughout the years. His ability to go up and make contested catches for us was huge and he also had a big year for us defensively.

“Wyatt was our second leading tackler on the team and was able to accomplish that playing with a club on his hand pretty much the whole year. He always played with great energy and effort and made a lot of plays for us that he shouldn’t have been able to just by being relentless.”

McGreer earned two spots the all-league team as an honorable mention returner and defensive back. He finished the season with 31 tackles, two for a loss and led the team with 12 pass breakups and three interceptions.

Hickey was named as an honorable mention multipurpose player as he was a vital part of the Louisburg defense. He finished with 70 tackles, three for a loss, two interceptions and two fumble recoveries.

Melton was the team’s starting center and earned honorable mention honors on the offensive line. He led the unit that helped amass more than 4,000 yards of total offense.

“It was nice to see those guys be named to all-league teams as well,” Harding said. “Brady, Brody, and Jaymes were all key to our success this year. Brady was able to play all over the place for our defense and was productive at all spots. Our defense definitely would not of been what it was without Brady being able to play in multiple spots successfully.

“Brody had a good year for us at cornerback and had a huge interception for us against Spring Hill. He also was big for us on special teams units and it was nice for him to be recognized as a punt returner. Jaymes really became the leader of our offensive line from his center spot. We had a pretty good year offensively and that all starts up front. I’m glad to see Jaymes be recognized for his efforts.”

ALL-FRONTIER LEAGUE FOOTBALL

OFFENSE

FIRST TEAM

QUARTERBACK — Declan Battle, Louisburg, senior

RUNNING BACK — Ashton Moore, junior, Louisburg; Colton McKanna, Spring Hill, senior; Colton Brusven, Tonganoxie, senior

OFFENSIVE LINE — Thomas Cromer, Eudora, senior; Brayden Yoder, Louisburg, junior; Eli Richmond, Paola, senior; Carter Meek, Spring Hill, senior; TJ Leeper, junior, Tonganoxie

TIGHT END — Conlee Hovey, Louisburg, junior

WIDE RECEIVER — Adrion Seals, Eudora, senior; Isaiah Holthaus, Tonganoxie, senior; Todd Brown, Tonganoixe, junior

MULTIPURPOSE — Braylen Hoobler, Eudora, senior

SECOND TEAM

QUARTERBACK — Trevor McGraw, Tonganoxie, senior

RUNNING BACK — Treyton Marquez, Bonner Springs, senior; Dante Silvey, Ottawa, junior; Clayton Younger, Paola, senior

OFFENSIVE LINE — Brett Davidson, Baldwin, junior; Cage Crabill, Eudora, sophomore; Tommy Evans, Ottawa, senior; Wade Enman, Paola, senior; Cole Rodden, Spring Hill, senior

TIGHT END — Cooper D’Albini, Spring Hill, senior

WIDE RECEIVER — Caden Caplinger, Louisburg, senior; Aiden McCullough, Ottawa, sophomore; Jace Kerley, Paola, junior

MULTIPURPOSE — JD Troutman, Paola, junior; Tyler Pankey, Tonganoxie, senior

HONORABLE MENTION

QUARTERBACK — Kole Manley, Eudora, senior

WIDE RECEIVER — Ryder Nigh, Baldwin, junior; Nate Sims, Ottawa, sophomore; Cole McGrath, Ottawa, junior

MULTIPURPOSE — Nate Sims, Ottawa, sophomore; Jackson Torrez, Spring Hill, junior

DEFENSE

FIRST TEAM

DEFENSIVE TACKLE — Brayden Yoder, Louisburg, junior; Wade Inman, Paola, senior; TJ Leeper, Tonganoxie, junior

DEFENSIVE END — Conlee Hovey, Louisburg, junior; Tommy Evans, Ottawa, senior

LINEBACKER — Braylen Hoobler, Eudora, senior; Ashton Moore, Louisburg, junior; Noah Anderson, Spring Hill, senior; Colton Brusven, Tonganoxie, senior

DEFENSIVE BACK — Adrion Seals, Eudora, senior; Declan Battle, Louisburg, senior; Holden Lough, Spring Hill, senior; Trevor McGraw, Tonganoxie, senior

MULTIPURPOSE — Keanu Tiafu, Spring Hill, senior

KICKER — Jackson McWilliams, Tonganoxie, senior

PUNTER — Carson Royal, Spring Hill, junior

RETURNER — JD Troutman, Paola, junior

SECOND TEAM

DEFENSIVE TACKLE — Leland Bradshaw, Eudora, sophomore; Seth Ferguson, Ottawa, junior; Kasey O’Neal, Spring Hill, senior

DEFENSIVE END — Jake Van Horn, Baldwin, junior; Eli Richmond, Paola, senior

LINEBACKER — Errol Siemon, Eudora, junior; Wyatt Holland, Louisburg, senior; Parker Guge, Ottawa, senior; Beau Gardner, Spring Hill, junior

DEFENSIVE BACK — Cole McGrath, Ottawa, junior; Christian Jarrett, Eudora, sophomore; Caden Caplinger, Louisburg, senior

MULTIPURPOSE — Matt Magette, Eudora, senior

KICKER — Josue Navarro, Ottawa, senior

PUNTER — Jackson McWilliams, Tonganoxie, senior

RETURNER — Nate Sims, Ottawa, sophomore

HONORABLE MENTION

DEFENSIVE TACKLE — Tommy Messersmith, Tonganoxie, senior

DEFENSIVE END — Brett Davidson, Baldwin, junior; Nathan Gandy, Bonner Springs, senior; Cooper Stanchfield, Paola, senior

LINEBACKER — Jack Harvey, Baldwin, senior; Dylan Williams, Baldwin, senior; Kayne Smith, Bonner Springs, sophomore; Liam Marler, Ottawa, sophomore; Clayton Younger, Paola, senior

DEFENSIVE BACK — Brody McGreer, Louisburg, senior; Nate Sims, Ottawa, sophomore; JJ Crawford, Paola, junior; Jasper Logan, Paola, sophomore; Zekiah Glover, Tonganoxie, senior

MULTIPURPOSE — Brady Hickey, Louisburg, senior; Zach Winter, Ottawa, senior

KICKER — Ryan Jackson, Spring Hill, junior