By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Awards continue to roll in for the Great Bend High School football team. The best start at the school since 1978 resulted in a 4-0 run through the Western Athletic Conference. The Panthers defeated Dodge City, Liberal, Hays, and Garden City by a combined 105-27 score during the regular season. Accordingly, Great Bend head coach Erin Beck was named WAC Coach of the Year.
The Panthers also took home two of the biggest league honors for players as junior Ian Premer was named Offensive Player of the Year, and junior Trenton Kern was named Defensive Player of the Year.
Premer caught 30 passes this season for 541 yards and eight touchdowns. He also ran the ball 37 times for 260 yards and a pair of scores. He caught five passes against Buhler early in the season, taking all five for a school-record five touchdowns in one game. His 167 total yards that night are sixth-best in a single game at GBHS.
Both Premer and Kern were part of a dominant Panther defense that set several school records. Kern was the lone Panther to record more than 75 tackles this season with 113, including a team-high 43 solos. With 110 tackles last season, Kern is one of just two Panthers to record more than 106 tackles in a season twice since 1998. His 272 career tackles rank third on the school's all-time list (since 2001) with a season to go. Kern's 23 tackles against Kapaun last year are tied for second-most in a single game at GBHS, and his 20 tackles against Liberal this season rank sixth.
