Area athletes earn all-state recognition

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The 2021 All-State football teams were recently announced, with 11 area athletes  being named to teams in Class 11AA, 11A, and 9A.

Brookings had five members named to the Class 11AA team: Jaxton Eck, Hunter Gray, Lincoln Hardin, Brock Longville, and Payton Theodosopoulos.

Sioux Valley had four players selected in Class 11B: Carson Christopherson, Damian Danzeisen, Layson Lucas, and Parker Puetz.

Also in Class 11B, Flandreau’s Tash Lunday received recognition, and in  Class 9A, Oldham-Ramona/Rutland’s Will Matson was selected.

The annual All-State selections are finalized during the football championships and announced around the Thanksgiving holiday.

Carson Christopherson, Senior

Sioux Valley

11A Linebacker

With a nose for finding the ball-carrier, Christopherson recorded 129 tackles and three interceptions in his senior season at Sioux Valley. He also had 19 receptions for 382 yards and four touchdowns as a tight end on the Cossacks’ offensive side of the ball.

He registered a school record 369 tackles in his career wearing navy and gold, earning him Big East All-Conference honors before being selected to the All-State squad.

Head coach Dan Hughes on Christopherson: “Carson Christopherson is the most prolific tackler in Sioux Valley history.  His intelligent, hard-nosed style led him to the football on nearly every play. Carson’s outstanding character and humble attitude made him an outstanding teammate. On offense he was an outstanding blocker with great hands.”

Damian Danzeisen, Senior

Sioux Valley

11A Wide Receiver

A player who both catch and run the ball, Danzeisen posted 2021 season totals of 21 receptions for 610 yards and six touchdowns, 383 yards rushing with three touchdowns, and as the Cossacks’ primary kick-returner averaged over 18 yards per return including one touchdown.

In his career he scored fifteen touchdowns, logging 968 yards on 32 receptions.

Danzeisen was named to the 2021 Big East All-Conference team before his selection to the Class 11B All-State team.

Head coach Dan Hughes on Danzeisen: “Damian is one of the most dynamic players in South Dakota. During his senior year teams would routinely avoid him by kicking out of bounds and throwing away from his side.  Damian was very explosive on offense averaging 14.8 yards each time he touched the ball.”

Jaxton Eck, Junior

Brookings

11AA Honorable Mention

The junior linebacker registered 65 tackles on the season including 13 for loss, five sacks, an interception (which was returned for a touchdown), one forced fumble, two fumble recoveries, and 13 quarterback hurries.

Eck was named to the ESD All-Conference team in 2021 before his selection as honorable mention for All-State this season.

Head coach Brady Clark said of Eck: “Jaxton has an incredible football IQ. He is the captain and leader of the Bobcats defense because of his high intelligence, coachability, and non-stop motor. He is a very dependable player who has an instinct for football you can’t coach.  He is one of the best linebackers in the state and has earned every bit of success he has had.”

Hunter Gray, Senior

Brookings

11AA Running Back

Gray earned ESD All-Conference in 2021 as the senior played on both sides of the ball.

He posted offensive totals of 803 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns, averaging nine yards per carry, and caught 28 passes for 270 yards with four touchdowns.

Gray accumulated 1,715 all-purpose yards in his varsity career of 20 games with 19 total touchdowns.

Head coach Brady Clark said “I would count Hunter as one of the most talented and dedicated players I’ve coached. I was immediately impressed by his work ethic, eagerness to learn, and the amount of preparation he has put in to be the best football player possible.  Hunter brings about a dynamic skill set that is difficult to come by. The tandem of his skill set simply has that X-Factor that you can look to when you need a play to be made.”

Lincoln Hardin, Senior

Brookings

11AA Defensive Back

Hardin earned 11AA All-State honors as a defensive back after logging four interceptions, 24 tackles (12 solo), one fumble recovery, and seven passes defensed for the Bobcats.

He has six career interceptions, 56 tackles (27 solo), and 13 passes defensed.

Head coach Brady Clark said of Hardin: “Lincoln has incredible range and instincts. He plays free safety like a centerfielder and directs coverage adjustments in the secondary. Lincoln allows us to do so much more on defense because of his ability to cover the field.  He did a great job of aligning himself and eliminating the big play.”

Brock Longville, Senior

Brookings

11AA Offensive Line

Longville anchored the Brookings offensive line over the past two seasons when the Bobcats amassed 5,515 rushing yards and 76 touchdowns, as well as 1,937 yards through the air with 24 touchdowns. In 2021, Brookings averaged 217.8 yards rushing per game.

He was named to the ESD All-Conference team in both 2020 and 2021 before earning All-State honors this season.

Head coach Brady Clark said of Longville: “Brock is an anchor of both the O-Line and D-Line, constantly playing in  opposing teams backfields putting pressure on the QB or causing havoc in the run game. He was one of our leaders on the offensive and defensive line and is a big reason we were successful this season.”

Layson Lucas, Senior

Sioux Valley

11A Offensive Line

A stallwart on the Cossacks’ offensive and defensive lines, Lucas helped lead the way for a Sioux Valley team that racked up 3,826 yards of offense in 2021 and averaged 35 points per game.

A durable, three-year starter, Lucas is a two-time Big East All-Conference selection as well as receiving All-State lineman recognition this season.

Head coach Dan Hughes on Lucas: “Layson Lucas anchored a Sioux Valley offensive line that paved the way for 3826 yards & 352 points scored in 2021. When the Cossacks needed yards, they ran behind Layson.  He was a three-year starter on the line who never missed any games starting in 31 consecutive contests.”

Tash Lunday, Senior

Flandreau

11A Honorable Mention

Lunday secured All-State honorable mention after a 2021 season which included 21 receptions for 226 yards and five touchdowns on offense, 49 tackles (including 14 for loss) with seven sacks and four fumble recoveries on defense, and averaged 37.5 yards per punt.

He is a three-time Big East All-Conference selection after again being selected in 2021, and a two-time 11A All-State selection, both times an honorable mention.

Lunday is also the career sacks lead for the Fliers.

Head coach Derek Genzlinger said of Lunday: “Tash has been our best player for the last three years and is a great leader for us. Our players look up to him, and when we need a big play, he was our go to guy. He is an extremely high character young man who excels at all he does.”

Will Matson, Senior

Oldham-Ramona/Rutland

9A Defensive Back

Matson played in seven games for the Raiders in 2021 as the quarterback, rushing for 461 yards and nine touchdowns and throwing for 619 yards with 10 scores.

A three-year starter and letter winner, Matson posted career totals of 1,474 yards rushing with 20 touchdowns, and completed 53 percent of his passes for 2,507 yards and 27 touchdowns, a total of just under 4,000 yards of offense.

Defensively, Matson had 55 tackles (five for loss), one sack, one interception, and one forced fumble in 2021, and registered 217 tackles in his career.

An honorable mention DVC All-Conference selection in 2019, Matson was selected to the DVC All-Conference team in 2020 and 2021. He was also an honorable mention for All-State as both a sophomore and junior before being selected as a Class 9A All-State defensive back this season.

Head coach Logan DeRungs said of Matson: “I will really miss coaching Will, he is the type of kid everyone wants on their team. He works hard, accepts coaching, and pushes his teammates to be better. We loved having Will as our quarterback the past few seasons. He is a tough, hard-nosed player.”

Parker Puetz, Senior

Sioux Valley

11A Quarterback

Puetz completed 61 percent of his passes for 1,776 yards and a school record 17 touchdowns, and ran for 839 yards with 13 touchdowns this season. He also had 75 tackles defensively with an interception as a linebacker for the Cossacks.

His career totals are eye-popping, passing for 4,592 yards with a school record 54 touchdowns, and adding 1,474 yards on the ground with 33 touchdowns.

Puetz was twice selected to the Big East All-Conference team and as a junior was the Class 11B All-State quarterback selection, an award he repeated this season. He was also named Register Player of the Year.

Head coach Dan Hughes said of Puetz: “Parker is one of the top Quarterbacks in 11B history racking up 4,592 yards passing, 1,474 yards rushing, and 88 touchdowns in his 4-year career at Sioux Valley.  He put up these impressive stats while playing two-ways, starting at LB for the Cossacks three of his four years.  During this time, he had 227 tackles and one pick-six.  He is one of only a handful of players in South Dakota high school football history to have over 4,000 yds passing, 1,000 yds rushing, and over 80 touchdowns.”

Payton Theodosopoulos, Senior

Brookings

11AA Special Teams

A three-time ESD All-Conference selection, Theodosopoulos was selected to his second All-State team in 2021 as the Bobcats’ primary place-kicker.

The senior played in ten games, made 22 of 23 extra points, three of seven field goals with a long of 46 yards, posted eight touchbacks, while also patrolling the Brookings secondary on defense.

For his career, Theodosopoulos made 56 of 65 extra points, six of 15 field goals, and scored a total of 74 points.

Brookings special teams coach Austin Koenig said of Theodosopoulos: “Payton is a player who has demonstrated what it means to be a consistent and strong kicker. Every game Payton kicks for us, our kickoff game has been strong and consistent, and we are very confident in his ability to kick long field goals. Payton has shown just how important a strong kicker can be both in getting a tough three points, consistency on extra points, or giving our defense good field position following kickoffs.”