Other players in the area had better statistics. Most were bigger. All enjoyed more victories.

But no one came up bigger on area football fields this fall than Jason Kuipers.

The Albert Lea High School senior, all 5-foot-10, 145 pounds of him, was the definition of toughness for a team that finished 0-9 while playing in one of the strongest conferences in the state, the Big Nine.

Facing defenses geared to contain him, Kuipers accounted for about half of the Tigers’ offensive output. He had 1,038 all-purpose yards, rushing for 736 with an average of 4.91 yards per carry and catching 15 passes for 160 yards. He was also a skilled kick returner, one of the conference’s top punters, and a standout in the defensive backfield with a team-best 16 solo tackles.

It makes Kuipers the Tribune’s Football Player of the Year for 2002.

Tigers coach Jeff Marty was not surprised.

“I think he deserves player of the year,” said Marty. “Every game, every play, whistle to whistle, his whole effort went into every play, whether it was running the ball, blocking, playing defense, punting. There was never any doubt at any time what he was going to do: He’d lay it on the line. He’s not a big guy. His heart is the biggest part about him.”

Marty said a play against Mankato West epitomized Kuipers’ season.

“He bounced off about three guys in the middle of the line, just refused to go down, and broke a 65, 70-yard run,” said Marty. “That’s the way he was. He was like a machine out there, just go, go, go.”

An intense desire is not the only thing that helped Kuipers compensate for his lack of size. He has also logged a lot of hours in the weight room.

“Pound for pound, he’s the strongest kid we had,” said Marty. “We measure how much they can lift for bench, squad and power clean, with a goal of 4.0 for the seniors. He had 4.7 times his body weight. He’s tremendously strong.”

Apparently, Marty did not have to do much lobbying for Kuipers to garner all-conference votes from the other Big Nine coaches.

“They felt he gave everything he had,” said Marty. “They knew they had to stop him – he wouldn’t be one to stop himself. They knew he’d be there to play every game, and they had to account for him.”

Making the all-conference team was one of Kuipers’ goals this year. He didn’t think much about the Player of the Year award, though a lot of people told him he’d probably get it.

What Kuipers really longed for was a victory.

“I really wanted to win one this year,” he said. “It really bugged me.”

But he got some nice consolation prizes: all-conference, most valuable player, Gatorade Player of the Year, top 10 lifting and, now, Player of the Year.

All things considered, Kuipers said, it was enjoyable.

“It was good,” he said. “I had fun. It was one of the best years we’ve had.”

In four years of football – Kuipers attended Hollandale Christian School until ninth grade – he never sustained a serious injury, only a broken finger. His secret to running off tackle against what are often some huge defensive linemen? Stay low.

“I was always told the low man wins,” said Kuipers. “I figured, I’m small anyway, I’m already low. As long as you hit them low enough, they’re just not all going to stand there either.”

What stands out for Kuipers from his ALHS football career?

“Playing with a lot of the same group of guys, those that stuck with it anyway,” he said. “It was fun. There were a lot of good moments.”

And many of them were provided by Jason Kuipers.