Welcome to the 2024 Anvil delivered by Hungry Howie's! Check out this weeks update!

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We are thrilled to announce the winner of the prestigious STATE CHAMPS! Anvil Award, delivered by Hungry Howie’s! Congratulations to Bobby Kanka, who has earned this incredible honor with his outstanding performance during the 2024 football season. Thank you to all the nominees for an amazing season!

Thanks again to a great partner of State Champs! Network – Hungry Howie’s
We are thrilled to announce the final four nominees for the prestigious STATE CHAMPS! Anvil Award, delivered by Hungry Howie’s!
We’ll reveal the winner shortly after the conclusion of the 2024 Football State Finals. 
Stay tuned to see who will take home this incredible honor!  
 
 
Thanks again to a great partner of State Champs! Network – Hungry Howie’s
The 2024 High School Anvil Award process:
 

To vote, you will need to provide your EMAIL ADDRESS. Select the candidate that you believe is having the best year in High School Football and cast your vote!! If you want to vote more than once, please refresh your browser. Enter in your EMAIL ADDRESS again to cast another vote! Voting is limited to 1 votes every 24 hours. THE ONLINE VOTE WINNER IS AUTOMATICALLY IN THE FINAL 4 AND ACCOUNTS FOR 20% OF THE CRITERIA THAT WILL HELP DETERMINE THE 4 SEMI-FINALISTS!

By voting in the contest, you agree to allow State Champs! Network and its affiliates to update you via email about news, sports events and special offers.

The criteria that will be used to select the Anvil Award:

30% – Performance Throughout Season
20% – Level of Competition
20% – Online Vote
15% – Big Game Performance
10% – Team Success
5% – Highly Recruited Prospect

Throughout the season, we will be updating player statistics and adding new candidates into the contest as their actual play and performance merits, with a goal of keeping the ten best offensive and defensive lineman on the board. In late-November we will close online voting and select our final four candidates. The final award selection and presentation will take place after the Football Finals with all of our friends at Hungry Howie’s!
 

Please check out State Champs! Network content on the following platforms:

 
Thanks again to a great partner of State Champs! Network – Hungry Howie’s
Avery Gach
(Birmingham Groves 6-5, 295 OL Sr.)
Committed to Michigan, consensus All-American Gach is a Top 15 prospect at his position in the nation according to ESPN, 24/7 Sports and USAToday. As a sophomore, he blasted on to the recruiting scene by helping lead his Groves team to a spot in the Division 2 final four.

Groves (12-1)
Last Week Results: Final 4; 28-27 OT loss to OLSM
Season Stats: 112 pancakes, 75 tackles, 8 sacks on defense
Bobby Kanka
(Howell 6-4, 285 DE Sr.)
Committed to Michigan, Kanka collected 38 tackles and 8 sacks in just six games of action as a junior. Demonstrating a knack for the big play, 18 of those tackles were for lost yardage with him finding his way into the opposing backfields to wreak havoc.

Howell (11-1)
Last Week Results: Reg Finals; 35-6 loss to Hudsonville
Season Stats: 78 tackles, 11 sacks
Derrick Simmons
(Frankenmuth 6-3, 280 DL Sr.)
Committed to Michigan State, Simmons is a menace in the middle of a defense. As a junior, he logged 53 tackles, 5 sacks and forced three fumbles.

Frankenmuth (13-0)
Last Week Results: Final 4; 42-35 win over GRCC
Season Stats: 87 tackles, 8 sacks
Liam Vaughan
(Walled Lake Western 6-4, 285 OL Sr.)
Committed to Washington State, Vaughan is Metro Detroit's "Pancake King" and a top candidate for the Anvil Award last season. He's totaled more than 300 pancakes in his career so far and has anchored the Warriors line play since he was a freshman. As a junior, he helped fuel a WLW attack that captured LVC and D3 district crowns.

WL Western (11-1)
Last Week Results: Reg Final; 22-17 loss to Mason
Season Stats: 115 pancakes
Avery Gach
(Birmingham Groves 6-5, 295 OL Sr.)
Committed to Michigan, consensus All-American Gach is a Top 15 prospect at his position in the nation according to ESPN, 24/7 Sports and USAToday. As a sophomore, he blasted on to the recruiting scene by helping lead his Groves team to a spot in the Division 2 final four.

Groves (12-1)
Last Week Results: Final 4; 28-27 OT loss to OLSM
Season Stats: 112 pancakes, 75 tackles, 8 sacks on defense
Darrin Strey
(Paw Paw 6-7, 300 OL Sr.)
Committed to Kentucky, Strey is a workhorse in the trenches and maybe the most technically proficient pass protector in the MHSAA right now. Besides Kentucky, Stray earned offers from Oregon, Ole Miss, Stanford, Wisconsin, Vanderbilt, Rutgers Baylor, Arkansas, Northwestern, Illinois, Duke, Cincinnati, Louisville, Nebraska, Minnesota and Michigan State.

Paw Paw (9-2)
Last Week Results: District Final; 42-14 loss to Niles
Season Stats: 93 pancakes
Bobby Kanka
(Howell 6-4, 285 DE Sr.)
Committed to Michigan, Kanka collected 38 tackles and 8 sacks in just six games of action as a junior. Demonstrating a knack for the big play, 18 of those tackles were for lost yardage with him finding his way into the opposing backfields to wreak havoc.

Howell (11-1)
Last Week Results: Reg Finals; 35-6 loss to Hudsonville
Season Stats: 78 tackles, 11 sacks
Rashad Jones
(Belleville 6-4, 245 DE Sr.)
Committed to Purdue, Jones is a punishing presence coming off the edge and is plug-and-play ready when he hits West Lafayette next year. Last season, he posted 72 tackles and 3 sacks for the 13-1, nationally-ranked Belleville Tigers.

Belleville (10-2)
Last Week Results: Reg Finals; 35-21 loss to Detroit Catholic Central
Season Stats: 64 tackles, 8 sacks
Derrick Simmons
(Frankenmuth 6-3, 280 DL Sr.)
Committed to Michigan State, Simmons is a menace in the middle of a defense. As a junior, he logged 53 tackles, 5 sacks and forced three fumbles.

Frankenmuth (13-0)
Last Week Results: Final 4; 42-35 win over GRCC
Season Stats: 87 tackles, 8 sacks
Cam Clark
(Dexter 6-7, 285 OL Sr.)
Committed to Wisconsin, Clark is a man among boys in his pass protection and run blocking at the high school level. Scouts consider him to possess NFL upside and are impressed by his work ethic, fundamentally-sound technique and tenacious attitude snap-in and snap-out.

Dexter (9-2)
Last Week Results: District Final; 50-49 loss to East Lansing
Season Stats: 92 pancakes
Liam Vaughan
(Walled Lake Western 6-4, 285 OL Sr.)
Committed to Washington State, Vaughan is Metro Detroit's "Pancake King" and a top candidate for the Anvil Award last season. He's totaled more than 300 pancakes in his career so far and has anchored the Warriors line play since he was a freshman. As a junior, he helped fuel a WLW attack that captured LVC and D3 district crowns.

WL Western (11-1)
Last Week Results: Reg Final; 22-17 loss to Mason
Season Stats: 115 pancakes
Xavier Newsom
(Detroit King 6-5, 225 DE Sr.)
The No. 1 pass rusher in the PSL and maybe the whole state, Newsom registered 26 tackles and 6 sacks in 2023 and is ready to set collapsing pockets ablaze in '24. Michigan, Penn State, Minnesota, Tennessee, Rutgers, Kansas, Louisville, Pitt., Purdue, and Indiana are all in hot pursuit of his talents for the next level.

Detroit King (10-3)
Last Week Results: Final 4; 35-14 win over Mason
Season Stats: 65 tackles, 15 sacks
Justin Bell
(Macomb Dakota 6-8, 290 OL Sr.)
Committed to Michigan State, Bell has anchored the Dakota line for the past three years. He is a fundamentally flawless 3-star prospect who chose MSU over Indiana, Kansas and Buffalo. With his 4.0 GPA in the classroom, Ivy League schools like Yale and Cornel were in pursuit of his services at the next level as well. Last season, he recorded 98 pancake blocks.

Dakota (10-2)
Last Week Results: Reg Finals; 21-14 loss Detroit Cass Tech
Season Stats: 100 pancakes
Danilo Guberinich
(Det Catholic Central 6-5, 300 OL/DT Sr.)
Committed to Texas Tech, Guberinich captains the Shamrocks offensive line for the second straight year and is the definition of a smart, tough-as-nails and fundamentally-sound staple in the trenches. His brother Bruno plays on the line at Central Michigan. "D is just so reliable......his technique if flawless," said CC head coach Justin Cessante.

Detroit CC (12-1)
Last Week Results: Final 4; 28-27 OT loss to Cass Tech
Season Stats: 68 pancakes, 72 tackles, 6 sacks
N'Kye Wynn
(Muskegon 6-5, 285 OL Sr.)
Committed to Rutgers, Wynn is the heart and soul of the defending Division 2 state champion Big Red up front at the point attack. Wynn could be the hardest working lineman in the state with the highest football IQ. He begins the season as a frontrunner in the Anvil Award race while captaining a repeat effort for Muskegon and calling signals at the line for what's sure to be a feisty and fast Big Red offense.

Season Stats
20 Pancakes: WK 1 | L 28-13 (Zeeland West); WK 2 | L 28-21 (Rockford)
Greg Patrick
(Portage Northern 6-5, 265 OL Jr.)
The No. 1 offensive line prospect in the state's junior class, Patrick is a 4-star recruit with Top 10 national-recognition at his position who holds offers from Alabama, Michigan, Notre Dame, Washington, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Baylor, Penn State, Michigan State and Stanford, among others, in a growing list of suitors.

Portage Northern 4-2
Last Week Results: 42-34 loss to St. Joseph's
Season Stats: 45 pancakes

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