Here are 20 of the top area players from the 2024 high school football season

Posted by Admin October 29, 2024 Football

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Who was the best high school football player in the greater Milwaukee area in the 2024 regular season? Here are 20 of the top performers this season that led their teams with strong individual efforts contributing to team success. Read up on each player’s candidacy below, and then vote in our 2024 high school football player of the year poll by clicking here.

Brayln Albritton, QB, Milwaukee Academy of Science

The junior threw for 2,055 yards and 24 passing touchdowns with just seven interceptions to lead a 9-1 regular season for the Novas. MAS won the Midwest Classic Large with one of the state’s most prolific offenses with Albritton at the helm.

Bryce Austin, WR/DB, Racine Lutheran

In just his sophomore season, Austin caught 47 passes for 1,013 yards with 11 touchdowns, along with 11 carries for 122 yards and a touchdown for a 7-3 Racine Lutheran team. He added 28 total tackles and five interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown, to his stat line defensively.

Cooper Catalano, LB/RB, Germantown

The senior UW-Madison commit became the all-time career tackles leader in Wisconsin state history with 134 regular-season stops in 2024 (49 solo) to go along with two sacks, a forced fumble, a recovered fumble and two interceptions. Germantown went 7-2 in the regular season and finished third in the Greater Metro Conference.

Leo Chiappetta, QB, Racine Case

In his first season starting as a senior, Chiappetta accounted for 25 total touchdowns while passing for 1,677 yards with just nine interceptions. The Eagles’ potent passing led an offense that scored less than 27 points just once all regular season, as they went 8-1 and finished second in the Southeast Conference.

Carson Fletcher, RB/LB, Racine Horlick

Perhaps the prototypical two-way star in the state, Fletcher rushed 143 times for 1,419 yards and 20 touchdowns on offense while tallying 98 total tackles, three forced fumbles, a recovered fumble, a pick and a blocked kick on defense. He added 29 receptions for 419 yards and four touchdowns to his offensive totals.

Brendan Foley, LB, Arrowhead

The stifling defense that was a hallmark of a Classic 8 title share-winning Arrowhead team was led by the disruptive presence of the junior linebacker Foley in 2024. His regular-season highlights included 108 tackles (67 solo), 21 tackles for loss, nine sacks, two forced fumbles and a fumble returned for a touchdown.

Josiah Johnson, RB, Milwaukee Academy of Science

The Novas running back has broken out in 2024 as one of the leading rushers in the state who is a threat to score any time he touches the ball. Through nine regular-season contests, Johnson had rushed 146 times for 1,775 yards and 29 touchdowns, while adding five receptions for 118 yards and a touchdown.

Joey Kallay, QB, Franklin

Kallay has taken his game to another level in 2024 after already leading one of the premier passing attacks in the state last season. The senior threw for 2,071 yards with 31 touchdowns and six interceptions in the regular season, leading a 9-0 run that included an offensive scoring average of just over 41 points per game.

Chase Leverance, DB/WR, Slinger

Slinger’s ball-hawking secondary helped set the tone for a 9-0 run through the regular season, with Leverance providing the biggest contribution to that group. Six interceptions, including a pick six in Week 1 against Menomonee Falls, put him among state leaders for the regular season. The senior also is not afraid to get involved in the run game, tallying 55 tackles on the season.

Tommy Lutz, RB, Grafton

Grafton’s 9-1 run through the regular season was built on its running game, led by 1,588 yards and 22 touchdowns on 209 carries from Lutz. The senior added 16 catches for 291 yards and two scores on the receiving end this fall for the 2023 state runners-up in Division 3.

Malachi Mack, RB/LB, Wauwatosa East

The senior was one of the area’s most versatile players this past season, accounting for 1,084 total yards of offense with 21 total TDs and 53 total tackles, three sacks, two interceptions, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery TD. Wauwatosa East won its first conference title since 1995 by sharing the Parkland Conference title with Catholic Memorial.

James Nellis, OL, Grafton

The North Dakota State recruit helped anchor an offensive line on one of the state’s best offenses. Grafton scored almost 400 points in the regular season and rushed for 1,939 yards on the ground in its nine regular-season contests on its way to the outright Woodland Conference title.

Brody Nichols, LB/RB, Delavan-Darien

The senior was another two-way star in the area for the Comets this season, registered 750 rushing yards with 11 TDs to go along with 127 total tackles, 13 tackles for loss, three fumble recoveries and two interceptions on defense.

Matthew O’Grady, QB, Badger

O’Grady was the catalyst for the defending Division 2 state champion Badgers in the regular season, rushing for 1,219 yards and 25 total touchdowns to help Badger win the Southern Lakes Conference title for the third straight season.

Erik Schmidt, K/P, Marquette

The future Wisconsin Badger was dominant in the kicking game again this season for the defending Division 1 state champion Hilltoppers. Schmidt made eight of 11 field goal attempts this season and made all 41 extra point attempts. He downed nine punts inside the 20-yard line with an average of 46 yards per attempt.

Liam Shaw, DL, Muskego

Shaw was one of the area’s most productive players with his hand in the dirt defensively. The senior registered a team-high 64 total tackles in the regular season with 11 sacks and a forced fumble for the Warriors.

Vote for the top athlete: Who is the Milwaukee-area high school athlete of the week for Oct. 21-26?

Tyren Simmon, DL, Milwaukee Hamilton

Simmon was one of the most impactful defenders in the Milwaukee City Conference this season, tallying 75 total tackles with 12 sacks, including four multi-sack performances as a sophomore.

Owen Strebig, OL, Catholic Memorial

The Notre Dame recruit assisted the defense as a massive presence in the trenches earlier in the season, but his main focus was helping the CMH offense account for over 2,900 yards and over 300 points this season to capture a co-Parkland Conference title.

Ben Verges, TE, Franklin

After a late injury last season halted any chance of producing for the Sabers in their state title game run, Verges has been one of the most overpowering pass-catchers in the area this season. Out of his 22 catches in the regular season, 12 went for touchdowns while averaging almost 24 yards a catch.

Logan Zahour, WR/DB, Cedarburg

There wasn’t much Zahour didn’t do for the Bulldogs this season. The senior accounted for 1,157 yards of total offense and 15 total touchdowns with 42 total tackles, six interceptions, two tackles for loss, two forced fumbles and one interception returned for a score.