Eleven Raiders earn all-district recognition

The Collins-Maxwell/Baxter football team had high expectations coming into the 2016 season.

Too many turnovers and penalties forced the Raiders to get off to a slow start, and CMB never fully recovered. The Raiders lost their first three games before winning four of their final contests to rally for a third-place district finish.

The Class 2A District 3 finish helped CMB place six players on the all-district first team. Three other players earned second-team honors and two more were honorable mention selections.

Leading the way for the Raiders in 2016 was senior Blake Coughenour, who rushed for 1,240 yards and 15 touchdowns.

Coughenour earned first-team honors as a running back but also played a big role in the passing game with 25 catches for 406 yards and three TDs.

Paving the way for Coughenour and the Raiders offense were offensive linemen Will Clapper, Archer McFadden, Jason Hillgren and Toren Schultheis.

That foursome helped the Raiders rush for 1,643 yards this season.

All four players earned all-district recognition. Clapper was a first-team offensive linemen, while McFadden earned first-team honors on the defensive line and Hillgren was a first-team linebacker. Schultheis earned honors on the second team as an offensive linemen.

The rest of the first-team honorees included tight end Brady Kemp and Hunter McWhirter, who made the squad as a utility player.

Joining Schultheis on the second team were wide receiver Tucker Maxwell and defensive back Ben Gunderson.

The honorable mention players were juniors Braydon Aker and Travis Lindemoen.

Eleven Raiders earned academic all-district honors. That list included Maxwell, Coughenour, Gunderson, Kemp, Schultheis, Aker, and seniors Creighton Caple, Jack Cheville, Zach Schafer, Caleb Van Zante and Micah Bundy.

Clapper was one of just two sophomores on the all-district first team. He had 19.5 tackles, seven tackles for loss and four sacks as a defensive lineman.

Kemp, Maxwell and Lindemoen were all pivotal in the passing game.

Kemp had 39 catches, 359 yards and a touchdown, Maxwell hauled in 30 catches for 373 yards and five TDs and Lindemoen hauled in 21 catches for 231 yards and a touchdown.

The Raiders used two quarterbacks all season long. McWhirter and Aker shared time under center.

McWhirter, a senior, finished with 718 passing yards and five TDs and also rushed for 159 yards.

Aker, a junior, threw for 746 yards and seven touchdowns while also rushing for 175 yards and two scores.

McFadden, a senior who earned all-state honors last year, had 17.5 tackles, six tackles for loss and three sacks on defense, while Hillgren, a senior, led the defense with 52.5 tackles, 11 tackles for loss and four sacks.

Schultheis, another senior who plays both ways, finished with 17 tackles, three tackles for loss and two fumble recoveries on defense.

Gunderson, a senior, was third on the team in tackles with 39 and he also tallied a fumble recovery and an interception.

District champion Dike-New Hartford finished its season in the UNI-Dome with a 2A semifinal loss to Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley.

The Wolverines finished 7-0 in league play and 9-3 overall. Roland-Story was 6-1 in league play and 8-2 overall.

Prairie City-Monroe eliminated the Norse in the playoffs before Dike-New Hartford ousted PCM one round later.

CMB finished 4-5 overall and 4-3 in district play for a third-place finish.

West Marshall, Saydel and Aplington-Parkersburg all finished 3-4, while South Hardin went 2-5 and East Marshall was 0-7.