Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

City High completed the biggest turnaround in Class 5A and its best season in more than a decade in 2021 going from 2-4 a year ago to 10-2 and its first trip to the state semifinals since 2010.

The breakthrough season for the Little Hawks started on defense.

On Tuesday several of the key contributors for stingy City High defensive outfit were recognized for their efforts in the form of all-state honors.

Four of the six Little Hawks named to the Class 5A all-state teams by the Iowa Print Sports Writers Association were on defense led by first-team picks Gable Mitchell and Ben Kueter.

Kueter was named a first-team selection as a linebacker and Mitchell was a first-team pick at defensive back after leading a City High defense that held opponents to 175 total yards and 11.1 points per game while posting four shutouts.

A 6-foot-1, 192 pound junior inside linebacker Kueter earned all-state honors for the first time after an impressive season in which he emerged as one of the most dominant defenders in the state.

Kueter led Class 5A with 101 tackles, 11.5 sacks and an eye-popping 41 tackles for loss which was the most for any 11-player defender in the state.

An Iowa commit, Kueter also recovered two fumbles and returned one for a score.

A three-year starter in the City High secondary Mitchell was a first-team all-state pick after ranking second on the team with 66.5 tackles including 38 solo stops.

Mitchell had a team-high five interceptions, returning one for a touchdown ranked second in 5A with 99 interception return yards.

Seniors Darren Richardson and Aaron Stalkfleet were both second-team all-state picks while fellow seniors John Klosterman and TaeShon McDaniels were named to the 5A third team.

All four players earned all-state honors for the first time.

Richardson was a second team pick as a running back after rushing for a team-high 1,012 yards and 16 touchdowns while averaging 7.4 yards per carry.

The 5-foot-11, 195-pound Richardson became the first 1,000-yard rusher for City High since Xavier Washpun in 2013 after rushing for 421 yards in three postseason games.

Richardson had a career-high 227 yards and three touchdowns in a quarterfinal win over top-ranked Cedar Rapids Kennedy.

One of the big reasons for the rushing success of Richardson was Stalkfleet, a 5-10, 230-pound senior who earned second-team all-state honors as an offensive lineman.

A versatile lineman, Stalkfleet led a City High offensive front that paved the way for the Little Hawks to average 212 rushing yards, 420 total yards and 46 points per game.

Klosterman and McDaniels each earned third-team honors after standout senior seasons.

A 6-foot-3, 250-pound defensive lineman, McDaniels ranked fifth on the team with 35 tackles including 14 tackles for loss and three sacks.

Klosterman, a 6-0, 205-pound linebacker finished third on the team with 59.5 tackles including 16 tackles for loss and six sacks.

West High had a pair of players named to the 5A all-state teams led by senior running back and defensive lineman Mason Applegate.

Applegate was a first-team selection at running back after ranking seventh in 5A in rushing while averaging a 5A-best 10.2 yards per carry.

The 6-foot, 190-pound Applegate rushed for 1,099 yards and 12 touchdowns in just seven games going over the 100-yard mark five times highlighted by a school-record 381 yards in a win over Davenport Central.

Applegate became the first 1,000-yard rusher for West High since Ezra Reiners in 2012 and was the first West High back to reach 1,000 yards in the regular season since Alex Kanellis in 2004.

Despite splitting time between running back and defensive tackle where he made 27 tackles including nine for loss, Applegate had a touchdown run in six of seven games and rushed for at least 76 yards in each of his final six games.

Paving the way for Applegate was senior offensive tackle Liam Becher who earned third-team all-state honors as an offensive lineman for the second consecutive season.

A North Dakota commit, the 6-foot-6, 305-poudn Becher helped West High average better than 202 rushing yards and 22 points per game.

2021 Iowa Print Sports Writers Association All-State Football

Class 5A

First Team

Offense  

Quarterback – Jaxon Dailey, Sr., Southeast Polk

Running back/fullback – Colin Kadolph, Sr., Ankeny; Mason Applegate, Sr., West High; Abu Sama, Jr., Southeast Polk

Tight end/wide receiver – Brady McCullough, Sr., Ankeny; Eli Rairdon, Sr., West Des Moines Valley; Cole Filloon, Sr., Southeast Polk

Linemen – Gabe Burkle, Sr., Cedar Rapids Prairie; Antonio Espino, Sr., Ankeny; Ethan Mills, Sr., Cedar Rapids Kennedy; Cade Borud, Sr., Southeast Polk; Kadyn Proctor, Jr., Southeast Polk Luke Vonderhaar, Sr., Pleasant Valley

Kicker – Max Pelham, Sr., Ankeny

Utility – Jack Gilligan, Sr., Dubuque Senior

Defense

Linemen – Ben Reiland, Sr., Waukee Northwest; Braden Simonsen, Sr., Ankeny; Jaylen Pettus, Sr., West Des Moines Dowling; Luke Gaffney, Sr., Linn-Mar

Linebacker – Tamden Webb-Tate, Sr., Ankeny; Ben Kueter, Jr., City High; Andrew Reed, Sr., Southeast Polk; Rusty Van Wetzina, Jr., Pleasant Valley

Defensive back – Jeron Senters, Sr., Cedar Rapids Kennedy; Gable Mitchell, Sr., City High; Xavier Nwankpa, Sr., Southeast Polk

Punter – Michael Ray, Sr., Davenport West

Returner – Graham Friedrichsen, Sr., Urbandale

Utility – Cole Garwood, Jr., Urbandale

Second Team

Offense  

Quarterback – JJ Kohl, Jr., Ankeny

Running back/fullback – Darren Richardson, Sr., City High; Carter Henderson, Jr., Linn-Mar; Danny Rankins Jr., Sr., West Des Moines Valley

Tight end/wide receiver – Kai Black, Jr., Urbandale; Carson Brown, Sr., West Des Moines Dowling; Cameron Guenther, Sr., Linn-Mar

Linemen – Cael Winter, Jr., Waukee Northwest; Joe Kingston, Sr., Ankeny; Hank Lucas, Sr., West Des Moines Valley; Brennan Matthews, Sr., Waukee; Aaron Stalkfleet, Sr., City High; Aiden Kilstrom, Sr., Pleasant Valley

Kicker – Diego Leon, Sr., West Des Moines Dowling

Utility – Brandon Vlcko, Sr., Cedar Rapids Prairie

Defense

Linemen – Nick Wells, Jr., Sioux City East; Andrew Meyer, Jr., Cedar Rapids Kennedy; Morris Konneh, Sr., Waukee; Draven Woods, Soph., Southeast Polk

Linebacker – Dean Gavin, Sr., Ankeny; Jackson Penningroth, Sr., Ankeny; Alex Koch, Sr., Cedar Rapids Kennedy; Bradley Hill, Sr., Bettendorf

Defensive back – Will Cornwell, Sr., Ankeny; Jack Wattier, Sr., Urbandale; Trey Porter, Sr., Ankeny Centennial; Caleb Raisty, Sr., Cedar Falls

Punter – McKade Jelinek, Sr., Linn-Mar

Returner – Nick Rebick, Jr., Marshalltown

Utility – Jamison Patton, Jr., Des Moines Roosevelt

Third Team

Offense  

Quarterback – Mason Morrow, Sr., West Des Moines Valley

Running back/fullback – Jazan Williams, Jr., Cedar Rapids Kennedy; Drew Benson, Jr., Sioux City West; Dion Hutch, Sr., West Des Moines Valley

Tight end/wide receiver – Kelynn Jacobsen, Jr., Sioux City East; Brenden Linde, Sr., Cedar Rapids Kennedy; Cooper Nicholson, Jr., West Des Moines Dowling

Linemen – Nathan Jacobs, Sr., Urbandale; Luke Schumacher, Sr., Waukee Northwest; Drew Monsivais, Jr., Ankeny; Jackson Mueller, Sr., Johnston; Liam Becher, Sr., West High; Ryan Saddler, Sr., Pleasant Valley

Kicker – Max Bartachek, Jr., Waukee

Utility – Carson Renken, Sr., Waukee Northwest

Defense

Linemen – Jacob Auen, Sr., West Des Moines Valley; TaeShon McDaniels, Sr., City High; Joey Van Wetzinga, Fr., Pleasant Valley; Andrew DePaepe, Jr., Pleasant Valley

Linebacker – Chase Lamb, Soph., Waukee Northwest; Drew Henderson, Sr., West Des Moines Valley; John Klosterman, Sr., City High; Clayton Musynski, Sr., Linn-Mar

Defensive back – Keegan Andriano, Sr., Ankeny Centennial; Payton Betts, Jr., Waukee; Mitchell Schares, Sr., Cedar Rapids Kennedy; Tyree Gardner, Sr., Waterloo West

Returner – Landon Sauser, Sr., Dubuque Senior

Utility – Maguire Jones, Sr., Cedar Rapids Prairie

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