All-State Teams: Iowa Class 2A Defense

With the <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/11/prep-redzone-iowa-2025-mr-football-elite-all-state/">Elite All-State Team</a> taken care of, we'll spend the month of December handing out Class All-State awards. Now, we move to the offensive side of the ball in 2A.   In writing these articles, we want to cast a wider net, expanding on the names that have already been established as the best of the best across classes, so we won't repeat names that were already listed on the Elite Team.   DEFENSIVE LINE   [player_tooltip player_id='1283377' first='Lucas' last='Diehl'], JR, Kuemper Catholic   A monster all season and in the state championship game, the 2A leader in sacks who finished second in all classes with 14, Diehl is yet another gargantuan human being in the trenches for Kuemper. Standing at 6-foot-2 and 267 pounds, Diehl was all over the Van Meter defense in the state title. He finished the game with 7.5 tackles, including three sacks to push him to the top in 2A.   [player_tooltip player_id='1924004' first='Eaghan' last='Fleshman'], SO, Alburnett   Another underclassmen all-star for Alburnett, Fleshman is the <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/12/all-state-teams-iowa-class-2a-offense/">second all-stater in 2A</a> for the Pirates this season. No. 1 in 2A in tackles-for-loss (TFLs) with 26.5, Fleshman finished fifth in all classes with that number, as well. A prospect that doubles as an offensive lineman for Alburnett, playing right tackle, Fleshman plays with violence and heavy hands on the front of the Pirate offensive and defensive fronts. He added eight sacks defensively this season.   Keegan Fenton, SR, PCM   The top sack-getter in 2A that's not from Kuemper, Keegan Fenton finished the season with nine sacks of opposing QBs. Finishing with 61 total tackles and 18 TFLs, Fenton was a beast on the defensive front for PCM, who had one of the better OL and DL combos to not make it to the UNI-Dome.   [player_tooltip player_id='1241501' first='Gatlin' last='Rogers'], SR, Wilton   A key fixture in Wilton's magical second-half of the season and run to Cedar Falls, [player_tooltip player_id='1241501' first='Gatlin' last='Rogers'] was another DL that racked up massive stats for the Beavers. At 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, Rogers was fierce off the edge for Wilton, using his strength and length to create separation between he and offensive linemen to get to the ball-carrier. He finished the season with 70.5 tackles, including 23 TFLs and eight sacks.   LINEBACKER   [player_tooltip player_id='1907960' first='Jacob' last='Langley'], SR, Tipton   Tops in 2A and the only player to surpass 100 tackles this season, Langley finished the season with 103 tackles, including 13 TFLs and 3.5 sacks. He did all of that in just eight games, to boot, averaging just under 13 tackles per game. Tipton finished the season with just one win in 2025, but Langley was a major bright spot for the Tigers.   [player_tooltip player_id='1354767' first='Tate' last='Doggett'], SR, Van Meter   One of the leaders that turned Van Meter's season from a disappointing, 3-2 start to a state title appearance. A tenacious linebacker that sought out tackles like his life depended on it, Doggett finished the season with 81.5 tackles and eight TFLs.   [player_tooltip player_id='1241503' first='Brock' last='Trees'], SR, Osage   No. 2 in the class in tackles with 98.5, Trees was a name that just came up time after time in Osage's semifinal matchup with Van Meter. Impacting the game on both sides of the ball, Trees played running back and linebacker this fall for the Green Devils, somehow managing his fitness enough to put together nearly triple-digit tackles, including 10 TFLs.   DEFENSIVE BACK   [player_tooltip player_id='1221948' first='Jaxon' last='Paulsrud'], SR, Cherokee Washington   Making up for the 2A leader in rushing touchdowns not making an offensive all-state team (he scored 30 times on the ground and passed for eight scores as Cherokee's quarterback, by the way), Paulsrud completely earned a spot for his defensive performance, as well. The workhorse for the Braves on both sides of the ball, Paulsrud finished the season with 96.5 tackles and 12.5 TFLs, nearly single-handedly leading Cherokee to the UNI-Dome.   [player_tooltip player_id='1900035' first='Chase' last='Wagaman'], SR, PCM   Despite all the talent that made its way to Cedar Falls for the state semis and championships, PCM shows up once again as a program that put together quite a bit of talent and production this fall. Wagaman finished the year as the 2A leader in interceptions (including one pick-six), tying for fourth in all classes with eight. Add in his seven pass-breakups (PBUs) and Wagaman was one of the better DBs in all classes.   [player_tooltip player_id='2078446' first='Dylan' last='Schon'], JR, Kuemper Catholic   Teammates of the Elite Team DB, [player_tooltip player_id='850243' first='Brayton' last='Alford'], Schon earned some recognition as well on Kuemper's way to a state championship this fall. In fact, the junior had the same amount of interceptions as Alford, finishing with six this season. With the top three sack leaders in 2A coming from Kuemper, the defensive backfield took full advantage of the pressure their DL generated on quarterbacks.   [player_tooltip player_id='2005674' first='Gavin' last='Steenhoek'], SR, PCM   Did I mention PCM did a lot in just 11 games this season? Another reason for the one-loss regular season and coming up just short of the Dome was the play of fellow Mustang DB, Steenhoek. The duo of he and Wagaman were incredibly disruptive to opposing offenses this season, combining for 15 interceptions and 15 PBUs. Of course, Steenhoek finished with seven picks and eight PBUs, one-upping his teammate in the pick-six department with two on the year.

With the Elite All-State Team taken care of, we'll spend the month of December handing out Class All-State awards. Now, we move to the offensive side of the ball in 2A.