Click here to cast your vote for the 2021 M7 Sports Gridiron Player of the Year!

The fan poll for the third annual M7 Sports Gridiron Player of the Year Award is now open! Please click the link above to cast your vote. Polls close on Sunday, November 14 at 5:00 PM.

Here are the guidelines

• One player from each school in the Muskegon-area has been nominated by their coach for this award
• Please only vote once, duplicate names will not count!
• The top 5 from the fan vote will move on to a coaches/media vote to determine a winner.
• Winner will be announced on Wednesday, November 17

Here are the winners and top 5 finishers from the previous two years!

2019
-Cameron Martinez-Muskegon (Winner)
-Connor Worthington-Grand Haven
-Tre Hatcher-Mona Shores
-Conner Kilbourne-Ravenna
-Kayleb Venema-Whitehall

2020
-Brady Rose-Mona Shores (Winner)
-Gavin Reames-Fruitport
-Tyreese Oakes-Muskegon
-Tommy Kartes-Muskegon Catholic Central
-Marco Fields-Reeths-Puffer

To wrap things up, here is some information about this year’s nominees! Let the votes begin!

FRUITPORT

• Player Nominated: Gavin Reames
• Class: Senior
• Position: Quarterback
• Coach Quote: “Gavin epitomizes the Trojan standard. He works hard on and off the field to improve at everything he does. He is an excellent teammate and works to make others better.” -Nate Smith, Fruitport head coach

HART

• Player Nominated: Chance Alvesteffer
• Class: Senior
• Position: Wide Receiver/Linebacker
• Coach Quote: “Chance was a kid teams game-planned to stop against us. He never came off the field and led by example all year. His leadership helped lead our team to our best record in 17 years.” -Joe Tanis, Hart head coach

HOLLAND

• Player Nominated: Zach Hop
• Class: Senior
• Position: Quarterback
• Coach Quote: “Zach was the engine of our team. His ability to run and throw is what made our offense go. He was responsible for over 2,500 yards this season and was also the vocal leader of our team.” -Shawn McManus, Holland head coach

HOLLAND CHRISTIAN

• Player Nominated: Ben Nelson
• Class: Senior
• Position: Offensive Tackle/Defensive End/Kicker
• Coach Quote: “Ben is 6’7″, weighs 250 lbs and is a 3-year starter for us at defensive end. This year he led our team in tackles and tackles for a loss. On offense, Ben dominated at his left tackle position. He was a returning all-conference tight end, but switched to tackle this year, the position he will play in college. At times this season, Ben kicked off, punted, kicked field goals, and extra points as well. He was a coach on the field because of his intelligence, he is one of the top students in my AP Calculus course, and he teaches the younger players in practices and games. Ben has D2 offers and has interest from D1 schools as well.” -Chris Kuipers, Holland Christian head coach

HOLTON

• Player Nominated: Austin Fowler
• Class: Senior
• Position: Quarterback
• Coach Quote: “Austin willed our team to the sixth playoff berth in school history. Anyone who has watched us knows how much he does for our football team. His competitive spirit, resiliency, and leadership make him a great candidate for this award.” -Alex Smith, Holton head coach

KENT CITY

• Player Nominated: Joe Anderson
• Class: Senior
• Position: Offensive Lineman/Defensive Lineman
• Coach Quote: “Joe is the best defensive linemen I have ever coached and certainly is one of the best offensive linemen I have coached.” Bill Crane, Kent City head coach

LUDINGTON

• Player Nominated: Aidan Gilchrist
• Class: Junior
• Position: Wide Receiver/Defensive Back
• Coach Quote: “Aidan is a gifted athlete that makes plays on both sides of the ball. He is starting to figure out just how good he can be. Aidan showed great progress this year. With a great offseason, he should be ready for a breakout senior season.” -Charlie Gunsell, Ludington head coach

MONA SHORES

• Player Nominated: Mark Konecny
• Class: Senior
• Position: Quarterback
• Coach Quote: “Mark had an incredible senior year being the quarterback of Mona Shores.” -Matt Koziak, Mona Shores head coach

MONTAGUE

• Player Nominated: Hayden McDonald
• Class: Senior
• Position: Center/Defensive Tackle
• Coach Quote: “Hayden is a great leader on and off the field. He anchors both our offense and defensive line, his size and strength make him a dominant force on both sides of the ball, and his knowledge of the game allows him to play multiple positions and be a leader for both lines.” -Justin Dennett, Montague head coach

MUSKEGON

• Player Nominated: Destin Piggee
• Class: Sophomore
• Position: Slot Receiver
• Coach Quote: “Destin is resilient, tough, passionate, and explosive.” -Shane Fairfield, Muskegon head coach

MUSKEGON CATHOLIC CENTRAL

• Player Nominated: Jaden Johnson
• Class: Senior
• Position: Offensive Lineman/Defensive Lineman
• Coach Quote: “Jaden was an all state player as a junior and has improved as a senior.  He’s dominated on both sides of the ball, is a team captain, and combines size with exceptional speed for his size.” -Steve Czerwon, Muskegon Catholic Central head coach

MUSKEGON HEIGHTS

• Player Nominated: Ja’Kari Edwards
• Class: Senior
• Position: Quarterback
• Coach Quote: “He’s a talented kid that has a little bit of everything in his game. There’s never a dull moment with Ja’Kari either, which makes him a joy to coach. His confidence and ability to be a dual threat are his strengths” -Van Parker, Muskegon Heights head coach

NORTH MUSKEGON

• Player Nominated: Ben Meyers
• Class: Sophomore
• Position: Quarterback/H-Back/Defensive Back/Punter
• Coach Quote: Ben played every key position on our team this fall as a sophomore. You name it, he can play it! Tremendous football player!” -Larry Witham, North Muskegon head coach

OAKRIDGE

• Player Nominated: Corey Vanderputte
• Class: Senior
• Position: Running Back/Linebacker
• Coach Quote: “Corey is a 3-year varsity player and team captain this year. He was very successful last year, earning many honors. This year, Corey is a 1,400+ yard rusher in 9 games (11 games scheduled but 2 forfeits). He also has over 300 receiving yards as we moved him out to a receiver this year because of his speed and athleticism.” -Cary Harger, Oakridge head coach

RAVENNA

• Player Nominated: Kyle Beebe
• Class: Senior
• Position: Quarterback/Defensive Back
• Coach Quote: None Provided

REETHS-PUFFER

• Player Nominated: Marco Fields
• Class: Senior
• Position: Offensive Lineman/Defensive Lineman
• Coach Quote: “Marco has come so far. He improved tremendously on the field and in the classroom. Marco is a leader both on and off the field. He is a 4 year starter, a 3-time all-conference player, all-state last year. and is going to Ferris State next year. He was an anchor on our defensive line, in which he had 30.5 tackles, 3.5 for loss, a fumble recovery and a sack. He also played offensive line and helped Brody Johnson become one of the area’s only 1,000 yard rushers.” -Matt Bird, Reeths-Puffer head coach

SHELBY

• Player Nominated: Cade Clement
• Class: Senior
• Position: Running Back/Linebacker
• Coach Quote: None Provided

SPRING LAKE

• Player Nominated: Alex Lee
• Class: Junior
• Position: Running Back/Linebacker
• Coach Quote: “Alex was our leading rusher and was second in tackles for us.  He was a significant piece of our team on both sides of the ball.” -Dan Start, Spring Lake head coach

WEST OTTAWA

• Player Nominated: Kobe Haglund
• Class: 
• Position: Wide Receiver/Defensive Back
• Coach Quote: “Kolbe was a 2-way player in the OK Red conference who also impacted special teams greatly with great statistics on both sides of the ball.” -Pat Collins, West Ottawa head coach

WHITEHALL

• Player Nominated: Alec Pruett
• Class: Senior
• Position: Running Back/Linebacker
• Coach Quote: “Alec has had an amazing year at running back. He has accumulated 1,630 yards rushing this year and averaged over 8 yards per carry with 18 touchdowns.” Tony Sigmon, Whitehall head coach

ZEELAND EAST

• Player Nominated: Tag Bonnema
• Class: Senior
• Position: Tight End/Linebacker
• Coach Quote: “Tag was the best player I have coached in over 30 years. He played out of position at LB (should be a DL) and also started at TE. He never came off the field and led the team in tackles. He is a full ride scholarship kid to Western Michigan. His character is incredible.” -Joe Woodruff, Zeeland East head coach

-Note: Grand Haven, Hesperia, Mason County Central, and Zeeland West declined the opportunity to nominate a player
-Note: Ravenna and Shelby did not respond to several attempts to submit a nomination, their players were selected by our staff at M7 Sports