Beasts In The East: Top Tackling Shrine Bowl Nominated Athletes

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As promised earlier this morning, here is a look at ten athletes nominated for the Kansas Shrine Bowl's East Team.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This is not an all-inclusive list as some programs do not publish stats publicly and not all athletes nominated for the Shrine Bowl submitted stats. These ten athletes were all on the Max Preps leaderboard for total tackles.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Also being included on this list does not necessarily represent the 11 athletes I submitted on my ballot.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I would like to congratulate all of the nominated athletes and hope they choose to participate in the event if offered a roster spot. It's a great event for a wonderful cause.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Stay tuned to Prep Redzone Kansas as I continue to feature top tacklers in the Sunflower State.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1115501' first='Koltyn' last='Kaniper'],</strong> LB/RB, 6'0”, 200, Perry-Lecompton, ‘25</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kaniper was the unofficial leader in the entire state in tackles with 187 in 11 games. If you can't do the math, let me do it for you, that's an incredible average of 17 tackles per contest. Kaniper registered 13 tackles for lost yardage, forced three fumbles, and recovered one. He is ranked No. 97 overall by Prep Redzone. He has college programs looking at him, but to my knowledge is still looking for his first official offer.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1115716' first='Abram' last='Keim'],</strong> LB, 5'11”, 175, Nemaha Central, &nbsp;‘25</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Keim is well-deserving of his Shrine Bowl nomination. He recorded 166 tackles his senior season, giving him a two-year total of 306 for the Thunder. He averaged 12-plus tackles per game for the Class 2A State Runner-Up. Keim is ranked No. 137 overall by Prep Redzone and has offers from Bethany College and Sterling College.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='442662' first='Adam' last='Hageman'],</strong> LB, 5'10”, 180, Shawnee Mission Northwest, ‘25</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hageman is ranked No. 236 overall in the Kansas Class of 2025. He recorded 135 tackles in 11 games for the Cougars. He registered seven TFLs, two quarterback sacks, and five quarterback hurries. Hageman has multiple offers to play college football and to wrestle collegiately.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1115499' first='Carter' last='Wilmarth'],</strong> LB, 6'1”, 215, Wellsville, ‘25</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Wellsville's Wilmarth racked up 123 tackles in 11 games. He finished with 13 TFLs, two quarterback sacks, and two fumble recoveries for the Eagles. He is ranked No. 170 overall in the Kansas Class of 2025. He has an offer from Bethany College.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1223999' first='Roper' last='Whittley'],</strong> LB, 5'8”, 185, Labette County, ‘25</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Whittley had a solid defensive season for the Grizzlies. He recorded 119 tackles in 10 games. He finished with 13 TFLs and two interceptions. Whittley is ranked No. 401 overall by Prep Redzone.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1373022' first='Miles' last='Greenly'],</strong> LB, 6'2”, 210, Atchison, ‘25</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Greenly had a huge impact on the Phoenix defense.&nbsp; For the second year in a row, he recorded 104 tackles. He can disrupt the opposition's backfield as he registered back-to-back seasons with 20-plus TFLs. He is currently ranked No. 202 and has offers from William Penn and Bethany.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1213993' first='Harper' last='Engel'],</strong> DL, 6'4”, 250, Shawnee Mission Northwest, ‘25</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Engel is ranked No. 33 overall by Prep Redzone and has verbally committed to play at Northwest Missouri. He finished his senior season with 90 tackles in 11 games. Nineteen of his tackles resulted in lost yardage and he finished among the state leaders in quarterback sacks with seven.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='733447' first='Garrett' last='Pierce'],</strong> LB, 5'9”, 175, Basehor-Linwood, ‘25</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Pierce is a guy I have seen play quite a bit. He is a grinder and finished his senior season with 82 tackles in nine games. He recorded 4.5 sacks, 13.5 TFLs, and one interception during his senior campaign. He is ranked No. 217 overall by Prep Redzone and has an offer from the Bethany Swedes.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1302020' first='Kyler' last='Isbell'],</strong> DL/OL, 5'10”, 210, Humboldt, ‘25</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Humboldt's Isbell finished his senior season with 79 total tackles. He ended his prep career with an impressive total of 253 in 40 varsity games. Isbell recorded nine TFLs and recovered two fumbles. He is ranked No. 495 overall in the Kansas Class of 2025.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1331256' first='Howie' last='Rezac'],</strong> LB/TE, 6'4”, 215, St. Marys, ‘25</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>St. Marys linebacker Rezac finished his senior season with 72 tackles a huge increase from his junior campaign. He recorded 13 TFLs and two quarterback sacks. &nbsp;Rezac is ranked No. 210 and announced yesterday that he has received an offer from Butler Community College. He like the rest of the athletes on this list hopes to represent his school and community in the Shrine Bowl.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->