Five Bobcats, five Cossacks headline honor squad

Posted

The 2020 All-Register Football Team features five Bobcats, five Cossacks and a Hawk.

Ten of the 11 honorees earned All-State recognition.

The squad is made up of 10 seniors.

Brookings’ Josh Buri is the Player of the Year.

Sioux Valley’s Jaxton Schiller – the Class 11B Player of the Year – and Connor Logan are repeat honorees.

The ‘Cats went 11-1.

They earned the top seed in the Class 11AA Playoffs, beating No. 8 Spearfish 45-0 in the quarterfinals and No. 5 Huron 45-6 in the semis before falling 38-6 to Pierre in the DakotaDome.

The Cossacks ended up with a 9-2 record.

They dropped No. 13 Chamberlain 56-6 and No. 5 Elk Point-Jefferson 44-21.

Sioux Valley fell 28-14 at No. 1 and eventual champion Winner in the semifinals. The Warriors defeated Bridgewater-Emery/Ethan – the only other team to top Sioux Valley – 18-14 in the final.

Defending Class 9B champion Colman-Egan finished with a 6-3 mark.

The seventh-seeded Hawks beat Alcester-Hudson 40-32 on the road to open the postseason before falling 30-0 at No. 2 Herreid/Selby Area.

No nominations were received from Estelline/Hendricks.

Ashton Bultje – DL/WR

Sioux Valley

6-2, 190, Sr.

The linebacker racked up 95 tackles, including 23 solo.

“Ashton is a rare combination of physicality and speed,” said SV coach Dan Hughes. “He would routinely make stops against some of the best backs in S.D. between the tackles and his speed allowed him to cover slot receivers in the open field. A very sure tackler, Ashton was always around the ball making plays all over the field.”

Josh Buri – RB

Brookings

5-11, 201, Sr.

The Register Player of the Year averaged 11 yards per carry and 138 per game, scoring 30 total touchdowns – 28 rushing on 150 attempts.

Buri finished his high school career with 6,887 all-purpose yards, including 5,251 rushing on 505 attempts (10.4 average). He found the end zone 93 times – 80 on the ground.

Keegan Fields – RB/DB

Brookings

6-0, 171, Sr.

Fields emerged as one of the Bobcats’ top threats offensively after making the transition from the soccer field to the gridiron for his senior campaign.

Fields picked up 500 rushing yards on 51 attempts – 9.8 average – with three TDs. He added 13 receptions covering 319 yards with six scores.

Fields went 16-of-18 on PATs and 3-for-3 on field goals, totaling 79 points overall.

Fields logged 28 tackles defensively, picking off a pair of passes and defending a pair while adding two forced fumbles and one recovery.

“Keegan is quite a unique story,” said BHS coach Brady Clark. “In his first season playing varsity football, after having only a defensive role, he came in at running back in our fifth game of the season and never looked back.

“He has been a great compliment to what we do offensively and has the potential to make a big play whenever he touches the football running, receiving or even kicking!”

Wes Koenig – LB

Brookings

5-9, 220, Sr.

Koenig was a key piece of a stout Bobcat defense, which allowed just 11.33 points per game.

He finished with 60 tackles, including 17 for loss (three sacks), with seven QB hurries and a scoop-and-score.

“Wes is the leader of our defense and is a load to handle at the linebacker position,” said Clark. “He has a natural instinct in finding the football and when he tackles someone, well, let’s just say he makes his presence known.

“He works extremely hard to prepare day in and day out and his success on the field is proof of that.”

Jackson Krogman – WR/S

Brookings

6-3, 173, Sr.

Krogman was a force in the secondary.

He ended up with 42 tackles (26 solo) and picked off four passes while forcing a fumble.

“Jackson is a safety that can truly do it all,” said Clark. “He is one of our leaders on the defense, as well.

“Jackson has the ability to bait quarterbacks into bad situations with the football, but even more impressive is his ability to fly around the field and make huge plays in the run game.”

Connor Logan – DL/RB

Sioux Valley

5-11, 240, Sr.

The repeat selection had another big year on the defensive line, picking up 73 tackles (19 solo) with eight sacks.

“He is one of the fastest defensive linemen in South Dakota, making him an outstanding pass-rusher and edge defender.”

The two-time All-State pick is the Cossacks’ career leader in sacks.

Parker Puetz – QB/LB

Sioux Valley

6-3, 205, Jr.

He was 58-of-93 for 1,085 yards with 15 touchdowns through the air.

Puetz added 324 rushing yards with eight end zone visits.

He logged 68 tackles (21 solo) on defense.

“Parker is a very athletic and intelligent quarterback whose ability to run, throw and distribute the ball made the Cossacks all but unstoppable on offense, averaging over 350 yards and 30 points per game,” said Hughes. “Parker set the school record for touchdown passes, which is impressive because during his career Sioux Valley has rushed for over 650 yards.

“As well as excelling on offense, Parker has been among the best players in the Big East on defense, totaling 68 tackles.

“Parker’s 19 wins as a starting quarterback are also among the best in Sioux Valley history.”

Puetz has 37 career TDs tosses, throwing for 2,816 yards (third in school history).

Jaxton Schiller – RB/WR/DB

Sioux Valley

6-2, 190, Sr.

Schiller was a monster for the Cossacks, earning a spot on the All-Register team for a second consecutive year.

He ran 113 times for 1,053 yards – 9.3 average – and 11 scores.

Schiller added 40 receptions for 711 yards with nine touchdowns.

He also picked up 355 yards in the return game, adding a pair of TDs.

On defense, Schiller totaled 59 tackles (27 solo) and a pick.

“No player in our area has scored more touchdowns, caught more passes and had a greater impact on the game than Jaxton Schiller – offensively, defensively or in special teams,” said Hughes. “In addition to his incredible offensive stats, Jaxton did not take a break when the Cossacks were on defense. He was on the field recording 59 tackles this season and shutting down the best receivers in the Big East.

“He is, without a doubt, the best player in this region. He lines up in different positions and scores routinely against the very best competition in South Dakota yet still takes the field on defense and plays sideline to sideline; there is no one else that can make this claim.

“Also, there is no one else in South Dakota that has rushed for over 1,000 yards while also having 40 receptions – he is the only one, and he accomplished this with 27 solo tackles on defense and two return touchdowns on special teams.”

Schiller is Sioux Valley’s career leader in receiving yards (1,733) and scoring (57 touchdowns). He ran for 2,174 yards.

Parker Theobald – OL/DL

Brookings

6-2, 248, Sr.

The transfer was impactful in his lone season as a Bobcat.

Theobald logged 63 tackles, including 24 for loss with 8 1/2 sacks. He had 19 quarterback hurries and forced three fumbles with one recovery.

He played right guard on a line that helped the Bobcats total 4,357 yards of offense (3,355 rushing).

“Parker has the ability to shut down an entire side of the line of scrimmage,” said Clark. “He plays very aggressive, intelligent and relentless football and is always wreaking havoc in the opponent’s backfield.

“He is very coachable and has a motor that never quits, which is essential when playing the defensive end position effectively.”

Kashas VanderWal – OL/DL

Sioux Valley

6-3, 280, Sr.

“Kashas is a three-year starter and very intelligent player who made many of the line calls that allowed Sioux Valley to gain over 4,500 yards this season,” said Hughes. “He has great feet and athleticism, which allowed him to solo block some of the best defensive linemen in South Dakota. His ability to recognize defenses and adjust pass protections kept the QB clean and allowed the Cossacks to complete 63% of their passes this season.”

Ryan Voelker – QB/LB

Colman-Egan

6-1, 193, Sr.

The All-Dakota Valley Conference performer had a solid year in all phases for the Hawks.

Voelker ran 155 times for 1,223 yards and 12 touchdowns – he had 335 yards on 27 carries in the first round of the playoffs.

He also went 41-of-89 for 527 yards with a pair of TDs through the air.

A three-year starter on defense, Voelker logged 47 tackles, two interceptions, two fumble recoveries and two forced fumbles in 2020.

“Ryan is a very versatile player who played multiple positions during his career and excelled at all of them,” said CE coach Chad Williamson. “He is very explosive and could make a game changing play at any time.”