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Southridge running back Levi Neukam voted Courier & Press Player of the Week

staff report
·2 min read

Southridge coach Scott Buening has been proven correct. A certain position change has done wonders for the Raiders.

Levi Neukam was voted the Courier & Press high school football Player of the Week from the sectional championships. The senior received 6,894 votes in the online poll at courierpress.com. It caps a record-breaking overall season in C&P Player of the Week voting.

There were 9,570 total votes this week. Mater Dei quarterback Mason Wunderlich was the runner-up at 1,535.

Neukam gave Southridge a spark in its 42-14 championship win over Heritage Hills. The senior had 99 rushing yards on five carries including a 52-yard third-quarter touchdown. He also threw for a 52-yard score in the opening quarter.

Southridge's Levi Neukam (2) runs the ball as the Southridge Raiders play the Gibson Southern Titans at Southridge High School in Huntingburg, Ind., Friday evening, Sept. 16, 2022.
Southridge's Levi Neukam (2) runs the ball as the Southridge Raiders play the Gibson Southern Titans at Southridge High School in Huntingburg, Ind., Friday evening, Sept. 16, 2022.

His first touchdown shouldn't be a surprise. Neukam was the Raiders' starting quarterback last year until missing the final four games following an emergency appendectomy. Buening moved him to wingback to maximize the strengths of himself and others in the offense. Neukam is second on the team with 563 rushing yards – he had 189 total yards and two scores in the sectional semifinal against Corydon Central – and eight total touchdowns.

“I still get to help the team,” Neukam said in August. “All I wanted to do was help the Raiders win since I was little. We have a good chance to do whatever we want to do.”

No. 10 Southridge (11-1) hosts No. 9 Lawrenceburg (11-1) in the Class 3A regional on Saturday at 4 p.m. CT.

The other nominees were Castle quarterback Brayden Bishop and Memorial wide receiver Caleb Ellspermann. There were over 650,000 votes this fall in the Courier & Press Player of the Week voting.

2022 Courier & Press Player of the Week winners

  • Week 1: North Posey QB Liam Stone

  • Week 2: Bosse LB Royal Elliott

  • Week 3: Tell City FB Trent Cail

  • Week 4: South Spencer QB Nathan Hurt

  • Week 5: Mount Vernon WR Jackson Clowers

  • Week 6: Tecumseh RB Chase Jones

  • Week 7: Gibson Southern RB Devan Roberts

  • Week 8: Southridge FB Reid Schroeder

  • Week 9: Reitz DL Levi Oxley

  • Sectional first round: Gibson Southern RB Devan Roberts

  • Sectional semifinals: Tecumseh RB Chase Jones

  • Sectional championship: Southridge RB Levi Neukam

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Southridge RB Levi Neukam voted Courier & Press Player of the Week