In the Hunt- 2021 Contenders
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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…
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Continue ReadingNext 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!
11AAA- Harrisburg Tigers (7-4)
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: OL Ethan Headlee Ethan Headlee 6'5" | 310 lbs | OL Harrisburg | 2021 State , DB Lincoln Boetel Lincoln Boetel 6'0" | 185 lbs | DB Harrisburg | 2021 State , WR Ethyn Rollinger Ethyn Rollinger 6'3" | 195 lbs | WR Harrisburg | 2021 State , RB Anders Clayton, QB Jack Teigen Jack Teigen 6'0" | 185 lbs | QB Harrisburg | 2021 State , DB Kamen Hudson Kamen Hudson 5'8" | 150 lbs | DB Harrisburg | 2021 State
Key Players Returning:
QB Jacob Knuth Jacob Knuth 6'4" | 205 lbs | QB Harrisburg | 2022 State
RB Gavin Ross Gavin Ross 5'11" | 205 lbs | RB Harrisburg | 2023 State
WR Andrew Walter Andrew Walter 6'3" | 180 lbs | WR Harrisburg | 2022 State
WR Carter Bahrenfuss Carter Bahrenfuss DB Harrisburg | 2022 State
OL Mason Jacobson Mason Jacobson 6'5" | 270 lbs | OL Harrisburg | 2022 State
OL Jordan Larsen Jordan Larsen 6'5" | 290 lbs | OL Harrisburg | 2022 State
OL Josh Larson
LB Cade Larson Cade Larson LB Harrisburg | 2022 State
LB Ayden Viox Ayden Viox 6'0" | 230 lbs | LB Harrisburg | 2022 State
LB Tyman Long
DL Christian Heerde
DB Kai Yungbluth
11AA- Brookings Bobcats (11-1)
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: RB Josh Buri Josh Buri 5'11" | 210 lbs | RB Brookings | 2021 State , TE John Noordsy John Noordsy 6'2" | 225 lbs | TE Brookings | 2021 State , OL/DL Parker Theobald Parker Theobald 6'2" | 245 lbs | DL Brookings | 2021 State , LB Wes Koenig Wes Koenig 5'9" | 225 lbs | LB Brookings | 2021 State , WR Max Struck, RB/DB Keegan Fields, DB Jackson Krogman, DB Noah Bayer.
Key Players Returning:
OL/DL- Brock Longville Brock Longville 6'3" | 220 lbs | DL Brookings | 2022 State
OL/DL- Perry King Perry King 6'3" | 265 lbs | OL Brookings | 2022 State
OL/DL- Magnus Nelson Magnus Nelson 6'1" | 250 lbs | DL Brookings | 2022 State
QB- Jaxon Bowes Jaxon Bowes QB Brookings | 2022 State
RB- Cole McKeown
LB- Jaxton Eck Jaxton Eck 6'0" | 215 lbs | LB Brookings | 2023 State
OL- Davis Engen
K- Payton Thedosopoulos
DB- Gavin Fixsen
11A- Canton C-Hawks (8-3)
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: OL/LB Zach Richardson, QB/DB Seth Peterson Seth Peterson DB Canton | 2021 State , RB/DB Zander Elling Zander Elling RB Canton | 2021 State , RB Lance Tiezen, TE Jaden Dominisse
Key Players Returning:
FB/DB- Payton Eben Payton Eben WR Canton | 2022 State
WR- Matthew Anderson Matthew Anderson 6'5" | 190 lbs | ATH Canton | 2024 State SD
DE- Avery Herting
11B- Sioux Valley Cossacks (9-2)
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: WR Jaxton Schiller Jaxton Schiller 6'2" | 195 lbs | ATH Sioux Valley | 2021 State , RB Raven Olson Raven Olson 6'0" | 195 lbs | ATH Sioux Valley | 2021 State , DL Connor Logan Connor Logan 5'11" | 240 lbs | DL Sioux Valley | 2021 State , WR Ashton Bultje Ashton Bultje 6'2" | 195 lbs | LB Sioux Valley | 2021 State , DL Avry Mangan Avry Mangan 6'3" | 215 lbs | DL Sioux Valley | 2021 State , OL Kashas Vander Wal.
Key Players Returning:
QB- Parker Puetz Parker Puetz 6'3" | 215 lbs | QB Sioux Valley | 2022 State
RB- McKade Rentsch McKade Rentsch 5'11" | 165 lbs | RB Sioux Valley | 2022 State
WR/DB- Carson Christopherson Carson Christopherson LB Sioux Valley | 2022 State
WR- Damian Danziesen
9AA- Hamlin Chargers (11-1)
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: RB/LB Jackson Noem Jackson Noem RB Hamlin | 2021 State , FB/LB Cameron Thue, WR/DB Jacob MacDonnell, WR/DB Jasper Meier.
Key Players Returning:
RB/LB- Sam Grantham Sam Grantham RB Hamlin | 2022 State
DL- Michael Stevenson
QB- Xander Sheehan
RB- Luke Fraser Luke Fraser 5'11" | 195 lbs | ATH Hamlin | 2024 State SD
9A- Chester Area Flyers (6-3)
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: OL/DL Hunter Leisinger, OL/DL Caden Fods.
Key Players Returning:
QB/LB- Stratton Eppard Stratton Eppard QB Chester Area | 2022 State
LB- Sage Ottoson
WR/DB- Ryan Benson
9B- Herreid/Selby Wolverines (9-2)
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:
RB/DB- Brenden Begeman
QB- Tray Hettick Tray Hettick 6'2" | 190 lbs | QB Herreid/Selby | 2023 State
OL/DL- Chance Gregg Chance Gregg 6'2" | 245 lbs | DL Herreid/Selby | 2022 State
LB- Trevor Sayler Trevor Sayler 6'1" | 220 lbs | LB Herreid/Selby | 2022 State AL
LB- Trey Sayler Trey Sayler LB Herreid/Selby | 2022 State
LB- Collin Tisdall
Again all these teams will have a program report coming out soon for a further in depth analysis on each team’s athletes.