Owatonna Football Players Named Preseason All-State

A pair of Owatonna High School football players are preseason All-State selections. Senior Grant Achterkirch and junior Conner Grems were named to the list by a scouting director, operating as PrepRedZone on Twitter. Achterkirch was an All-District selection for the section champion Huskies in 2020 after leading the team in tackling. Grems saw limited varsity action, but had an impressive 8.8 yards-per-carry average in those opportunities.

OHS coach Jeff Williams said of Achterkirch last season, that he is "A very sure and tough tackler, he also takes great angles and puts himself in a position to make big plays. That was never more apparent than his huge forced fumble on fourth-and-two in the waning moments of the section championship game [against Rochester Mayo]."

During Sunday's Steele County Fair football and cheerleader rally, Williams said, "He's also fighting hard for a quarterback job. We love him in both roles. He's been a quarterback all the way through. (He) just marches teams down the field. But you guys got to know him last year as our leading tackler...a guy who just make play after play after play for us on defense."

Williams said this about Grems at Fair Square Park, "Conner was our sophomore tailback last year...When he got his chance on Friday night and Saturday afternoon, he was popping big ones too. Very tough, physical runner. Kind of plays with an edge and an attitude. He's also probably going to one of our starting linebackers."

In the lead picture for this post, Williams is introducing the 2021 captains, Nick Williams, Achterkirch and Eli Spurgeon.

Get up-to-speed with the upcoming season with analysis from Jon Weisbrod on Owatonna football's website.

The Huskies scrimmage at Prior Lake Saturday, August 28 at 9 am. They open the season at Rochester Mayo on Friday, September 3 and hold their home opener Friday, September 10 against Rochester Century.

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