Six Bluejays named All-Conference; Koshuta earns Lineman of the Year

Six members of the Three Lakes-Phelps varsity football team were recently named to the Northeast All-Conference Team, including seniors Doug Koshuta and Carter Flannery who were unanimous first-team selections. Junior Sawyer Szews joined them as a first-team pick, while sophomore kicker Zach Weavers was selected to the Second Team. 

Freshman quarterback Easton Lurvey and sophomore wide receiver Owen Liebscher rounded out the All-Conference selections by earning Honorable Mention for their contributions throughout the season.  

The selections were made by coaches in the conference who vote each year.

Justin Szews, head coach for the Jays, said he was pleased to see such strong representation by his players, especially in a year when the team went through extensive rebuilding following a long list of graduating senior players last year.  

“It was very gratifying to see two of our kids earn unanimous selections,” he said, “and especially nice to see Doug be honored with a Defensive Lineman of the Year award. The conference coaches saw in Doug what we always knew, which is that he is a hard-working and talented football player who gives his all on the field, leading to his first-team selection for both offensive and defensive linemen positions.”  

While Koshuta led the Bluejays with 94 total tackles and four sacks, Flannery had 679 yards rushing in 120 attempts with seven touchdowns, and joined Koshuta as a unanimous All-Conference selection. 

“Carter was our rushing leader and offensive workhorse player,” according to Szews, “and the other coaches in the conference showed respect for his talent, even though he missed a large portion of the season due to a broken hand.”

Sawyer Szews was the second member of the team to be honored for both his offensive and defensive production.   Offensively, he had 286 yards rushing on 44 attempts to complement his 13 pass receptions for 134 yards. He scored two touchdowns for the team plus a two-point conversion score. When Flannery missed time with his hand injury, Szews filled the gap with two 100-yard games on the ground.

Defensively, Szews had 75 total tackles with three interceptions, but his greatest contribution according to the head coach may have been his blocking ability. 

“On rushing plays, with Sawyer as the lead blocker, we always seemed to produce greater yardage. This is often an unnoticed contribution and I am glad that the coaches in the conference were able to see it,” the coach said.

Weavers was selected to the second team for his position as team kicker for the Bluejays.

“He was a very reliable kicker with an 83% success rate on extra-point attempts,” according to coach Szews. “This is as good as it gets at the high school varsity level, and by the end of the year his kickoffs were dialed in to a point where opponent drives usually started deep in their territory.”

Offensive Honorable Mention picks Lurvey and Liebscher had very productive years for the Bluejays, with Lurvey throwing for 882 yards and 11 touchdowns in his freshman year while Liebscher, a sophomore wide receiver, had 17 receptions for 426 yards and seven touchdowns.  

“These kids were great,” coach Szews said. “Easton was thrust into a leadership role in his first high school season and performed very well for the team, especially when he connected with Owen, who runs great routes and has great hands.  The sky’s the limit when it comes to these young players.”

The Bluejays finished the season with a 5-5 record and 23 total touchdown scores with a new head coach and much younger squad than the previous season. As the team gains experience, coach Szews is very optimistic about the future.  “This has been a nice group of kids and I am excited about our potential,” he said. “I think it’s safe to say that this crew will be fun to watch under the lights next fall.”