Baxter trio headlines Bolts on all-district football squad

Senior Eli Dee led the district in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns this past season and senior Stadan Vansice ranked second in the league in total tackles.

Cody Spurgeon, a third senior, was part of a Baxter offensive line that helped the Bolts lead the district in passing yards and rank fourth in both rushing yards and touchdowns while finishing third in total yards.

All three Bolts were named to the first team in Class 8-man District 7 recently. Dee and Vansice were unanimous selections.

All-district recognition is based on statistics inside district play only.

Joining Dee, Vansice and Spurgeon on the all-district team from Baxter were seniors Trevor Hamilton and Ruger Kincaid and sophomores Hayden Burdess and Colten Damman on the second team and freshmen Miles McCord and Cooper Smith as the honorable mention choices.

Senior Cael Wishman earned a Golden Award, which goes to players who would have been all-district had it not been for an injury.

The Bolts finished 3-5 overall and 2-4 in the district and missed the postseason in Zach Hasselbrink’s first season as head coach.

The three playoff teams were Southeast Warren, Montezuma and Wayne, who all finished 5-1 in district play.

Dee earned all-district honors as a wide receiver after leading the district with 41 catches, 704 receiving yards and 15 receiving touchdowns. He completed a 31-yard pass and rushed for 63 yards and one TD on six carries.

Spurgeon was a first-team offensive lineman, Hamilton was a second-team pick on the offensive line and Smith also played on the lines. Baxter’s offense led the district with 1,112 passing yards, ranked third with 2,103 total yards and finished fourth in both rushing yards (991) and offensive touchdowns (31).

Vansice’s all-district recognition came as a linebacker. He ranked second in the league with 45.5 tackles and finished with two tackles for loss.

Burdess ranked fourth in the district with 39.5 tackles and had three tackles for loss, Kincaid totaled 27.5 tackles and ranked sixth with six tackles for loss and Damman finished with 17.5 tackles.

McCord also made his biggest impact on defense, registering 20.5 tackles and recovering one fumble. Smith also recovered a fumble.

Wishman’s season was cut short due to an injury, but he totaled 11.5 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and two sacks.

Class 8 man District 7

Team District Overall

Southeast Warren 5-1 7-3

Montezuma 5-1 7-3

Wayne 5-1 7-2

Moravia 3-3 5-4

Baxter 2-4 3-5

Melcher-Dallas 1-5 1-8

Twin Cedars 0-6 2-7

Offensive MVP

Brady Boulton, sr., Montezuma

Co-Defensive MVP

Gage Swan, sr., Wayne

Broox Stockman, sr., Montezuma

Specialist MVP

Luke Long, sr., Montezuma

Offensive Lineman MVP

Gage Swan, sr., Wayne

Defensive Lineman MVP

Cale Dop, jr., Southeast Warren

Coach of the Year

Jeff Bumsted, Montezuma

Assistant Coach of the Year

Dave Daughton, Wayne

Golden Award

Cael Wishman, sr., Baxter; Luke Erselius, sr., Montezuma.

All-District

First Team Offense

Quarterback: Brady Boulton, sr., Montezuma

Running Backs: Broox Stockman, sr., Montezuma; *Bridger Cox, sr., Southeast Warren; *Lane Ogden, sr., Wayne.

Wide Receivers: *Eli Dee, sr., Baxter; Luke Brennan, sr., Montezuma.

Tight End/Fullback: Declan DeJong, sr., Moravia.

Offensive Linemen: Cody Spurgeon, sr., Baxter; *Gage Swan, sr., Wayne; Taren Dierking, so., Southeast Warren; Blake Smith, sr., Montezuma.

Utility: *Jamison Ewing, sr., Southeast Warren; Fischer Buckingham, sr., Wayne.

Kicker: Aidan Chidester, fr., Montezuma.

First Team Defense

Defensive Linemen: *Braxton Plants, sr., Montezuma; *Braden Werts, sr., Wayne; *Cael Dop, jr., Southeast Warren; Hunter DeGard, jr., Melcher-Dallas.

Linebackers: *Stadan Vansice, sr., Baxter; *Colby Holbrook, sr., Wayne; Tucker Dierking, so., Southeast Warren.

Defensive Backs: Mason Black, sr., Wayne; Rett Pargeon, jr., Montezuma.

Utility: Austin Henderson, sr., Wayne; Princeton Van Syoc, sr., Southeast Warren.

Returner: Luke Long, sr., Moravia.

Punter: Robert Goemaat, sr., Twin Cedars.

*denotes unanimous selections

Second Team Offense

Trevor Hamilton, sr., Baxter; Lucas Dirkx, sr., Southeast Warren; Hunter Nicholson, jr., Southeast Warren; Dane Strong, jr., Montezuma; Reece Chiabotta, sr., Melcher-Dallas; Gavyn Thordarson, sr., Melcher-Dallas; William Kok, sr., Moravia; Cale Moore, jr., Moravia; Maddux Moore, jr., Wayne.

Second Team Defense

Hayden Burdess, so., Baxter; Ruger Kincaid, sr., Baxter; Colten Damman, so., Baxter; Tully Wood, jr., Wayne; Blake Ewing, jr., Moravia; Chase Hanes, jr., Moravia; CJ Smith, sr., Melcher-Dallas; Gavin Clark, sr., Twin Cedars; Breckin Morrison, sr., Southeast Warren.

Honorable Mention

Miles McCord, fr., Baxter; Cooper Smith, fr., Baxter; Rocky Johnson, jr., Melcher-Dallas; Tucker Branson, sr., Melcher-Dallas; Isaac Wedgewood, sr., Montezuma; Wyllie Walters, so., Montezuma; Hayden Ashby, jr., Moravia; Layne Redinbaugh, sr., Moravia; Jaydon Dippold, jr., Southeast Warren; Matthew Fay, so., Twin Cedars; Holden Roberts, sr., Twin Cedars; Carver Hook, so., Wayne.