Bulldogs Receive Gridiron Awards

The Milbank Area Bulldogs football team wrapped up its season with a potluck awards dinner November 17 at the high school.

Individual awards were presented according to votes cast by fellow teammates.

Leading the team was senior Kyle Montag. He was voted the most valuable player for both the offense and special teams. Montag was also named to the All-Northeast Conference team as well as the newly formed All I-29 Conference team. He was the lone Bulldog to be named to the All-State team, receiving an honorable mention.

On the defensive side, junior Jake Anderson captured the defensive most valuable player award. He was also named to both the All-NEC and All I-29 teams. Freshman Jacob Karges received the junior varsity MVP award while Koben Huber was named the rookie of the year. Huber also received All-NEC and All I-29 team honors.

Senior Dalton Koch was named the lineman of the year by his teammates, and received an honorable mention on both the All-NEC and All I-29 teams. Senior Nolan Foss was presented the Justin Maass Spirit Award by the Bulldog coaches for his contributions to the team on and off the field. He was named to the All-NEC team and received an honorable mention on the All I-29 team. Junior Riley Wollschlager was given a commemorative PIX4SIX license plate for returning an interception for a touchdown this season.

Senior Isaac Snaza was named to the Academic All-State team for his contributions in the classroom. To receive that distinction, the athlete must be in the sport for at least three years and maintain a grade point average of at least 3.5 or higher. Snaza was also named to the All-NEC and All I-29 conference teams.

Also being named to the All-NEC team were senior Devin Stricherz and junior Tanner Gauer. Senior Tristan Hall received an honorable mention. Rounding out the All I-29 team was Tanner Gauer while Devin Stricherz received an honorable mention.

The Bulldogs earned the team Academic All-State award with a cumulative GPA of 3.2713. The award is sponsored by the South Dakota High School Activities Association.

The following players were awarded their Major M certificates: seniors Devin Stricherz, Isaac Snaza, Kyle Montag, Tristan Hall, Jacob Jackson, Nolan Foss and Dalton Koch; juniors Tanner Gauer, Nate Bien, Jake Anderson, Riley Folk, Matt Lenards, Cody Dockter, Riley Wollschlager, Wesley Bowsher, Ben Nelson, Caden Wollschlager, Jacob Stinson, Zach Angerhofer, Taran Mogard and Jose Chen; sophomores Cole Dockter, Chandler Peery, Jonny Ash, James Weber, Derrick Aho, Ethan Paysen, Derek Weinkauf, Gage Sayler, Koben Huber, Mitch Quade, Isaiah Wollschlager, Austin Schuelke, Preston Morton and Tanner Kettwig.

The following players earned a Minor M this season: sophomore Jesus Vina, and freshmen Jacob Sandvig, Alec Bien, Riley Gauer, Nolan Hanson, Tate Stricherz, Gabe Delarosa, Nathan Hansen, Brock Winges-Jurgens, Jacob Karges, Connor VanVooren, Jesse Pinkert, Ethan Bohn, Jake Fox and Jordan Riley.

The Bulldogs concluded their season with a 6-4 overall record. Milbank Area secured the number six seed in the newly formed playoff system and fell to West Central in the first round. The junior varsity team completed its season with a 5-1 overall record.

Bulldog head coach Jeremy Tostenson thanked numerous people for their help and support this season. A special thank you went to the cheerleaders and Mrs. Anderson, assistant coaches Troy Gauer, Scott Wiese, Ryan Scoular, Carl Larson, Tyler Sieh and Travis Lester, Pat DeFea and DeFea Transportation, Wade VanDover and Big Stone Therapies, KMSD and Chad Nolz, The Valley Express and Ginny Tostenson, The Grant County Review and Dillon Dwyer, the chain gang – Terry McCulloch, Jeff Jackson, Ron Waletich and Bill Tostenson, statisticians Paul Tostenson and Jason Kettwig. Tostenson said,  “A very special thank you to the senior players and their parents for all the hard work to make this season a great success.”