Brayden Miller named 2023 Defense Player of the Year; Burger earns Coach of the Year

HILLSDALE COUNTY — It was a year of firsts for several Hillsdale County prep football teams in 2023. Overall, two 8-player football teams represented the County in the MHSAA postseason. For Pittsford, it was the first playoff appearance since becoming an 8-player program. For Camden-Frontier, it was their second playoff appearance in a row.

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Despite the overall combined record of Hillsdale County football teams in 2023, dozens of players stood out with their performance on the field this season. The 2023 All-Area Dream Team Defense honorees were chosen from coaches' nominations combined with on-field impact and accolade recognition.

This year, three honorees were chosen as the All-Area Dream Team Co-Captains, an honor given out to three seniors who's on field leadership and performance represented the best of Hillsdale County. Altogether, six athletes were chosen for this honor.

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Honorees were considered for spots on both the dream team offense and defense. Special consideration was given to players who may have filled multiple roles on their team's defense; these players are designated with ATHLETE.

Player of the Year - Defense

One dream team honoree was selected as the 2023 Defensive Player of the Year. This year's honoree is Camden-Frontier senior Brayden Miller. The 6' 2", 190Ilbs linebacker was the team defensive MVP for the 2023 season, and it showed on the field as he helped lead the team to a second-consecutive playoff appearance.

From 2022 to 2023, the Camden-Frontier defense nearly held opposing offensive to 100 less points than the year before, including three near-shut out defensive efforts that put Camden-Frontier into the 8-player MHSAA playoffs with a 6-3 overall record.

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His efforts as a leader and skill player on the defensive side of the ball were integral to their playoff push at the end of the season. He played through six of these games with a broken thumb. On the stat sheet for the season, Miller had 98 tackles, six sacks and four forced fumbles, becoming a force against opposing running backs.

His hard-hitting play style earned Miller first team all-conference honors at both linebacker and offensive line. His ability to stop the run earned him a spot as a edge rusher on the 2023 All-Area Dream Team. He was also named a co-captain of this year's team.

"Brayden is the best true football player I have ever coached," Camden-Frontier coach Rob Wickham said. "His passion for the team is unparalleled. He has a great attitude and work ethic. He will be truly missed as one of our captains."

2023 Coach of the Year - Mike Burger

In addition to our two Player of the Year honors. The Hillsdale Daily News gives special recognition to one area coach for their efforts giving the county the biggest standout season for a program. Last year's honor went to Litchfield coach Michael Langhann.

This year's honor goes to longtime Pittsford coach Mike Burger. Coach Burger has led the Wildcats through playoff runs in the 2010s and more recently led the program through their biggest change yet.

Last fall, Pittsford made the difficult decision to transition from 11-player football to 8-player football. The program was on the verge of being the smallest 11-player program left in the state at the end of their 1-8 2021 season. Burger and his coaching staff asked the next two senior classes to help them lead the program into uncharted territory in 2022 and then in 2023.

Despite growing pains in 2022, their first season of 8-player football showed signs of promise for the program after a 5-4 finish. It all paid off for the team, coaches, school and community in 2023.

The Burger-led Wildcats earned a 7-3 overall record this year, earning the team their first 8-player playoff berth. The season saw the Wildcats win their first seven games of the season in dominating fashion, including wins over all in-county rivals. The Wildcat offense outscored their opponents 372-165, their biggest point differential since 2006.

Congratulations to coach Burger and the Wildcats on an outstanding season.

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Honorable Mention

This year's honorable mention coach of the year is Rob Wickham. Coach Wickham entered his third season as head coach of Camden-Frontier looking to lead his son - senior Ethan Wickham - and an outstanding Class of 2024 to another playoff berth after their 5-5 season in 2022. Camden-Frontier won five of their last six regular season games to earn their way to the playoffs.

Congratulations to coach Wickham and Camden-Frontier on their back-to-back playoff seasons. Camden-Frontier has now earned a playoff berth in all but one of their years as an 8-player program.

2023 All-Area Dream Team Defense

• Co-Captains: Brayden Miller, Stephen Petersen and Sam Williams

• DL: Scotty Aube - Junior - Jonesville; Brayden Foley - Senior - Reading; Lane Lewis - Senior - Pittsford; John Petersen - Junior - Hillsdale

• EDGE/RUSH LB: Junior Alvarez - Senior - Litchfield; Legend Gore - Senior - Pittsford; Brayden Miller - Senior - Camden-Frontier

• LB: Austin Bowers - Senior - Jonesville; Stephen Petersen - Senior - Hillsdale; Carson Playford - Junior - Jonesville; Lukas Strine - Junior - Reading; Sam Williams - Senior - Waldron

• DB: Jack Bowles - Senior - Hillsdale; Gavyn Carden - Senior - Pittsford; Brady Kling - Senior - Reading; Ethan Wickham - Senior - Camden-Frontier; Bryce Williams - Senior - Pittsford

• ATHLETE: Collin Williams - Sophomore - Waldron

Honorable Mention Defense

DL: Devin Wolff - Camden-Frontier; Cooper Stevens - Jonesville; Braxton Smith - North Adams-Jerome; Austin Neely - Reading; Cam Kurtz - Waldron; Brexton Daley - Waldron

EDGE/RUSH LB: Jordan Vansickle - Jonesville; Stephen Anderson - Reading; Gabe Stiver - Waldron

LB: Kaiden Conroy - Camden-Frontier; Declan Flannery - Hillsdale; Miguel Pedroza - Litchfield; Will Thielen - North Adams-Jerome; Jake Drawe - Pittsford; Tayshawn Bester - Reading; Alec Shamplo - Waldron

DB: Logan Leggett - Camden-Frontier; Brandon Campbell - Litchfield; Skyler Cooper - Jonesville; Skyler Charters - Reading; Colton Hoover - Reading

This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: Brayden Miller named 2023 Defense Player of the Year; Burger earns Coach of the Year