Fresh off an appearance in the state semifinals, the Chargers had three members of their junior class recognized on the Class 9A All-State team.
Quarterback Hayden Handcock and wideout Tate Senftner were both named to the first team, while defensive lineman and kickoff specialist Matt Wright received honorable mention.
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Handcock to Senftner was the top passing connection in the state, and was honored as such.
Handcock passed for 1,515 yards and 25 touchdowns to go along with three TDs on the ground.
“Hayden worked really hard in the offseason, he went to a number of camps and did a lot of work and it paid off,” Sully Buttes coach Mark Senftner said.
Handcock’s top target, Tate Senftner, caught 39 balls for 807 yards and 14 TDs to top the 9A list of receivers.
“He also worked hard. When you see the numbers they had, you can see all the work they put in,” Mark Senftner said.
The best news for the Chargers is that both Senftner and Handcock — as well as Wright — will be back next season.
Sully Buttes made the state semifinals this year, falling to eventual state champion Hanson, 44-16.
“We were really happy with the season,” Mark Senftner said. “We do lose six seniors, and two starting offensive linemen, but we were a young team. We’ll have to work even harder this offseason if we want to go farther.”
Hanson’s move up to 9A didn’t affect the number of accolades for the team this season. After a championship season, the Beavers landed five players on the 2009 South Dakota State Class 9A All-State team.
But Hanson wasn’t the only team with five players on the team as Arlington got just as many on the squad, followed by Avon, who landed four players on the team.
Hanson landed three players on the defensive side of the ball — seniors Austin Letcher and Trevor Doyle and junior Pierce Smith — which is appropriate considering the Beavers held Avon’s high scoring offense to only 16 points in the 9A championship.
“They knew it was important to go out and make sure what their assignments were,” Hanson head coach Jim Haskamp said. “Everyone took pride in what they did, and these three helped keep us unified as a team.”
Letcher is a defensive back and finished the year with 46 tackles, three interceptions (one for a touchdown) and two fumble recoveries. Over his career, Letcher had 86 tackles, five interceptions and two returned for touchdowns and three fumble recoveries.
“Austin did the extra things that it took to get stronger, and not just in season, but in the off-season too,” Haskamp said.
Doyle made the team as a defensive end and Haskamp said he is one of the best defensive ends he has ever coached, maybe because he had 82 tackles, 12 sacks and a fumble recovery this year and for his career, he had 124 tackles, 23 sacks, three fumble recoveries and two interceptions — one for a touchdown.
In the semi-final game against Mount Vernon, Doyle recorded five sacks.
“He was able to take over a game defensively and was quick off the ball,” Haskamp said.
“Both Austin and him were two of our leaders for this team.”
Smith was the team’s middle linebacker and had 81 tackles, three fumble recoveries and two interceptions.
“We knew coming into the season Pierce would be a good linebacker,” Haskamp said.
“He gained a lot of experience this year and we are going to depend on him for leadership next year.”
Hanson’s other two selections were offensive linemen who helped the Beavers rush for 2,868 yards rushing this year.
Senior Seth Keyser was Hanson’s center and this was his first year starting for the Beavers.
“Seth really stuck with this program and put in the time to make himself better,” Haskamp said. “To see him get this reward is great to see, and I hope it will encourage some of our younger players to stick with it like Seth did.”
Junior Jacob Bender made the team as a 5’10, 165 pound guard.
“Jacob made up for his lack of size with quickness, technique and effort,” Haskamp said.
“He kept the legs driving and did a lot of angle blocks and with good technique, he could block the bigger players.”
Arlington had three offensive players, one defensive player and one special teams player named to the team, with all five players being seniors.
“We knew we had five kids like this, and because of that, we knew we were going to be pretty competitive,” Arlington head coach Steve Gilbertson said.
Arlington made it to the Class 9A semifinals before falling to Avon.
Running back Christian DeCurtins led the way as he rushed for 2,102 yards rushing and 37 total touchdowns (35 rushing and two receiving). DeCurtins capped off his career with 3,467 yards and 53 rushing touchdowns along with 399 yards receiving and four touchdowns.
“Christian could change a game in one play,” Gilbertson said. “I am pretty proud of him. He played his heart out for us.”
Senior Darrik Bunker helped lead the way for DeCurtins as the Cardinals’ fullback. Bunker had 654 yards rushing and six touchdowns along with 213 yards receiving and four touchdowns.
“Darrick’s a good runner and his stats would’ve been better with more carries, but he was a tremendous blocker,” Gilbertson said. “His value to this team was extremely high and he opened up the running game for us.”
Guard Tyler Ramstad rounded out the Cardinals’ offensive selections.
“Tyler stands out as a leader on the line and he is intelligent,” Gilbertson said. “He was very versatile and valuable guy.”
Defensive back Terran Chapin earned a spot on the All-State team after coming away with 10 interceptions and 36 tackles. Chapin ended his high school career with 18 interceptions.
“Terran has a lot of instincts and he’s a playmaker,” Gilbertson said. “I couldn’t tell you how many balls he knocked down besides the picks. He just has a nose for the ball and goes up at the highest point.”
Curtis Price made the All-State team as a long snapper and Gilbertson said he was very important to the team.
“We didn’t have a blocked punt all year and that’s because of the speed the ball got there,” Gilbertson said. “We just never had to be worried or concerned about it because of him.”
Avon had one selection on offense and defense and two selections for special teams.
“After losing a lot of players from the year before, these four stepped up,” Avon head coach Tom Culver said. “Everyone was writing them off and these kids decided they would work hard and weren’t going to settle for being just a fair team.”
The Pirates lost All-State selection Earv Archambeau, but senior Jeff Bertus took over and rushed for 1,846 yards and 30 touchdowns this year.
“When Jeff found an opening, not too many people were going to catch him,” Culver said. “Jeff has worked hard to get where he is at now.”
Senior Ryan Hauck led the Avon defense with 119 tackles and two interceptions and over his career, he compiled 225 tackles, two sacks and two interceptions.
“Ryan would read things all over the field,” Culver said. “He was a big part of our defense and had a lot of responsibility.”
Senior Marshall Cihak was the All-State punter after having a 40.9 yards per kick average and junior Derek Cihak was the All-State special teams player after averaging 39.8 yards per kick-off return and a touchdown and a 19.1 punt return average.
“Special teams is a big factor with field position,” Culver said. “It got to the point that no one would kick to him anymore and Marshall has the record for us with a 66-yard punt.”
The other wide receiver on the team was Tri-State’s senior Landon Braun with 47 receptions for 821 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Castlewood junior Trevor Sikkink was the Class 9A tight end with 503 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Mount Vernon senior Derek Grace (70 tackles and two sacks) and Harding County senior Calvin Cramer (48 tackes and eight sacks) were the two defensive tackles.
Estelline senior Joshua Licht was the second defensive end and earned his second straight All-State selection as a end after recording 83 tackles, 11 sacks, seven fumble recoveries, four forced fumbles, three blocked punts and an interception.
Matt Brown, a 2008 9AA All-State linebacker selection, made the 9A squad after leading the Ipswich defense with 92 tackles, six forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, one interception and one touchdown.
DeSmet/Iroquois senior Christian Hojer rounded out the linebackers with 92 tackles, four pass defenses and two fumble recoveries.
Irene-Wakonda senior Dan Sokolowski was named the All-State kicker after having a 42.5 kick-off average.
— Justin Rust of the Yankton Press & Dakotan contributed to this article.
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