EPC’s Trevor Asher was a finalist for WSN top senior running back award

Elmwood/Plum City senior running back Trevor Asher, who spent the 2022 season shattering EPC rushing records dating back to the 1960s, was named as a finalist for Wissports.com’s Elroy “Crazylegs” Hirsch Award, which is annually given to the top senior running back in Wisconsin.

Although the award eventually went to Wynn Stang of Mukwonago, Asher was one of six running backs in Wisconsin to be named a finalist for the prestigious award. Asher was also selected as First-Team All-State, as voted on by the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association.

Three of the six finalists including Stang of Mukwonago, Najeh Mitchell of West De Pere and Blake Schraufnagel of Mayville competed in their respective state championship games at Camp Randall in Madison last week.

Although Elmwood/Plum City’s year ended in a 40-20 first-round loss against the Boyceville Bulldogs, the Wolves’ season was a success. Asher finished the year with 2,442 rushing yards and 31 touchdowns, which ranked fourth and sixth in the state in those respective categories.

However, at the end of the regular season, Asher led the state in rushing yards and was tied for the lead in rushing touchdowns. Only after the Wolves got bounced from the playoffs did other players from around the state start passing Asher in rushing yards and touchdowns.

For Elmwood/Plum City head coach Mike Birtzer, having Asher was likely a once-in-alifetime type of player. He spoke about what it was like having Asher on the roster and what he brought to the field for the Wolves.

“What I’ve seen, he’s probably the most talented running back that I’ve seen in my time at EPC and the numbers prove that,” Birtzer said. “What he brought with the physicality and the speed, and we’ve had a lot of good running backs come through, but if you look at the production he had, at any time he could break off a long run. He had a couple that approached the 80-yard mark. As a running back, he’s the best I’ve ever been around.”

As Asher piled up the individual accolades and generational statistics throughout the 2022 season, he began shattering some of the most long-standing records in EPC football history dating back more than 60 years.

Asher wasn’t able to eclipse every record, all of which belong to Jim Baier, who played at EPC in the early 1960s. Baier held the single-season rushing record of 1,630 yards, which he set in 1961 until Asher broke it in 2022 with 2,442 rushing yards.

While Asher is now the single-season rushing king at EPC, Baier still holds two of the Wolves’ rushing records including the single-game record of 401 yards and the career record of 4,601. Asher finished his high school career with 4,391 yards.

Winning is always EPC’s biggest goal when each season starts, but the Wolves’ roster and coaching staff don’t shy away from celebrating individual excellence, especially when one of the players is performing well enough to be considered for an award on the state level. Birtzer spoke about Asher being a finalist for the Crazylegs Elroy Hirsch Award.

“We talk about the individual awards, but everybody understands that it took 10 other guys to help him get to that level, and (Trevor Asher) is the first one to give them credit,” Birtzer said. “Everyone around here is always asking when those things get announced, they want to see him get it. This group is amazing in the fact that they really want to see each other succeed.”

Asher was certainly EPC’s headliner this year, as he accounted for more than 90% of the team’s offensive production, but it was a collective effort to help the Wolves finish with a 6-4 overall record and a 5-2 showing in Dunn-St. Croix Conference games.

Elmwood/Plum City went into the final game of the regular season, a contest on the road against Spring Valley, with a chance to share the conference championship with a victory. The Wolves came up just short, falling 14-12 to the rival Cardinals. Birtzer spoke about that high-stakes game.

“It was a great game (against Spring Valley) and the crowd was unbelievable,” Birtzer said. “That’s why you play sports. We had our chance and that’s all we could have asked for.”

It certainly wasn’t the result that Elmwood/ Plum City wanted against Spring Valley in the conference championship game. Despite that loss, EPC coach Birtzer stated that the 2022 campaign was a success nonetheless.

“It was a solid season. One of our goals was to get a home playoff game and we accomplished that,” Birtzer said. “We didn’t accomplish all of our goals. We would have liked to have won a conference title and that first-round playoff game, but I thought the way that the players worked, I thought there was a lot of good that came out of this season.”

Although Asher’s high school career is over, it appears as if his football career isn’t. According to coach Birtzer, Asher has already attracted interest from several schools in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC), which is the best Division 3 league in America.

Asher has yet to make a decision, but all indications are that he will continue his academic and athletic career with one of the WIAC schools starting next fall.