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Kahle named Player of the Year in Region 5
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Patrick Kahle
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Byham
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Uhler
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Schwabenbauer
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Saunders
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By ED BRANNON
The News-Herald
When the 2004 football season opened, Franklin senior quarterback Patrick Kahle had thrown a total of 13 passes at the varsity level.
Nobody could have predicted that Kahle would not only lead the Knights to a 6-4 record and a playoff berth, but that he'd do it by putting together the best passing season in the history of Franklin football.
As a result of his record-setting season, Kahle was named Nov. 13 as the Region 5 Player of the Year.
Since a quarterback can't throw for more than 2,000 yards without the help of some skilled receivers, two other Knights - wide receiver Joe Uhler and tight end Nate Byham - joined Kahle on the Erie Times News All-District 10 football team.
Kahle's numbers were hard to ignore, given that he set numerous single-game and single-season school records in his lone year as a starting quarterback.
He completed 140 of 269 passes for 2,082 yards and 19 touchdowns. The completions, yardage and TDs were all school records, as were his 2,328 yards total offense.
At least Kahle gave an early indication to fans that this could be a special season. In the opener against Corry, he passed for 319 yards, eclipsing the old record of 282 yards set by Bill McCullough in 1955 against Kane.
He later broke that by throwing for 327 yards in a win over Meadville, which was also a game in which he amassed 390 yards total offense, another record.
Perhaps his finest game came against Erie East in which he passed for six touchdowns … all in the first half.
“Patrick certainly deserves everything he gets,” Franklin coach Dave Smith said. “He was one of our captains and, without a doubt, he was the heart and soul of our team. He had probably the greatest passing season in the history of the school and he certainly earned it. He put in a lot of hard work and his dedication was amazing.
“Tiger (LaVerde) gets the most out of his players and he certainly took advantage of Patrick's passing ability this season,” Smith said, referring to his offensive coordinator.
“But, Patrick couldn't have done it by himself. He had a lot of good receivers to throw to and it was nice to see that Joe and Nate were named to the team as well.”
Smith said the 5-8 Kahle is attracting attention from mostly Division III colleges, such as Grove City, Westminster and Mercyhurst, but added that Edinboro, a Division II school, is interested in him as a safety.
“He's probably a little too short to play quarterback in Division II, but he can definitely play at the Division III level,” Smith said.
Defensively, Kahle finished third on the team with 81 tackles, matching his total from last season, and intercepted two passes.
Uhler, a senior, finished with 29 catches for 459 yards and five touchdowns. Three of those TD receptions came in the win over Erie East, tying a single-game record.
“Joe was another one of our captains who worked extremely hard to make himself better,” Smith said. “We knew he could be a big-time receiver and he was. He usually drew the toughest defender, which opened things up for some of our other receivers.”
Uhler, who had a team-leading six interceptions, is also attracting interest from Division III schools such as Westminster, Grove City and Thiel.
Byham was Kahle's biggest target.
The 6-5 junior hauled in 45 passes for a school-record 883 yards and nine touchdowns.
“Nate was like a man among boys this season,” Smith said. “I've never seen a kid dominate games on both offense and defense like he did this year.”
Byham may have been slighted on defense, since he led the Knights with 91 tackles, including a season-high 19 in Franklin's season-ending playoff loss to General McLane. He also recorded a team-leading 141/2 tackles for loss, nine sacks, and made three three interceptions, forced a fumble and recovered another.
But, it was his pass-catching ability that stood out.
“He can jump, has very long arms and outstanding hands,” Smith said. “He made some of the best catches I've ever seen. He's legit and if he puts his mind to it, he could be a big star someday at the next level.
“However, he has to stay modest, keep hitting the weights and continue to work hard,” Smith added.
Byham is already be heavily recruited by Division I-A colleges with Purdue and Miami (Fla.) showing the hottest early interest.
“He's only a junior, but he could know where he's going by this time next year,” Smith said. “Either way, we're looking forward to him playing a big role for us again.”
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Meanwhile, Kahle, Byham and Uhler also made first team on the Region 5 all-stars, while offensive tackle Sam Schwabenbauer and linebacker Sean Saunders, both juniors, were picked to the second team. That team was selected by the coaches, and the balloting was handled by the Erie Times News.
Schwabenbauer, a tackle, spearheaded a line that allowed the Knights to gain 3,365 yards total offense.
Saunders, the Knights' leading rusher with 461 yards, added 60 tackles on defense.
Actually, Travis Eakin and Jake Hasson were Nos. 2 and 4 on the team in tackles.
Eakin, another junior linebacker, registered 83 stops, and Hasson had 65 to go with 61/2 sacks and four tackles for loss. That gave Hasson, a rangy senior end, 137 tackles, 141/2 sacks and 161/2 tackles for loss over the last two years.
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