Class 4A All-State DLs: One Of The Best Groups In The State

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Man, the defensive line in Class 4A this past fall was as good as they come.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Heck, maybe even ever for that matter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Narrowing it down to an all-state list was definitely difficult, but it is pretty safe to say that no matter how you rank them, these three were the best of the best.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>First Team - Maddux Borcherding-Johnson - Norwalk - Senior</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A beast on both sides of the ball, Maddux Borcherding-Johnson will be taking his talents to the University of Iowa in the fall. And for obvious reasons. He helped pave the way for over 1,000 yards rushing and over 2,100 yards passing. But on defense, that is where he really stood out. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Borcherding-Johnson recorded 32.5 tackles with 30 of them being considered solo stops. He had seven tackles for loss and two sacks. At 6-foot-3 and 290 pounds, he is a monster, and you only need to watch him on the wrestling mat to see why big things are expected of him as a Hawkeye.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Second Team - [player_tooltip player_id='152755' first='McCrae' last='Hagarty'] - Waverly-Shell Rock - Senior</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='152755' first='McCrae' last='Hagarty'] could have continued his athletic career as a running back or on defense. Instead, he'll slide into the wrestling room at Iowa State University and work under Kevin Dresser. But if that doesn't work out, maybe we will see Hagarty back on the gridiron. He ran for almost 1,500 yards and scored 25 touchdowns out of the backfield, adding 61 yards and a score as a receiver.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On defense, Hagarty was nearly unblockable, making 41 tackles with 13 for loss and 2.5 sacks. He recovered four fumbles and returned one for a score. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Third Team - [player_tooltip player_id='247882' first='AJ' last='Petersen'] - North Scott - Senior</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>North Scott found ways to use [player_tooltip player_id='247882' first='AJ' last='Petersen'] on offense, as he caught five passes and ran in a rushing touchdown. As a defender, though, Petersen was a thorn in the side of opposing offenses, recording 45.5 tackles with 40 solo stops, 11 for loss and five quarterback sacks. He also recovered a pair of fumbles.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For years, Iowa has scored big-time with walk-ons from the state, but Matt Campbell landed a key one here with Petersen, as he joins his siblings in Ames. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Honorable Mention</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Guys like [player_tooltip player_id='527063' first='Wyatt' last='Dewitt'] of Indianola, [player_tooltip player_id='105140' first='David' last='Borchers'] from North Scott, [player_tooltip player_id='152881' first='Jake' last='Walker'] of Waverly-Shell Rock, [player_tooltip player_id='247878' first='Caelum' last='Jones'] of Cedar Rapids Xavier and [player_tooltip player_id='320792' first='Dantrell' last='Skinner'] of Iowa City Liberty all had fine seasons and could easily have been on the all-state list. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->