Three Raiders earn INA all-state honors
By Troy Hyde NDN Sports Writer
DES MOINES — Only two Class 2A teams have won more regular season games in the past three years than the Collins-Maxwell-Baxter football team.
With that accomplishment comes many individual rewards and Sunday three Raider football players were honored by the Iowa Newspaper Association.
Wide receiver Dylan Hansen was chosen to the first team, cornerback Ethan Schmidt was picked as a second teamer and Zach Leonard was selected to the third team as an offensive lineman.
“I am happy we got recognition,” CMB coach Rob Luther said. “We had others who were worthy, but we can’t stress enough what these three individuals did for our program.”
All three athletes are three-year starters and they combined to help send the Raiders to three playoff appearances and two co-district championships. CMB went 8-1 during regular season play the past two seasons but suffered substate playoff losses in those same seasons.
Hansen was a second team wide receiver last year but broke out this year on both sides of the ball. He caught 50 passes for 733 yards and scored eight TDs. He also had a rushing touchdown and recorded four interceptions on defense. Of those four picks on defense, Hansen returned two of them for scores.
“He really became a well-rounded player for us this year on both sides of the ball,” Luther said. “He leaves CMB with pretty much every WR record we have. He’s worked hard to make himself better.”
Schmidt earns a second-team honor for the second straight year. His stats are not eye-popping on defense but that is mainly because he doesn’t get thrown to. He had three interceptions and 37 tackles on defense but led the Raiders in rushing with 592 yards and 11 touchdowns. He also had 27 catches for 476 yards and four TDs.
“It’s hard to say if he deserves to be on first team because I have not seen everyone,” Luther said. “And I know there are a lot of good corners out there.
“What I do know is that he did a lot for us. We don’t have the season we have this year without what he did. He was much-improved on offense.”
The final all-stater is Leonard, who could have been selected for solid play last year but was left off the list. He is a three-year starter and the team’s best lineman the last two years. He is a big reason why the offense was so successful under Danny Samson last year and Parker Murphy this year.
“His commitment in the offseason was second to none,” Luther said of Leonard. “He is just as big of a reason we won a lot of games as anyone else.”
This group also helped CMB go undefeated at home during the regular season for the past four years. The only two schools to have more wins in Class 2A over the last three years is two-time defending champion Solon and North Fayette.
Solon’s James Morris, who guided the Spartans to three straight state titles, was the Class 2A Captain. He will play at the University of Iowa next fall.
Joining Hansen and Morris on the first team this year was West Marshall’s Drake Ferch, who was selected in the utility spot. Missouri Valley’s Nick Monzu was picked as a first-team linebacker as well.
Other District 7 all-staters included second-team defensive back Dalton Ferch of West Marshall, second-team linebacker Sam Upah of East Marshall, second-team lineman Colton Hill of North Polk, third-team defensive back Nick George of Bondurant-Farrar and third-team punter Zachary Antle of North Polk.
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