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The Kevin Stemke Award is presented annually to the state's top senior kicker or punter as part of the WSN Senior Football Awards. The award is named after former Green Bay Preble and University of Wisconsin standout Kevin Stemke. At Wisconsin, Stemke was presented with the Ray Guy Award as the nation's top punter and holds UW records for highest punting average in a career (43.5) and total punting yards (10,660).

The pre-season watch list was trimmed down to 15 semi-finalists, and five finalists for the award have now been selected. Winners will be announced the week of the state finals.

Gavin Davis was a First Team All-Conference selection as a kicker this year, making eight-of-11 field goals and all 33 extra points for the Vikings. He also averaged better than 31 yards per punt and handled kickoff duties, consistently putting the ball into the end zone.

Tate Eccles handles both the punting and kicking duties for McFarland, earning First Team All-Conference recognition at both spots last year. He's averaging 43.8 yards per punt this year and has made five-of-seven field goals plus 21-of-23 extra points.

Brandon Schaefer repeated as a First Team All-Conference kicker in the FRCC-North this year. He's connected on six-of-nine field goals so far and 53-of-55 extra points. He handled punting duties in the regular season finale as well when he averaged 35 yards per punt.

Erik Schmidt is one of the best in the entire country, ranked as a five-star kicker and punter by Kohl’s Kicking. In fact, Kohl’s has him as the number one punter in America and the number eight kicker. He was a WFCA Honorable Mention All-State pick at both spots last year. This season he has made eight-of-11 field goals and all 47 extra point attempts, averaging 46 yards per punt. He has given a commitment to Wisconsin.

Bailey Woodman is a two-time First Team All-Conference kicker in the Big Eight Conference, making 33-of-37 extra points. He's averaged nearly 38 yards per punt for the Cougars as well this season.

Travis Wilson serves as the WisSports.net General Manager, Football Editor, and contributing writer for other parts of the site. Wilson was selected as part of the Sports 40 Under 40 list by Coach & AD Magazine and the National High School Athletic Coaches Association for 2019. The Wisconsin Football Coaches Association (WFCA) named Travis the 2015 recipient of the Dave McClain Distinguished Service Award. He currently serves on the WFCA Executive Board and is a member of the Executive Board of the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association. A graduate of Richland Center High School and Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Travis was a three-sport athlete in high school (football, baseball, basketball), inducted to the Richland Center High School Hall of Fame in 2023, and currently resides in Reedsburg. You can follow him on Twitter at @travisWSN.

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