Mabel-Canton (8-0, 11-1) claimed the South-East football title over Spring Grove (6-2, 8-3), Kingsland (6-2, 6-3), Alden-Conger/Glenville-Emmons (5-3, 6-4), Houston (5-3, 5-4), LeRoy-Ostrander/Lyle/Pacelli (4-4, 5-5), Wabasha-Kellogg (3-5, 4-6), Grand Meadow (2-6, 2-7), Lanesboro (1-7, 1-8), and Faribault Bethlehem Academy (0-8, 1-8). The Cougars get a league high five All-District picks to headline the group. Seniors Isaac Underbakke (QB/DB), Kale Tollefsrud (RB/DB), Milton Hutchinson (OL/DL), Kenny Hutchinson (OL/DL), and Darian Hershberger (OL/LB/P) are honored. Tollefsrud shared the sub-district’s Back of the Year award with Kingsland’s Kaaleem Reiland. Underbakke shared the Defensive Player of the Year Award with L-O/L/P’s Carson Roe. Tollefsrud was arguably the league’s most explosive weapon, as he amassed over 1,700 yards total offense and 28 offensive TDs (168-1131, 20 TDs rushing; 31-582, 8 TDs receiving). He was both M-C’s leading rusher and receiver, plus tackler (131) while intercepting four passes. Tollefsrud repeated as A-D. Underbakke accounted for almost 1,700 yards total offense with 29 combined rushing and passing TDs (122-721, 13 TDs rushing; 61 of 99, 977 yards, 16 TDs, 5 INTs passing). Underbakke was also the team’s second leading tackler (126 total) but he had nine interceptions including a pick-six. It was his third All-District nod. The Hutchinsons and Hershberger were key to M-C’s offensive and defensive lines. They helped block for an M-C offense that rushed for 3,272 yards (or 272-plus per game). M-Hutchinson was a major defensive disrupter in the trenches with a team third-best 105 total tackles. Hershberger also caught 11 passes for 125 yards and 5 TDs). Making All-District honorable mention for M-C are Kale Eiken (Jr. RB/LB > 156-890 yards, 9 TDs rushing; 13-173, TD receiving; 99 total tackles) and Brevyn Tollefsrud (So. RB/LB > 40-338, 2 TDs rushing; 6-97, 2 TDs receiving; 92 total tackles). All seven guys went both ways as the Cougars captured their first sub-district slash conference title in decades while making state for the first time since 1981 in a truly special season. Coach Paul Tollefsrud was named the sub-district Coach of the Year. Sub-district and section runner-up Spring Grove gets five A-D selections in Ricardo Reynolds (6’2” 225 Sr. WR/RB/DB/LB/P), Tysen Moen (6’2” 305 Sr. OL/DL), Caden Gerard (6’0” 185 Jr. WR/DB), Devon Williams (6’3” 225 Sr. TE/OL/DL) and Dylan Halverson (6’1” 150 Jr. QB/DB). Reynolds was the sub-district’s leading kick scorer with 7 points and leading punter, averaging 37.0 yards during league play. He led the Lion scorers with 108 points and had 1,119 yards of all-purpose running, including 678 rushing yards (6.3 YPC, 12 TDs, 9 PATs), 154 receiving yards (TD) and 263 kick returning. He defended with a team-best three forced fumbles, second-most 85 tackles, second-best four sacks, second-most 13 TFLs and second-best three interceptions. Moen, who was A-D HM the previous season, again anchored the Lion line on both offense and defense. Gerard broke the program single-season record with eight defensive interceptions. He was the leading punt returner (10.3 avg.) and the team’s go-to deep receiver, their leading receiver (27-504, 6 TDs) while scoring the third-most 36 points. Williams had 52 tackles, including eight for loss. He was the second-leading receiver with 230 yards, 2 TDs. Halverson had 1,901 yards of total offense (1,166 yards, 13 TDs passing; team-best 735 yards, 10 TDs rushing) while scoring a second-most 64 points. A-D HM Lions were Noah Heppner (6’3” 225 Sr. TE/OL/DL > team-best 25 TFLs, including team-most nine sacks) and Sam Klug (5’11” 155 Jr. LB/WR > team-best 95 tackles, including a team-best 52 solo tackles). Sub-district contender Kingsland gets three A-D selections in Kaaleem Reiland (5’8” 195 Sr. QB/CB/WR/P), KD Reiland (5’8” 185 Jr. TE/LB), and Carter Strobel (5’8” 190 Sr. C/LB). Kaaleem R. is the sub-district Back of the Year with M-C’s Kale Tollefsrud. The older Reiland brother had his season cut short by an elbow injury. In six games and less than a quarter, Reiland nearly reached 1,000 yards rushing and he totaled 17 total TDs, mostly on the ground (107-991 yards, 14 TDs rushing, 9.9 per carry average; 31 of 59, 377 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT passing). He ran for over 100 yards in every full game played while adding a trio on interceptions defensively. The Minnesota-Duluth signee quarterbacked the Knights for three-plus years including to a pair of section title games and a state berth in 2023. Younger brother KD did a little bit of everything on offense, from blocking to rushing, given the Knights’ injuries (35-233, 3 TDs rushing; 15-153 receiving). He led the team in tackles with 65 and sacks with three. Strobel was a key offensive lineman and the team’s third leading tackler with 44. Earning A-D HM for the Knights are Bently Wiersma (5’10” 180 Jr. RB/LB > 77-521 yards, 4 TDs rushing; 7-61, TD receiving; team second-best 53 tackles) and Michael Johnson (5’10” 180 Sr. WR/CB > 14-246, 3 TDs receiving; 42 tackles). Making A-D for Houston, which also battled injuries, are Axel Vix (6’0” 260 Sr. RB/TE/LB/P), Logan Kinstler (6’1” 240 Sr. LB/DE/OL), Lee Klunder (5’10” 180 Jr. RB/DB), and Grayden Beckman (5’10” 200 Sr. TE/LB). Vix and Kinstler each repeated. Kinstler was the South-East ‘Lineman of the Year’ in helping the Hurricanes field one of the top running games in the section. The senior also notably tallied eight sacks defensively. Vix was Houston’s “cheese piece,” moved around everywhere, from QB to RB to WR to linebacker, punter, and punt returner (due to injuries and his versatility). He ran for 433 yards and caught another 240 yards worth of passes while totaling 8 TDs. Klunder led the team with 970 yards rushing on 102 carries with 12 TDs. He missed multiple games to injury and without him Houston was less explosive. Beckman led the team in tackles while playing a key role as a blocking tight end. Hector Steinfeldt (5’10” 165 Jr. QB/DB > 22 of 52, 467 yards, 6 TDs, 7 INT passing; three defensive interceptions) and Elliot Frauenkron (6’1” 180 Jr. RB/DL > 249 yards rushing, 134 yards receiving, 2 TDs; four sacks) made A-D HM. LeRoy-Ostrander/Lyle/Pacelli gets three All-District picks, all newbies; Reid Hungerholt (6’2” 165 Jr. QB/S), Carson Roe (5’10” 185 Sr. RB/LB), and Talan Lewison (5’11” 155 Sr. WR/LB). Roe shared the sub-district Defensive Player of the Year Award with M-C’s Underbakke. The senior was maybe the sub-district’s top linebacker, leading his team with 121 tackles including 17 for loss with 10 ½ sacks. He added almost 600 yards in offensive yardage (109-412, 7 TDs rushing; 19-180, 2 TDs receiving). Hungerholt rushed for over 1,000 yards and threw for over 1,800 yards while accumulating 32 total offensive touchdowns (126 of 270, 1,857 yards, 23 TDs, 11 INTs passing; 202-1,187, 9 TDs rushing). Defensively, he notably had three interceptions including a pick-six. Lewison was the squad’s top receiver across the board (54-879, 8 TDs receiving; 7-85, 2 TDs rushing). He also had a team third-best 71 total tackles plus a pick-six. Making A-D HM for L-O/L/P are Logan Diemer (6’0” 200 Sr. TE/DE > team second-best 77 total tackles; 16-285, 7 TDs receiving) and Hunter Wollenberg (6’3” Jr. WR/DE > 29-455, 6 TDs receiving; 46 total tackles). Grand Meadow gets just one A-D selection in Carter Glynn (6’3” 185 Sr. QB/DB). He ran for 901 yards while accounting for 11 total TDs (7 rushing, 4 passing) with 69 total tackles. It was Glynn’s only year of varsity football, as he previously ran cross country. Making A-D HM for the Larks are Logan Grafe (6’5” 215 Jr. TE/DE > 6-148, TD receiving; 77 total tackles including four sacks) and Marshall Bleifus (5’10” 260 Jr. C/DL > starting center; 44 total tackles). Lanesboro’s sole A-D pick is Mason Gilbertson (Sr. QB/LB). He rushed for 476 yards on 129 carries with 8 TDS while also throwing for 364 yards and three more scores. Defensively, Gilbertson had 62 tackles and three interceptions. David Harvey (Sr. RB/LB > 85-309, 3 TDs rushing; 56 tackles including three sacks) and Henry Semmen (So. TE/DE > 47 tackles, 4.5 sacks) made A-D HM. Other purely South-East All-District picks were A-C/G-E’s Darin Linn (Sr. RB/LB), a three-year pick, Logan Williams (Sr. C/DT), Jacob Dulitz (Jr. QB/DE), and Kaiden Farris (Jr. WR/CB), Wabasha-Kellogg’s Bryar Ender (Jr. TE/DE/P) and Gavyn Castagnaro (Sr. RB/DE), and Faribault B.A.’s Hayden Dillon (Jr. WR/LB).
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