CINCINNATI — La Salle football coach Pat McLaughlin can’t say enough good things about senior running back Cam Porter, and Elder coach Doug Ramsey is extremely proud of senior quarterback Matthew Luebbe.
Luebbe and Porter were this week named the Greater Catholic League South division co-players of the year.
The four GCL South coaches met on Sunday and named two teams and special awards for its annual conference all-star team.
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Luebbe has thrown for 2,064 yards and 18 touchdowns for the Panthers (8-2), who play host to Lakota West (7-3) in a Division I regional quarterfinal Friday night. Luebbe has also rushed for 1,099 yards and 11 touchdowns.
“He has taken his opportunity to be quarterback at Elder to become one of the best I have ever coached,” Elder coach Doug Ramsey said. “He is the ultimate competitor. I told the team (Monday) if everyone plays as hard as him and (senior safety) Colton Sandhas, we will be a hard team to beat. And his stats speak for themselves.”
Porter, who is verbally committed to Northwestern, has rushed for 565 yards and eight touchdowns and has 168 yards receiving and a touchdown for the Lancers (8-2).
“Cam is one of the best kids I have ever been around,” McLaughlin said. “His leadership (and that of the other 14 seniors) has been outstanding this season. We are not where we are without his leadership. I am very happy for him; he is very deserving of co-player of the year.”
La Salle, which won its second outright GCL South title Nov. 1, plays host to Little Miami (8-2) in a Division I regional quarterfinal Friday night.
McLaughlin was also named the GCL South coach of the year.
“With regards to coach of the year, it should be a staff/team of the year,” McLaughlin said. “I am surrounded by great people on this football staff as well as in my personal life and we have great kids on our team. I don't think we will really know what this means for 10, 15 or 20 years when these players come back and tell us that they are better men, or husbands or fathers because of the time they spent with us.”
Elder senior tight end Joe Royer (Ohio State commit) and St. Xavier junior wide receiver Liam Clifford (Penn State commit) were named the co-receivers of the year.
St. Xavier (8-2), the No. 1 seed in Region 4, plays host to Mason (5-5) Friday night.
Royer has 51 receptions for 914 yards and 10 touchdowns. Clifford, the younger brother of Penn State sophomore quarterback Sean Clifford, has 72 receptions for a league-leading 1,093 yards along with 12 touchdowns. He also has a rushing touchdown.
La Salle junior defensive back Devonta Smith was named the all-purpose player of the year.
Elder senior offensive linemen Jakob James (Ohio State) and Luke Kandra (Louisville) were named the co-offensive linemen of the year while Moeller senior Joe Toepfer earned defensive lineman of the year honors.
La Salle senior Luke Thiemann was named the GCL South linebacker of the year while Sandhas and Moeller senior Carrington Valentine (Kentucky) were named the co-defensive backs of the year. Sandhas has a league-leading 88 tackles, according to the GCL South site.He had 22 tackles against La Salle Nov. 1, Ramsey said.
St. Xavier senior Tucker Hundley was named the special teams player of the year. The kickers of the year included Elder senior Sam Harmeyer along with La Salle senior Jake Seibert (Ohio State) and Moeller senior Kevin Thibodeaux (United States Naval Academy).
FIRST TEAM OFFENSE
(Name, school, position, class, height, weight)
Zach Branam, La Salle, QB, Junior, 6-1, 195
Liam Clifford, St. Xavier, WR, Junior, 6-2, 190
Paul Haywood, La Salle, OL, Sophomore, 6-4, 310
Jakob James, Elder, OL, Senior, 6-5, 285
Luke Kandra, Elder, OL, Senior, 6-5, 305
Jack Kirby, St. Xavier, OL, Senior, 6-3, 292
Marshall Lang, St. Xavier, TE, Senior, 6-4, 225
Matthew Luebbe, Elder, QB, Senior, 5-11, 185
Kellen Newman, St. Xavier, RB, Senior, 5-8, 184
Cam Porter, La Salle, RB, Senior, 5-10, 210
Joe Royer, Elder, WR, Senior, 6-5, 225
Matthew Rueve, St. Xavier, QB, Senior, 6-4, 190
Devonta Smith, La Salle, WR, Junior, 6-0, 185
FIRST TEAM DEFENSE
Gio Albanese, St. Xavier, DL, Junior, 6-0, 266
Ben Blevins, La Salle, DL, Senior, 6-2, 275
Tucker Hundley, St. Xavier, DB, Senior, 6-0, 185
Jaylen Johnson, La Salle, DB, Junior, 6-1, 205
Connor Keyes, Elder, DL, Senior, 6-3, 215
Jaymar Hargrove-Mundy, La Salle, DB, Junior, 6-0, 170
TJ O’Malley, St. Xavier, LB, Senior, 6-2, 196
Nate Pabst, Moeller, DL, Junior, 6-5, 235
Colton Sandhas, Elder, DB, Senior, 6-0, 190
Luke Thiemann, La Salle, LB, Senior, 6-2, 220
Joe Toepfer, Moeller, DL, Senior, 6-1, 220
Carrington Valentine, Moeller, DB, Senior, 6-0, 185
SECOND TEAM OFFENSE
Mason Berger, Elder, OL, Senior, 6-2, 250
Joseph Catania, Elder, RB, Senior, 5-10, 180
Landon Fickell, Moeller, OL, Junior, 6-4, 260
Daylon Fischer, La Salle, OL, Junior, 6-0, 255
Josh Kattus, Moeller, TE, Sophomore, 6-3, 235
Gi’Bran Payne, La Salle, RB, Sophomore, 5-11, 190
Austin Rack, La Salle, OL, Sophomore, 6-1, 250
Drew Ramsey, Elder, WR, Sophomore, 6-1, 190
Carter Smith, Elder, OL, Senior, 6-3, 250
Fredrick Sturgis, Moeller, OL, Junior, 6-3, 275
Nathan Uhl, St. Xavier, OL, Senior, 5-10, 215
Evan Vollmer, Elder, WR, Senior, 5-9, 170
Brandon White, Moeller, WR, Sophomore, 5-7, 150
SECOND TEAM DEFENSE
Brady Buller, Elder, DL, Senior, 6-1, 215
Wyatt Bullock, Moeller, DL, Junior, 6-1, 265
Matthew Devine, St. Xavier, LB, Junior, 6-0, 210
Andrew Deyhle, Moeller, DB, Senior, 5-10, 170
Zach French, Moeller, DB, Junior, 6-1, 195
Cole Hildebrand, La Salle, DB, Senior, 6-4, 185
Iesa Jarmon, La Salle, DB, Junior, 6-1, 180
Drew Klas, St. Xavier, DB, Senior, 6-3, 174
Tanner Perdue, Elder, LB, Senior, 5-11, 185
TJ Rotello, Moeller, LB, Junior, 5-11, 190
Nicholas Seger, Elder, DB, Senior, 5-11, 185
Aidan Shaw, Moeller, DL, Junior, 6-3, 265
Deuce Shaw, Moeller, LB, Junior, 6-0, 220
Noah Taylor, St. Xavier, LB, Senior, 6-3, 207
CO-PLAYERS OF THE YEAR
Matthew Luebbe, Elder
Cam Porter, La Salle
COACH OF THE YEAR
Pat McLaughlin, La Salle
CO-RECEIVERS OF THE YEAR
Liam Clifford, St. Xavier
Joe Royer, Elder
ALL-PURPOSE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Devonta Smith, La Salle
CO-OFFENSIVE LINEMEN OF THE YEAR
Jakob James, Elder
Luke Kandra, Elder
DEFENSIVE LINEMAN OF THE YEAR
Joe Toepfer, Moeller
LINEBACKER OF THE YEAR
Luke Thiemann, La Salle
CO-DEFENSIVE BACKS OF THE YEAR
Colton Sandhas, Elder
Carrington Valentine, Moeller
