EDITOR'S NOTE: The Swnews4u.com Athlete of the Week is a web-only feature that will publish each Thursday or Friday throughout the calendar year.

By Jason Nihles, The Platteville Journal

Gavin Hinderman, Sr., RB/LB, Iowa–Grant football
TOWN OF MIFFLIN — It was a happy Homecoming for Iowa–Grant Friday night. The Panthers kept their 2024 playoff hopes alive with a commanding 50–13 Six Rivers Conference victory over winless Boscobel Friday at IGHS.

“It was a great, concentrated effort by our whole team,” said first-year IG head coach Hayden Link. “It was great to watch from a coach’s perspective.”

While it was a great team effort, one Panther stood out above the rest. Senior running back/linebacker Gavin Hinderman had a career night, scoring six touchdowns — in four different phases of the game — as Iowa–Grant improved to 3–5 overall and 3–3 in the SRC. He also added a pair of two-point conversion runs.

Hinderman scored on a 2-yard run on the Panthers’ first possession of the game, then added a 1-yard TD run five minutes later to make it 14–0 after Brock Hinderman’s 2-point conversion pass to Landon Friesen.

After Boscobel backup quarterback Sawyer Smith threw a 27-yard TD pass to standout senior wide receiver Cameron Loos with just 36 seconds left in the first half to make it a one-score game, Hinderman returned the ensuing kickoff 85 yards to the house to give the home team a huge momentum boost and a 20–7 lead going into halftime.

“Gavin was and is a true leader of this program,” said first-year head coach Hayden Link. “He stepped up big time and I can’t say enough good things about the way he took us on his shoulders.”

Sophomore Cole Schauff scored on a 5-yard run on IG’s first possession of the second half, and Brock Hinderman connected with senior Boden Brokoff for the 2-point conversion pass. Schauff finished the game with a team-high 77 yards rushing on 21 carries.

Loos got loose again on the Bulldogs’ next drive and Sawyer hit the speedy senior for a 52-yard touchdown pass to trim the IG lead to 28–13.

Hinderman scored on a 8-yard TD run 79 seconds into the fourth quarter (and added the 2-point conversion run), then picked off a Smith pass and returned it 32 yards for his fifth TD of the game moments later to make it 42–13 with just 8:23 left in the game.

Hinderman put the finishing touches on his individual masterpiece when he caught a 23-yard touchdown pass from freshman Hayden Aultman with 5:42 left in the game, and converted the 2-point attmpt for his 39th and 40th points of the night. Hinderman finished the night with 28 yards rushing on eight carries, 63 yards receiving on five catches, five tackles, one sack and one interception.

Brock Hinderman (21 of 30, 176 yards) and Aultman (2 of 4, 55 yards) combined to compete 23 of 34 passes for 231 yards. Six different IG players other than Gavin Hinderman caught passes. Christiansen caught three for 43 yards, Dawson Reid hauled in 40 yards on three catches, and Owen Wyatt finished with 33 yards on four receptions.

“We overcame some penalties and were challenged by Boscobel’s offensive scheme,” said Link. “The momentum gained to start off the game was great to carry us through the hard times of the game. We really didn’t pull away too much until the end.”

Aiden Friesen recorded a team-high six tackles, while Gavin Hinderman, Reid, Bronson McHomne and Landon Friesen were each in on five stops.

“Our defense has been a cornerstone of the team,” said Link. “Coaches (Tyler) Kennicker, (Lucas) Oyen, (Dan) Baker, (Abe) Enloe, and (Jacob) Amenda all do a wonderful job getting our guys ready and preparing them with the best scout looks. No one has surprised us thanks to them. It’s only up from here for that side of the ball so long as those guys are here.”

Iowa–Grant will travel to Muscoda Friday night to face the Riverdale Chieftains (1–7, 1–5 SRC) with a playoff berth on the line. While the Panthers could technically earn an at-large playoff bid with a 3–4 conference record, a win Friday night would clinch an automatic playoff berth. Riverdale is coming off a 70–6 loss to Division 7 #3-ranked Black Hawk/Warren.

HONORABLE MENTION (in alphabetical order)
Ava Garthwaite, Sr., OH/S, Dodgeville volleyball
Garthwaite posted a triple–double of 15 kills, 21 assists and 14 digs to go along with a match-high eight blocks and three aces to lead the third-place Dodgers to a 25–21, 26–24, 20–25, 25–23 upset of first-place Platteville last Tuesday night. Garthwaite then posted 12 kills, 19 assists and 11 digs in the Dodgers' 25–15, 25–15, 23–25, 25–22 win at River Valley last Thursday night. 

Anna Hennessey, Sr., OH, Highland volleyball
Hennessey floored a match-high 17 kills with five total blocks, served up four aces and had 15 digs to lead the Highland Cardinals to a 25–20, 23–25, 25–21, 25–14 victory over second-place Belmont last Tuesday night. Hennessey then posted 11 kills in a 25–17, 25–22, 25–15 sweep at Potosi last Friday night as Highland (20–6, 12–0 SRW) clinched the outright Six Rivers West title. The Division 5 #5-ranked Cardinals earned the No. 1 seed in their 11-team half sectional and will face the winner of Tuesday's 8–9 matchup between Wauzeka–Steuben and Weston in a D5 regional semifinal next Tuesday night. 

Michael Murphy, Sr., MF, Platteville/Lancaster boys soccer
Murphy erupted for four goals in Platteville/Lancaster's 10–1 victory over Prairie du Chien last Monday night. He then scored a pair of goals in last Thursday's 3–0 non-conference victory over Reedsburg, before opening this week with three goals in a 4–1 victory at second-place Dodgeville/Mineral Point (5–9–2, 3–3–2 SWC) Tuesday night. It was Murphy's third and fourth hat tricks of the season as the Hillmen (11–3–2, 7–1 SWC) clinched a second-straight Southwest Wisconsin Conference title. Murphy, who is the reigning SWC Player of the Year, now has a team-high 21 goals and seven assists in 17 matches this year.

Tyler Sasse, Jr., RB/DB, Platteville football
SPRING GREEN — Tyler Sasse rushed for 297 yards and two touchdowns, one of them on a 98-yard run after the Hillmen defense stopped River Valley from scoring in the red zone for the second of two times in the game. Sasse's big night propelled the Hillmen (4–4, 4–2 SWC) to a 35–14 playoff-clinching berth over the Blackhawks last Friday night. Sasse’s first touchdown capped off an eight-play 68-yard scoring drive that included a 12-yard Sasse run on third-and-9, a 16-yard Sasse run, a Sasse 19-yard touchdown run, and a Sasse extra point with 9:40 left in the first quarter. An end-zone interception stopped a 12-play Blackhawk drive just before halftime. The Hillmen defense then forced a fourth-and-goal incompletion to end a 15-play Blackhawk drive at the 2-yard line to start the third quarter.  Sasse got the ensuing handoff and raced through the entire defense for his 98-yard touchdown run, the Hillmen’s longest scoring play of the season, to extend the lead to 28–6 with 2:42 left in the third quarter.

Taylor Russell, Sr., MH, Shullsburg volleyball
The senior standout smashed a team-high 24 kills in Shullsburg's 25–17, 25–13, 25–20 sweep of Potosi last Tuesday night. Russell then crushed a season-high 27 kills and had 15 digs, five blocks and two aces in a 25–22, 25–10, 18–25, 23–25, 15–13 win over Belmont, which put the Miners into second place in the Six Rivers West. Shullsburg (13–11, 9–3 SRW) fell into a second-place tie with the Braves (17–7, 9–3) with a 24–26, 25–18, 25–22, 25–16 loss at SRW champion Highland Monday night. Russell again led the Miners with 23 kills and two blocks.