Kansas Pregame 8-Man Top 8: Philip Doebele

Kansas Pregame polled 8-Man coaches earlier this month who voted for the top four seniors they coached against this season. Kansas Pregame staffers then used those votes to develop a Top 8 list of seniors for each division. Kansas Pregame will provide features for each of the 16 Top 8 selections. Check out the 15th of those profiles below:

Philip Doebele, OL/DL, 6-4, 200, Hanover, 8-Man Division II

Hanover senior Philip Doebele stepped up for the defending state champs in a big way during his senior season. The offensive and defensive lineman was a proven impact player, but would be called on for more in 2021.

“Once again, we had high expectations for a great season, but because of many injuries and COVID, we struggled without key players against tough teams,” Doebele said. “I think we did the best we could, given the circumstances we were in, with people taking on new roles at different positions. Even with this adversity, everyone continued to battle and work hard to be the best we could be.”

The Wildcats, despite only two of their top 10 most productive offensive personnel playing every game of the season, still cobbled together a 6-4 record with each loss coming against quality opponents. Two of them were to Twin Valley League rival Axtell, with Hanover giving the eventual 2021 champs two of the three closest matchups they played all season, including a 30-24 scare in Week 4, the only game closer than 26 points for the incredibly dominant Eagles.

Doebele played all 10 games of the season and was a force to be reckoned with. Coming off of an all-state junior season, he totaled 91 tackles, nine tackles-for-loss, four sacks, two forced fumbles, a scoop-and-score fumble recovery, and three blocked punts in 2021.

“Philip has many strengths as a player but his strength, athletic ability and motor really pair well with his intelligence to make him a force on both sides of the ball,” head coach Matt Heuer said. “He showed flexibility in playing different positions and that was a tremendous asset to us on the field each year and especially this year.”

The rangy 6-4, 200 pound lineman showed an ability to get into the backfield and cause consistent problems for the opposition. Offensively, it was much of the same story, with his speed and quickness on such a long frame making it hard to prevent him from laying a block on a second-level defender.

“My biggest strength offensively is my versatility in being able to execute various blocking assignments,” Doebele said. “Whether it be getting a push up front, getting to a linebacker or safety, or pass protection.”

Doebele’s efforts allowed Hanover to gain 2,520 yards total offense in just 10-games, with an extremely inconsistent lineup. His leadership was invaluable, especially given the many different faces the Wildcats put out on the field each week.

“Returning as an All-State player for my senior year, I knew I would be one of the leaders on the team, after losing a talented group of seniors,” Doebele said. “With the expectations of me being higher, I would be looked to more often and I would be setting an example for the rest of my team.”

Doebele is currently undecided on his plans for the future and still has a state basketball title to defend and a third place finish at state in the javelin to focus on for his senior year at Hanover. He intends on waiting to see what opportunities for the future come his way.

“His consistency, level of play and attitude was key on so many levels for us as a team,” Heuer said. “He was extremely reliable and helped us bridge so many gaps as we worked through ever changing personnel availability.  He had a workman’s type attitude and that helped us stay the course through the year.  He was tremendous in helping each of the last two years with his consistent play.” 

*Editor's Note: Kansas Pregame has opted to include only seniors in our Top 8 list in an effort to reward them for their success in high school. This year, especially in Division II, there were a number of top players who were juniors. Axtell's Isaac Detweiler, Wheatland-Grinnell's Jett Vincent and Thunder Ridge's Dylan Bice are just a few of those likely among the Top 8 players in the classification. Fortunately, multiple other outlets have recognized those athletes for their contributions this season and Kansas Pregame will consider each of them for feature coverage in our 2022 Football Preview along with the many other top returning players from across the state.