Photo submitted by Cory Larson. The 2025 Dawson-Boyd football team includes Carson Stratmoen, Gunner Liebl, Nathan Hansen, Aiden Olson, Joshua Weber, Elijah Olson, Holland Schacherer, Thatcher Johnson, Brayden Tjaden, Cale Tufto, Colten Bothun, Jaxton Hastad, Caden Brent, Evan Mork, Aedyn Dahl, Mason Bothun, Beckett Anderson, Paxton Kemen, Kameron Sather, Carver Schwegel, Elvis Bellefeuille, Jacob Johnson, Jackson Schugel, Ryder Kittelson, Elijah Cain, Kyan Moseng, Ace Larson, Ryker Gruwell, Cooper Manee, Mason Solem, Hudson Giese, Colton Johnson, George Thesing, Carter Monaghan, Griffen Kuechenmeister, Theodore Bothun, Kingston Johnson-Crosby and Laiken Johnson-Crosby.

DAWSON — After graduating a handful of impactful seniors, the Dawson-Boyd Blackjacks will look to rebuild and reload in 2025.

Part of the Blackjacks’ recent success can be attributed to the dominance of their twin-tower wide receiver duo of Brayson Boike and Drew Hjelmeland. Standing at 6-foot-7, the duo gave the Blackjacks a hard red zone threat to stop. Boike finished last season with 58 catches for 1,124 yards and 15 touchdowns last season, while Hjelmeland caught another three touchdowns on 21 receptions for 262 yards.

Yet, the team’s leading receiver duo graduated after last season, both committing to play basketball for Southwest Minnesota State University this fall. As such, quarterback Gunner Liebl will need to build chemistry with new receivers as the season progresses. 

In the last two seasons as the Blackjacks’ starting quarterback, Liebl has been a true dual threat. He completed 60.4% of his passes for 1,944 yards and 20 touchdowns on 12 attempts last season, also rushing 77 times for 598 yards and 11 touchdowns. A year before, he threw for 1,198 yards and 16 touchdowns with eight interceptions, while also rushing for five touchdowns and 387 yards.

Nathan Hansen will also be a key senior for the team this season. He leads the team in receiving yards among returners with 215 and three touchdowns (the only player other than Boike and Hjelmeland to record a receiving touchdown last year), and he was also the team’s leading rusher with 34 carries for 361 yards and four touchdowns.

Continuing to develop talent on the offensive line will be a key focus point for the Blackjacks this season after six of the team’s nine seniors to graduated last season played offensive and defensive line. Still, the return of big linemen like the 6-foot-4, 295-pound Ryder Kittelson gives the Blackjacks the potential to still be strong in the trenches. 

On the defensive side of things, juniors Colten and Mason Bothun anchor the Blackjacks’ defensive front seven once again. Colten, a 6-foot-3 defensive end, and Mason, a 6-foot-2 linebacker, give the Blackjacks a pair of physical run stoppers. The duo led the team last season with five tackles for loss for Colten and four for Mason, as well as a team-leading two sacks for Colten.

The Blackjacks went 7-3 last season, with their only losses coming against state champion Minneota and section runner-up BOLD, twice. Playing in an ultra-competitive section 5A, the Blackjacks will have a difficult schedule once again in 2025. 

In addition to a final-week matchup against the reigning state champion Minneota Vikings, the Blackjacks will also have a road matchup against the reigning state runner-up Springfield Tigers, and the section 3A runner-up Murray County Central Rebels. Of those three games, MCC is the only team that the Blackjacks host.