What else could you possibly ask for from the North Central Jets?

After finishing the regular season 9-0, being ranked No. 1 in the eight-player division of the U.P. football poll all season and No. 1 in the final Associated Press state poll, the Jets got their due recognition at the 70th annual Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association football meeting held in Marquette Thursday.

Dream Team quarterback Noah Gorzinski won Offensive Player of the Year and coach Leo Gorzinski was named Coach of the Year.

Gorzinski — a 6-foot-1, 170-pound senior QB — finished the regular season with 1,793 yards and 33 TDs. He threw for 13 TDs and no interceptions. He also ran for 456 yards and 11 TDs and had 475 yards receiving, including six scores. He was only kicked to twice all year, and one of those times he took it to the house against Rapid River.

Leo Gorzinski

A year after leading the Jets to an 8-2 record, coach Gorzinski went 9-0 this season to give him an overall record of 17-2 through two seasons.

Despite their dominance, there were no certainties the Jets would win any of these awards. The major reason for that was Pickford — an 8-1 team led by last season’s Associated Press state player of the year Jimmy Storey.

The Panthers outdid the Jets in the Great Lakes Eight Conference voting done by the coaches, finishing with eight players on the all-conference team to North Central’s five. Storey was also selected as the conference’s player of the year.

However, the Jets beat the Panthers 20-14 in a highly anticipated matchup at Powers Sept. 14. That carried a lot of weight at Thursday’s meeting, as it should have. Storey completed just 4-of-12 passes in that game and threw five interceptions.

Outside of that, the Jets weren’t really tested all season. One could make the case for Forest Park after the Trojans trailed the Jets just 18-8 in the fourth quarter Oct. 5, but the Jets just beat the Trojans 46-28 for the second time in the playoffs Friday night.

North Central’s vaunted defense gave up just 48 points all season for an average of six points per game after Stephenson forfeited the regular season finale. That’s a number that probably won’t be seen ever again in eight-player, considering how much easier it is to score with six less players on the field at all times. That made the Jets an easy choice for Team of the Year.

In addition to getting those prestigious honors, the Jets also placed two others on the Dream Team and one on the first team offense.

Defensively, freshman defensive end Luke Gorzinski and senior linebacker Leo Gorzinski Jr. each made it on the Dream Team and senior tailback Cole Timblin was selected to the first team offense.

Pickford had five players selected, and Storey was named the Defensive Player of the Year at linebacker.

But the Jets got their due.

In what was a spectacular regular season, the Jets will now look to try to put a bow on that with a state title. Pickford will get another shot at the Jets next weekend in a regional final, but for now it’s the Jets’ year.

Nothing can take that away from them.