DEREK ZIEGENHIRT - C/O 2011

QB/MLB

Ziegenhirt became only the 2nd Shrine Bowl player ever and 3rd Top 11 player ever for the Braves following his 2010 campaign.

As a 4-year starter at quarterback and linebacker, Ziegenhirt made his mark in the Council Grove record books on both sides of the ball. See his records/accomplishments below:



Ziegenhirt became the first freshman quarterback to ever start for the Braves during the 2007 season. It was a season that saw the Braves struggle, but it molded Ziegenhirt for future success. He broke the career passing yards record in week 2 of his junior season. The earliest a Brave has ever broken a major career record. Ziegenhirt went on to accumulate a staggering 4,845 yards of total offense. To this day, this record still stands by more than 1,000 yards. He became the only quarterback in Braves history to rush for over 500 and pass for over 1,000 during the 2010 season. He led a Braves offense that finished averaging the 3rd most total offense in school history.

During his senior season, Ziegenhirt had over 100 total yards of offense in every single game:


Week 1 - 109

Week 2 - 183

Week 3 - 296

Week 4 - 272

Week 5 - 196

Week 6 -197

Week 7 - 261

Week 8 - 131

Week 9 - 132


His average of 197.4 and total of 1,777 snapped the record. Ziggy accomplished this having missed much of the final two games of the season due to injury. He also accumulated 21 TDs that season, which was good enough for 3rd all-time. For his offensive abilities alone, this would have been one of the best seasons by a Brave ever, however, he excelled just as much, if not more, defensively. As the without a doubt defensive leader of CG, he averaged 10.9 tackles/game and played middle linebacker.


Derek's most impressive feat statistically were his 52 Total TDs. 22 times he carried the ball in himself and 30 times he tossed a pass to his receivers for scores. He holds this record by 8. This was a career record that stood for 40 years, formerly held by Luis Hill. Derek's aggression defensively helped him tally 224 career tackles defensively, good enough for 14th all-time.


His head high school football coach, Jim Collins, had this to say about him:

"Zig came in as a freshman and made an impact from the start. He was our QB and was one of the best. He could run and throw, but, most importantly, he understood the game. He was a coach on the field and a natural leader. Zig knew what we wanted to do whether he had to change a play or call his own play. He was also a great defensive player who would go all out and was aggressive. As a QB, we hated playing him on defense, but he was too valuable. Zig played through injury and was tough. Zig was voted into the Shrine Bowl and could have had a great college career, but he loved baseball and pursued that. He was a great young man to have played." 


Ziegenhirt's 5 TD Pass Game vs. Herington 2010


Ziegenhirt goes down as one of only four Braves to be a  2-way first team or honorable mention all-stater.