2013 East All Stars – #5
Tyler Palka
Quarterback
6’ 175 lbs
High School: Saline, A
High School Coach: Joe Palka
College: Saginaw Valley State University
Tyler is the son of Kaleen and Joe Palka. He is the middle of three children. His older sister, Emileen Palka, is a junior at Indiana Tech University, where she plays volleyball. Jeb is his younger brother and is a sophomore football player at Saline High School.
Tyler began his playing career in the eighth grade. As a freshman, at Toledo Whitmer he split time between the freshman and junior varsity teams, playing quarterback and safety on the JV team. Tyler’s varsity career began his sophomore year, where he saw action in 10 games including the Regional Final against Lakewood St. Edwards (Ohio). His junior year saw him lead his team to a 13-1 record. They fell in the State Semifinal to Cleveland St. Ignatius. That season he led his team to both league and regional titles along with a number nine ranking nationally, courtesy of USA Today sports. Before the beginning of his senior year, his father and coach (Joe), took a coaching and administrative position at Saline High School in Michigan. He led his new team to it’s best year in school history. Tyler led Saline to a league and district title before falling in the Regional Final to Detroit Cass Tech by the score of 21-14. In his career, Tyler threw for 3198 yards along with 32 touchdowns, he also added 1116 yards on the ground and 11 touchdowns. He was 21-3 as a starting quarterback and won five playoff games.
Tyler also was a four-year varsity letterman in hockey and lettered twice in track. Tyler was a part of four consecutive league champion football teams and three Regional Finalists.
Tyler thanked, “most importantly my parents, brother and sister, grandparents and the Monahan family.” He also thanked “everyone who supported me throughout my career, including the Saline community.”
Awards
All TRA Conference (OH), 2011
All District, 2011
1st Team All SEC, 2012
Ann Arbor Dream Team QB, 2012
Ann Arbor/Washtenaw Player of the Year,
Heritage Newspaper, 2012
Ann Arbor Player of the Year,
AnnArbor.com, 2012
Regional Player of the Year, M-Live, 2012
All State, AP, 2012
Newcomer of the Year, D Zone, 2012