The Negaunee junior was the lone player from the U.P. to earn any kind of all-state honor in Divisions 5 and 6 for the Michigan High School Athletic Association.

The awards were announced on Wednesday, one day after the Divisions 7 and 8 honors were named. In that set of awards for the two smallest divisions of 11-player football, a half-dozen U.P. players — all from state champion Menominee and playoff semifinalist Bark River-Harris — earned recognition.

In Divisions 5-6, however, dealing with a bigger set of schools, DellAngelo stood alone above the Mackinac Bridge.

He was chosen by the Michigan Sports Writers Association, a group that supplanted The Associated Press several years ago in choosing these honors, though the AP then releases them.

Negaunee’s Evan DellAngelo, center, checks on the whereabouts of Iron Mountain defender Gavin Winters, left, as he gets away to score a touchdown during their game played at Miners Stadium in Negaunee on Oct. 23. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)

DellAngelo was named as an “athlete” on the Honorable Mention list, probably a fitting label for this all-around player.

You see, without having a kick returner position on the all-state squads, DellAngelo probably couldn’t be properly recognized for his greatest talent — running back kicks for touchdowns.

The 6-foot, 180-pound 11th grader — yes, he’ll be terrorizing West PAC opponents again next fall — returned either a punt or kickoff for a TD once in each of the Miners’ first five games this fall until, as first-year Negaunee head coach Jeff Niemi put it, “Teams wouldn’t kick to him anymore. Sometimes they would make 10- or 15-yard kicks just to make sure the ball got out of bounds.”

That earned him his unanimous pick as the All-U.P. Dream Team kick returner in the 11-player game at the U.P. Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association meeting in Marquette in mid-November.

But he was a lot more than a one-trick pony, also earning the most votes for the All-U.P. Dream Team as a wide receiver. He could’ve won the same honor as a defensive back, but the UPSSA only lets players win once between offense and defense.

In the West PAC, however, DellAngelo was unanimous at First Team wide receiver and earned the same honor at defensive back while being unanimous as Special Teams Player of the Year in that league.

“He’s a special athlete and was mostly double-teamed as a receiver,” Niemi said.

Among the Lower Peninsula players getting D 5-6 honors, Jacob Timmer of Division 5 state champion Grand Rapids West Catholic was named Player of the Year.

From the team that knocked Negaunee out of the playoffs, West Branch Ogemaw Heights 29-28 in overtime on Oct. 31, defensive lineman Calvin Marshall and defensive back Corie Kanitz were named First Team All-State, while linebacker Elon Jones made Second Team All-State and offensive lineman Ethan Hock was Honorable Mention. And its coach, Chad Miller, was selected for the Second Team as Coach of the Year.

In Divisions 7-8, the six U.P. players recognized included four from state champ Menominee — quarterback Tanner Theuerkauf and running back Clayton Miller on the First Team, along with offensive linemen Alex Parrett and Brennen Swanson on the Second Team.

Theuerkauf, the younger brother of Northern Michigan University QB Trevor Theuerkauf, was voted both U.P. Offensive Player of the Year and Mr. Football in the All-U.P. voting.

BR-H’s pair of honorees were running back Gionni McDonough on the First Team and defensive lineman Sean Burton on the Second Team.