To honor and recognize the achievements and the phenomenal season that our local teams provided us with, Northern Tier West Sports Report is pleased to present our inaugural All-Tioga County High School Football Team and Awards.

Head Coach Mike Schmitt and staff, Cowanesque Valley Indians

The Indians’ historic season has been well-documented, and the job that Coach Schmitt and company has done at CV to build the program should be just as well-recognized and acknowledged.

Jake Schmitt, Cowanesque Valley, QB/LB, Jr.

Son of Head Coach Mike Schmitt, the junior QB wasted little time showing off his arm by throwing for 120 yards against a strong South Williamsport squad in the season-opener. It would be the lowest yardage total Schmitt would pass for in a game all season, as he finished completing 137 of his 254 attempts for 1,686 yards. Schmitt had 12 touchdown passes and added four more scores on the ground while running for 256 yards, giving him an average of just under 200 yards (194.2) gained per game this season. 

Gavin Sexauer, North Penn-Mansfield, LB/RB, Sr.

Sexauer finished his final year of high school football with an impressive defensive resume .. 151 tackles, six tackles-for-loss, two interceptions, four fumble recoveries and a sack in 11 games .. but that only tells part of Sexauer’s style of play. His aggressiveness is most evident during game-play, and resulted in 109 solo tackles for the 5-6 Panthers. 

Kade Sottolano, Cowanesque Valley, OL/DL, Sr.

Sottolano paved the way offensively for the Indians, who averaged 330 yards of total offense per game this season, including 150 yards per game rushing. Defensively, the 6’ 3”, 280 pound Sottolano is, quite simply, a problem. Kudos to Coach Schmitt for making it difficult to run away from Sottolano by moving him around along the defensive front, but offensive coordinators still tried to avoid the big guy. Even so, Sottolano recorded seven sacks and 60 tackles on the season, including 14 tackles-for-loss. 

Tim Freeman, Cowanesque Valley, RB/LB, Fr.

There are several freshmen and sophomore players throughout the West who are very deserving of this recognition. Sophomore North Penn-Mansfield QB Karson Dominick had a solid season, throwing for just under 1,000 yards in his first year starting. Wellsboro sophomore Hayes Campbell burst onto the scene as a two-way starter for the Hornets this season, and even one of Freeman’s own teammates, fellow-freshman Fletcher Good, played a huge part in CV’s turnaround season, and will be critical toward the Indians’ future. But then Freeman, a 5’ 6” , 180-pound freshman running back, bounced off, ran around and through opposing defenses to the tune of 1,136 yards on the ground .. most after first contact and without a fullback .. with 12 touchdowns to secure this award. Freeman also caught 10 passes for 85 yards and a score, and collected 49 tackles on defense. 

Mike Sipps, Cowanesque Valley, OL/LB, Sr.

Once again, stats will not tell the full story of how great of a season Sipps played this year, or how vital he was to his team. He was the anchor of the offensive line unit that produced an 1,100+ yard rusher, a 1,600+ yard passer and averaged 330 yards per game. Beyond those stats, he was the leader that CV needed on the field .. and off of it. No one kept track of how many times Sipps pulled his teammates away from skirmishes and kept the Indians from being flagged, but it happened frequently, and at pivotal points in games. 

Sipps athleticism, at 6’, 220 pounds, shone through defensively. The backer had 91 solo tackles .. 115 total .. with seven tackles-for-loss, a sack and three interceptions. It’s often been suspected that some teams inflate their players’ tackle totals .. I think Sipps got shorted! He truly seemed to be in on every tackle. 

Coach Mike Schmitt took advantage of Sipps’ athleticism in other ways as well. He often kicked off for the Indians, and when Kicker/Punter Tanyon Brown was lost for the season, Sipps took over those duties full-time. While he did not get to realize every lineman’s dream of scoring a touchdown, he was able to complete his only pass attempt on the season .. good for a 25-yard gain and a first down on a fake punt. 

Congratulations to all of our individual award winners, and to the following members of our All-Tioga County Football Team.

QB - Jake Schmitt, CV, Jr. (see stats above)

RB - Tim Freeman, CV, Fr. (see stats above)

RB - Kohen Lehman, NPM, Jr. - 160 carries, 844 yds, 11 TD; 10 rec., 108 yds., 2 TD

WR - Tucker St. Peter, CV, Sr. - 50 rec., 684 yds, 3 TD

WR - Tanyon Brown, CV, Sr. - 33 rec., 432 yds, 3 TD

ATHLETE - Cameron Fabian, NPM, Sr. - 66 carries, 326 yds, 3 TD; 40 rec., 382 yds., 4 TD; 7 PR-199 yds, 1 TD

OL - Mike Sipps, CV, Sr.

OL - Kade Sottolano, CV, Sr.

OL - Cameron Brought, Wellsboro, Jr.

OL - Hayes Campbell, Wellsboro, So.

OL - Jacob Johnson, NPM, Jr.

KICKER - Caiden Alexander, NPM, Sr. - 24-for-26 XP

UTILITY - Connor Adams, Wellsboro, Jr. - 54 carries, 327 yds, 4 TD; 12 rec., 187 yds., 3 TD; 2-2 passing, 23 yds, 1 TD; 

DL - Kade Sottolano, CV, Sr. (see stats above)

DL - Cam Brought, Wellsboro, Jr. - 93 tackles, 1 FR, 1.5 sacks

DL - Ean Bump, CV, So. - 59 tackles, 3 sacks, 2 FR

DL - Ryan Sweet, Wellsboro, Sr. - 55 tackles, 5 sacks, 1 int., 1 FR

LB - Mike Sipps, CV, Sr. - (see stats above)

LB - Gavin Sexauer, NPM, Sr. - (see stats above)

LB - Joe Brown, Wellsboro, Jr. - 67 tackles, 1 int., 1 FR

LB - Kohen Lehman, NPM, Jr. - 63 tackles, 3 sacks, 3 int., 1 FR

DB - Isaac Keane, Wellsboro, Sr. - 5 int., 36 tackles

DB - Tucker St. Peter, CV, Sr. - 3 int., 46 tackles, 1 sack

DB - Cameron Fabian, NPM, Sr. - 86 tackles, 2 int., 1 sack

PUNTER - Cam Fabian, NPM (38, 35.2 avg) and Kohen Lehman, NPM (16, 38.4 avg)

UTILITY - Darryn Callahan, Wellsboro, Sr. - 29 tackles, 3 int., 2 sacks, 1 FR

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