Four Goslings named all-WLT for football

By Kevin Wilson of the Daily Times staff
Thursday, November 20, 2008 12:47 PM CST

Four members of Watertown's football team were honored in Wisconsin Little Ten all-conference voting held recently.

Senior Beau Ruehlow was a first team selection on the defensive line and a second team selection on the offensive line. Senior tight end Des Smith made the second team. Senior center AJ Heiden and senior tailback Wes Umland received honorable mention.

Ruehlow was a force on both sides of the ball, but especially on the defensive side.

“When you're on a team that might not be considered one of the more talented or powerful teams, teams can check way from you or double team you,” Rice said.

“No matter what teams did, one thing Beau did was always, always get to the ball. No matter if he was double-teamed, or checked away from, he just had a great motor all the time. It didn't matter if it was the fourth quarter of a game on Friday night or the first rep in practice on Tuesday, he plays one way. He's a throwback to the old school Tim Krumrie type of player. He'll be missed.”

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On the offensive side, Rice described Ruehlow as a “point of attack guy.”

“He was a point of attack guy very often, along with AJ, Billy (Caudle) and Des, as well as Brandon (Ruehlow) at the other guard,” Rice said.

“Beau was a consistent guy who played physical all the time. What sets him apart from other kids - along with all the guys up front that were seniors - was the work ethic in the weight room. I hope we can establish a tradition in the weight room and have guys who will follow in his footsteps.”

In addition to his blocking, Smith was a dangerous weapon at tight end. He had five touchdown catches ranging from 16 to 57 yards.

“The number one thing that stands out was his ability to catch and get off and run,” Rice said.

“He'll be a good player down the road. The amazing thing was his ability to play ill all year. He had an issue with pneumonia. Most people have issues existing with that, and here he has his high GPA and he's playing football. How do you do that, I don't know. He's one of a kind.”

Heiden was one of the seniors paving the way the past two seasons for Umland, who went over 900 rushing for the second straight season.

“AJ was recognized for his body of work as an undersized center in our excellent league for two years,” Rice said.

“I think the coaches said, ‘This kid is amazing, because he shouldn't be as good as he is.' He is a great worker with a great work ethic. I would take a dozen more just like him.”

With only a few exceptions, Umland could be counted on to get 100 yards on the ground for the Goslings in a game.

“For two years, Wes ran behind a line that I think if they did their job and just gave him a crack, he would take advantage of it,” Rice said. “Whether it was a draw or an outside run, he did a great job setting up his blockers and took advantage of everything they gave him.

“He was very unselfish. He never complained about how many touches he got or how many plays on tape recruiters could see. That's not his deal. He wanted to be a great teammate and make the most of every opportunity he got. I think he did that for two years.”

Wisconsin Lutheran won the league with a 7-0 record, followed by Hartford at 6-1, West Bend West and West Bend East each at 4-3, Beaver Dam at 3-4, Oconomowoc at 2-5 and Slinger and Watertown each at 1-6.

“All the seniors were a great group of kids,” Rice said.

“They were hard workers, good students and good citizens. I think they will be missed. It's hard to go through a 1-8 year, but if you have to, that's a great group. They never acted like they were 1-8. They always felt like they could go out and compete and wanted to every week. I wish they all could get all-conference honors, because in my opinion they had all-conference attitudes.”

WISCONSIN LITTLE TEN

CONFERENCE FOOTBALL

Lineman of the Year

Hank Jacobs, Beaver Dam, senior.

Back of the Year

Tyler Dippel, Hartford, senior.

First team

Offense

Quarterback:

Nick Makowski, West Bend East, senior.

Running backs:

Devin Kellenberger, Beaver Dam, senior.

Frank Spath, Wisconsin Lutheran, senior.

Wide receivers:

Trevor Marks, Oconomowoc, senior.

Brandon Jacobson, West Bend East, senior.

Tight end:

Corey Henne, Wisconsin Lutheran, senior.

Linemen:

Hank Jacobs, Beaver Dam, senior.

Dylan Druch, Hartford, senior.

Steven Kenitz, Hartford, junior.

Andrew Rumler, Wisconsin Lutheran, senior.

Eric Zeitler, Wisconsin Lutheran, junior.

Place kicker:

Nick Falkowski, Wisconsin Lutheran, senior.

Defense

Linemen

Nicholas Broadway, Hartford, senior.

Beau Ruehlow, Watertown, senior.

Tyree Roberts, Wisconsin Lutheran, senior.

Ends:

Jacob Vogt, Hartford, senior.

Luke Sebald, Wisconsin Lutheran, junior.

Linebackers:

Craig Rossow, Beaver Dam, senior.

Tyler Dippel, Hartford, senior.

Paul Swan, Oconomowoc, senior.

Backs:

Mark Cadena, Hartford, senior.

Nicholas Malinowski, Hartford, junior.

Tim Filter, Wisconsin Lutheran, senior.

Punter:

Alex Burkel, Slinger, junior.

Second Team

Offense

Quarterback:

Jordan Stephens, Hartford, senior.

Running backs:

Austin Krueger, Hartford, senior.

Bryan Webb, Wisconsin Lutheran, junior.

Wide receivers:

David Johnson, Hartford, senior.

Nathan Apel, Hartford, senior.

Tight ends:

Des Smith, Watertown, senior.

Linemen:

Jake Jungbluth, Oconomowoc, senior.

Shane Hicks, Oconomowoc, senior.

Jake Schall, Slinger, junior

Beau Ruehlow, Watertown, senior.

Dylan Sincerem West Bend West, senior.

Defense

Linemen:

Jake Jungbluth, Oconomowoc, senior.

Matt Guerndt, Slinger, senior.

Andy Kusch, West Bend East, senior.

Ends:

Ken Boudwine, Slinger, senior.

Dylan Sincere, West Bend West, senior.

Linebackers:

Ben Bissett, Hartford, senior.

Paul Klotz, West Bend East, senior.

Beau Becker, West Bend West, senior.

Jesse Stannard, Wisconsin Lutheran, junior.

Backs:

Mitch Aplin, Beaver Dam, junioir.

Jeremy Wiedmeyer, West Bend West, senior.

Ryan Berezowitz, Wisconsin Lutheran, senior.

Honorable mention

Offense:

Dan Mueller, Beaver Dam, Matt Haase, Hartford, Alex Kellerman, Oconomowoc, Alex Burkel, Slinger, Wes Umland, Watertown, AJ Heiden, Watertown, Jeremy Woods, West Bend West, Brian Roell, West Bend West, Nick Adams, West Bend West, John Klein, Wisconsin Lutheran, Quentin Goins, Wisconsin Lutheran, Dylan Applin, Wisconsin Lutheran.

Defense:

Nick Esquivel, Beaver Dam, Dusty Blankchard, Beaver Dam, Damien Van Alteena, Hartford, Mac Conway, Oconomowoc, Paul Williams, Oconomowoc, Derek Doudna, Oconomowoc, Luke Beistle, Slinger, Jordan Scherr, Slinger, Bobby Schwai, Slinger, Mike Larkin, West Bend East, Adam Poppler, West Bend West, David Melms, Wisconsin Lutheran.