CINCINNATI – Elder senior quarterback Michael Bittner tries to avoid looking at the Greater Catholic League website this fall.
While his family and others like to compare statistical performances in the conference, Bittner says he doesn’t get caught up into social media. It’s not who he is as a student-athlete. He'd prefer to concentrate on the Panthers as a team.
“I try not to worry about my stats,” Bittner said. “I worry about the win.”
But, Wednesday will be one day he can’t avoid. That’s because Bittner was named the Greater Catholic League South Division Player of the Year.
“Michael has been a great leader for us,” Elder coach Doug Ramsey said. “He leads both on and off the field. He is a great person and student. He’s very mature and handles everything the same way.”
The GCL South announced its all-star football teams and special award winners for the 2018 season Wednesday afternoon.
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Moeller’s Doug Rosfeld was named the GCL South Coach of the Year in just his first season as the Crusaders' head coach. Rosfeld, a 1997 Moeller graduate, led the Crusaders to the school’s first outright league championship since 2013 with an unbeaten 3-0 record and a postseason berth.
Moeller’s Doug Rosfeld was named the GCL South Coach of the Year Wednesday. (File photo)
Rosfeld is the fourth Moeller football coach to make the playoffs in his first year. Moeller has had six head football coaches in program history.
Elder (6-4) plays host to Moeller (6-4) in a Division I, Region 4 quarterfinal at 7 p.m. Friday. Moeller defeated Elder 24-21 at Nippert Stadium Oct. 5 to capture the GCL South title.
Bittner, a dual threat for the Panthers, completed 157-of-269 passes for a league-leading 2,195 yards and 15 touchdowns. He also rushed 165 times for 519 yards – which is third best in the conference.
“It’s a great honor just to be recognized for what I have done this season,” Bittner told WCPO Wednesday morning. “I am very thankful.”
Ramsey, in his 22nd year as the Elder head football coach, says Bittner has had one of the top couple of seasons at quarterback since he's been at the school.
"He makes great decisions, throws the ball accurately and makes all the throws," Ramsey said. "He is a good runner. He keeps defenses off balance. He is really good when the play breaks down either running or scrambling and finding an open receiver. I can't imagine too many better quarterbacks in the state."
Here is a look at the all-league teams, with the players listed in alphabetical order by school, position, class, height and weight:
FIRST TEAM OFFENSE
NAME, SCHOOL, POSITION, CLASS, HEIGHT, WEIGHT
Michael Bittner, Elder, QB, Senior, 6-2, 200
Zach Carpenter, Moeller, OL, Senior, 6-4, 300
Tim Finley, Elder, OL, Senior, 5-11, 230
Markell Harden, La Salle, OL, Junior, 6-0, 290
Paris Johnson, St. Xavier, OL, Junior, 6-7, 287
Luke Kandra, Elder, OL, Junior, 6-4, 285
RJ Khayo, Moeller, WR, Senior, 5-9, 152
Jared Kreimer, St. Xavier, WR, Senior, 6-0, 185
Matt Mohn, St. Xavier, OL, Senior, 6-2, 265
Chris Payne, St. Xavier, RB, Senior, 6-1, 216
Cameron Porter, La Salle, RB, Junior, 5-11, 207
Joe Royer, Elder, TE, Junior, 6-5, 210
Kyle Trischler, Elder, WR, Senior, 5-10, 180
Chrystopher Watkins, Moeller, RB, Senior, 6-0, 207
FIRST TEAM DEFENSE
NAME, SCHOOL, POSITION, CLASS, HEIGHT, WEIGHT
Nathan Arthur, St. Xavier, LB, Senior, 5-11, 189
Eric Beck, Elder, DB, Senior, 5-9, 175
Garrett Bledsoe, La Salle, LB, Senior, 6-0, 209
Spencer Bono, Elder, DL, Senior, 6-4, 240
Jake Hofmeyer, Elder, LB, Senior, , 6-1, 200
BJ Hendrix, Moeller, DB, Senior, 5-10, 168
Tucker Hundley, St. Xavier, DB, Junior, 5-11, 173
Brody Ingle, La Salle, LB, Senior, 6-1, 210
Braedon Junker, Moeller, DB, Senior, 6-3, 198
Thomas Kiessling, St. Xavier, LB, Senior, 6-4, 225
Jack Lampert, Moeller, DB, Senior, 6-1, 161
Alex Merritt, Moeller, DL, Senior, 6-3, 265
Ryan Mullaney, Moeller, DL, Junior, 6-2, 228
Drew Nieman, La Salle, P, Senior, 5-10, 177
Steven Seger, Elder, DB, Senior, 6-0, 170
Luke Szabados, Moeller, LB, Senior, 6-2, 233
Kevin Thibodeaux, Moeller, PK, Junior, 5-9, 188
Jarred Uran, La Salle, LB, Senior, 6-2, 194
SECOND TEAM OFFENSE
NAME, SCHOOL, POSITION, CLASS, HEIGHT, WEIGHT
Stone Dixon, Moeller, OL, Senior, 6-3, 280
Jakob James, Elder, OL, Junior, 6-5, 270
Jack Kirby, St. Xavier, OL, Junior, 6-3, 290
Matthew Luebbe, Elder, ATH, Junior, 5-11, 170
Max Land, Moeller, WR, Junior, 6-2, 179
TJ Rotello, Moeller, RB, Sophomore, 5-11, 188
Tae Smith, La Salle, WR, Sophomore, 5-9, 153
Nathan Stockman, St. Xavier, ATH, Senior, 6-1, 170
SECOND TEAM DEFENSE
NAME, SCHOOL, POSITION, CLASS, HEIGHT, WEIGHT
Cam Behanan, La Salle, DL, Senior, 5-9, 212
Raja Bridges, St. Xavier, LB, Senior, 6-1, 217
Joe Craft, Moeller, LB, Senior, 5-10, 192
Kalib Dailey, Elder, LB, Senior, 6-0, 185
Andrew Draginoff, La Salle, DL, Senior, 6-1, 195
BJ Ferguson, St. Xavier, DB, Senior, 5-10, 179
Cole Hildebrand, La Salle, DB, Junior, 6-3, 176
Jaylen Johnson, La Salle, DB, Senior, 6-1, 187
Kyle Klingenbeck, Elder, DL, Senior, 6-2, 240
Will MacDonald, St. Xavier, DL, Senior, 6-0, 209
Trevor Potts, St. Xavier, DB, Senior, 5-9, 181
Luke Thiemann, La Salle, LB, Junior, 6-2, 210
Joe Toepfer, Moeller, DL, Junior, 6-0, 216
Carrington Valentine, Moeller, DB, Junior, 5-11, 172
SPECIAL AWARDS
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Michael Bittner, Elder
COACH OF THE YEAR
Doug Rosfeld, Moeller
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
RJ Khayo, Moeller
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Ryan Mullaney, Moeller
OFFENSIVE BACK OF THE YEAR
Cameron Porter, La Salle
RECEIVER OF THE YEAR
Kyle Trischler, Elder
ALL-PURPOSE PLAYERS OF THE YEAR
RJ Khayo, Moeller and Jared Kreimer, St. Xavier
LINEMAN OF THE YEAR
Thomas Kiessling, St. Xavier
LINEBACKER OF THE YEAR
Brody Ingle, La Salle
DEFENSIVE BACK OF THE YEAR
Steven Seger, Elder
KICKER OF THE YEAR
Kevin Thibodeaux, Moeller
PUNTER OF THE YEAR
Drew Nieman, La Salle
