In the Hunt- 2021 Contenders

Next article up is the teams who were made noise in the 2020 season, but fell short of the championship. How I determine these teams are based on their 2020 records, points scored, and amount of returning starters. This article is based off my opinion and of course is not solid facts, this is a way to get notice on those teams who did not make it to the finals. Here are my picks! <em>11AAA- Harrisburg Tigers (7-4)</em> The Tigers made the pick here not just because they were runner-up this year, but also the amount of adjustments they made against teams the second time they played them in playoffs, avenging half of their regular season losses. Their offense returns a lot of key players for next season as well as their solid defensive unit. Key Players Lost: <strong>OL [player_tooltip player_id="56248" first="Ethan" last="Headlee"], DB [player_tooltip player_id="56244" first="Lincoln" last="Boetel"], WR [player_tooltip player_id="56275" first="Ethyn" last="Rollinger"], RB [player_tooltip player_id="56507" first="Anders" last="Clayton"], QB [player_tooltip player_id="56323" first="Jack" last="Teigen"], DB [player_tooltip player_id="56335" first="Kamen" last="Hudson"]</strong> Key Players Returning: <strong>QB [player_tooltip player_id="56447" first="Jacob" last="Knuth"]</strong> <strong>RB [player_tooltip player_id="56546" first="Gavin" last="Ross"]</strong> <strong>WR [player_tooltip player_id="56449" first="Andrew" last="Walter"]</strong> <strong>WR [player_tooltip player_id="56494" first="Carter" last="Bahrenfuss"]</strong> <strong>OL [player_tooltip player_id="56475" first="Mason" last="Jacobson"]</strong> <strong>OL [player_tooltip player_id="56528" first="Jordan" last="Larsen"]</strong> <strong>OL Josh Larson</strong> <strong>LB [player_tooltip player_id="56536" first="Cade" last="Larson"]</strong> <strong>LB [player_tooltip player_id="56487" first="Ayden" last="Viox"]</strong> <strong>LB Tyman Long</strong> <strong>DL Christian Heerde</strong> <strong>DB Kai Yungbluth</strong> <em>11AA- Brookings Bobcats (11-1)</em> The Bobcats were dominant all year long, balanced a good rushing attack with a lot of big plays in the pass game as well. Defensively played sound defense all year long as well, not giving up many points to their opponents and limiting big plays. What gave these guys the pick for 2021 contender is the amount of starters they return in key spots. Key Players Lost:<strong> RB [player_tooltip player_id="56238" first="Josh" last="Buri"], TE [player_tooltip player_id="56345" first="John" last="Noordsy"], OL/DL [player_tooltip player_id="56250" first="Parker" last="Theobald"], LB [player_tooltip player_id="56375" first="Wes" last="Koenig"], WR Max Struck, RB/DB Keegan Fields, DB Jackson Krogman, DB Noah Bayer.</strong> Key Players Returning: <strong>OL/DL- [player_tooltip player_id="56474" first="Brock" last="Longville"]</strong> <strong>OL/DL- [player_tooltip player_id="56451" first="Perry" last="King"]</strong> <strong>OL/DL- [player_tooltip player_id="56485" first="Magnus" last="Nelson"]</strong> <strong>QB- [player_tooltip player_id="93087" first="Jaxon" last="Bowes"]</strong> <strong>RB- Cole McKeown</strong> <strong>LB- [player_tooltip player_id="89287" first="Jaxton" last="Eck"]</strong> <strong>OL- Davis Engen</strong> <strong>K- Payton Thedosopoulos</strong> <strong>DB- Gavin Fixsen</strong> <em>11A- Canton C-Hawks (8-3)</em> I watched three C-Hawk games this year, all I can say is that this a well coached football team. The team is put together like a puzzle, each kid is put in the position they thrive in, no matter their size or age. Which is the reason why they got this pick, many returning players that made a big impact on their runner-up season. Key Players Lost:<strong> OL/LB Zach Richardson, QB/DB [player_tooltip player_id="91746" first="Seth" last="Peterson"], RB/DB [player_tooltip player_id="91745" first="Zander" last="Elling"], RB Lance Tiezen, TE Jaden Dominisse</strong> Key Players Returning: <strong>FB/DB- [player_tooltip player_id="93077" first="Payton" last="Eben"]</strong> <strong>WR- [player_tooltip player_id="80114" first="Matthew" last="Anderson"]</strong> <strong>DE- Avery Herting</strong> <em>11B- Sioux Valley Cossacks (9-2)</em> The Cossacks made some noise this year, their only losses being the State Champion and Runner-up on the year. I see them making a push for a State trip next year due to them returning a few key core players, along with a few watch-list players on our list here at PRZ. They have a great deal of size and speed on both sides of the ball, and appear to know how to use it. Key Players Lost: <strong>WR [player_tooltip player_id="56340" first="Jaxton" last="Schiller"], RB [player_tooltip player_id="56401" first="Raven" last="Olson"], DL [player_tooltip player_id="56422" first="Connor" last="Logan"], WR [player_tooltip player_id="56395" first="Ashton" last="Bultje"], DL [player_tooltip player_id="56421" first="Avry" last="Mangan"], OL Kashas Vander Wal.</strong> Key Players Returning: <strong>QB- [player_tooltip player_id="56470" first="Parker" last="Puetz"]</strong> <strong>RB- [player_tooltip player_id="56524" first="McKade" last="Rentsch"]</strong> <strong>WR/DB- [player_tooltip player_id="56539" first="Carson" last="Christopherson"]</strong> <strong>WR- Damian Danziesen</strong> <em>9AA- Hamlin Chargers (11-1)</em> The Chargers put together a good season with a great rushing attack. Their defensive efforts, gave them the big push to get into the State Finals. They have a good core of young players returning for the 2021 season that may give them the edge they need to get them the 9AA title. Key Players Lost: <strong>RB/LB [player_tooltip player_id="77511" first="Jackson" last="Noem"], FB/LB Cameron Thue, WR/DB Jacob MacDonnell, WR/DB Jasper Meier.</strong> Key Players Returning: <strong>RB/LB- [player_tooltip player_id="56480" first="Sam" last="Grantham"]</strong> <strong>DL- Michael Stevenson</strong> <strong>QB- Xander Sheehan</strong> <strong>RB- [player_tooltip player_id="89279" first="Luke" last="Fraser"]</strong> <em>9A- Chester Area Flyers (6-3)</em> Chester Area made big strides this year that shocked the state. I see them doing that again in 2021, but on a larger scale, due to the amount of players they lost to graduation, only two seniors on the roster. The Flyers had many weapons on both sides of the ball that gave them a winning record. Key Players Lost:<strong> OL/DL Hunter Leisinger, OL/DL Caden Fods.</strong> Key Players Returning: <strong>QB/LB- [player_tooltip player_id="56492" first="Stratton" last="Eppard"]</strong> <strong>LB- Sage Ottoson</strong> <strong>WR/DB- Ryan Benson</strong> <em>9B- Herreid/Selby Wolverines (9-2)</em> The Wolverines put up some big numbers for a young team. Falling to the eventual State Champs in the semi-finals, this year of experience will show for the young team in the 2021 season. They will put up better numbers in 2021, as there are no Seniors that have film on their roster this past season so this will be all returning players. Players Returning: <strong>RB/DB- Brenden Begeman</strong> <strong>QB- [player_tooltip player_id="56550" first="Tray" last="Hettick"]</strong> <strong>OL/DL- [player_tooltip player_id="56535" first="Chance" last="Gregg"]</strong> <strong>LB- [player_tooltip player_id="56527" first="Trevor" last="Sayler"]</strong> <strong>LB- [player_tooltip player_id="56526" first="Trey" last="Sayler"]</strong> <strong>LB- Collin Tisdall</strong> &nbsp; Again all these teams will have a program report coming out soon for a further in depth analysis on each team’s athletes.