Best In The West: Shrine Bowl Nominated Defenders

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Yesterday, I submitted my ballot for the 52^nd Annual Kansas Shrine Bowl scheduled to be played in Dodge City on June 21, 2025.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>That task provided me with the inspiration for my next two reports on top tacklers in Kansas to base them on class and geography.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here is a look at 10 prospects from Western Kansas. Each of these athletes was nominated to participate in the Shrine Bowl for the West 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This is not an all-inclusive list as some programs do not publish stats publicly and not all athletes nominated for the Shrine Bowl submitted stats.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 who I included 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 for a report on nominated defenders for the Eastern squad.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1317790' first='Preston' last='Hagel'],</strong> LB, 6'1”, 205, Goddard, ‘25</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Goddard's Hagel is ranked No. 392 by Prep Redzone. He finished his senior season with 122 tackles in nine games. He also recorded an eye-popping number of 25 tackles for lost yardage.  Hagel has an offer from Southwestern College.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1453240' first='Dane' last='Cleveland'],</strong> LB/OL, 6'2”, 190, Concordia, &nbsp;‘25</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cleveland finished with an impressive tackle total of 121 in nine games for the Panthers. Seven of his tackles were for lost yardage. Cleveland is ranked No. 578 in the Kansas Class of 2025.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1228469' first='Steel' last='Schomaker'],</strong> DB, 6'3”, 200, Valley Center, ‘25</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Schomaker recorded 114 tackles in 10 games for the Hornets. He has solid hands creating eight pass deflections and grabbing one interception. He is currently ranked No. 45 by Prep Redzone. He has received multiple offers including offers from Missouri Southern and Augustana.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1552960' first='Wayman' last='Kidd'],</strong> DL, 6'3”, 204, Wichita West, ‘25</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kidd is ranked No. 588 overall but is expected to move up the rankings as he has been collecting college offers. He finished with 109 tackles which is a noticeable total for a defensive lineman. Twenty-two of his tackles resulted in lost yardage. Kidd has offers from McPherson and Sterling colleges.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1453238' first='Mason' last='Jackson'],</strong> LB, 6'0”, 240, Oakley, ‘25</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Oakley prospect finished 106 total tackles for the Plainsmen. He averaged one TFL per game in nine games played. He is ranked No. 576 overall in the Kansas Class of 2025.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1228492' first='Colby' last='Altevogt'],</strong> LB, 5'10”, 185, Manhattan, ‘25</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Altevogt played a key role in the Class 6A State Runner-Up Indians defense. He recorded 105 tackles in 13 games. He forced five fumbles and recovered one during his senior campaign. Altevogt is ranked No. 311 overall by Prep Redzone.  He is being recruited hot and heavy by MidAmerica Nazarene.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1292912' first='Jorge' last='Cerceres'],</strong> DL, 6'3”, 210, Lyons, ‘25</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cereceres would be a household name if he played in Wichita or Kansas City. He is ranked No. 189 overall by Prep Redzone and finished his senior season with 104 tackles in nine games. He wreaked havoc in the backfield registering 21 TFLs and five forced fumbles. The Lyons prospect has multiple offers from Culver Stockton.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='866510' first='Karter' last='Gonzalez'],</strong> LB, 5'10”, 210, Hesston, ‘25</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hesston's Gonzalez is ranked No. 107 overall in the Class of 2025. He collected 103 tackles in 10 games. He also had an impact on the Swather offense rushing for 1,1777 yards and 24 touchdowns.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='716076' first='Carter' last='Morgan'],</strong> LB, 5'11”, 170, Hutchinson, ‘25</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Morgan finished his senior campaign with 95 tackles in 11 games. His defensive numbers also included five interceptions and eight pass deflections. He is ranked No. 336 by Prep Redzone Kansas.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='390291' first='Colter' last='Oldham'],</strong> LB, 6'1”, 210, Lakin, ‘25</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Oldham is ranked No. 52 overall in the Kansas Class of 2025. He finished his senior season with 94 tackles in nine games. He also rushed for over 1,000 yards for Lakin. He is a multi-sport prospect who also competes in basketball and track and field. He has an offer from Southwestern College and like the rest of the athletes on this list hopes to get to represent his school and community in the Shrine Bowl.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->