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I want to start this column off with a hearty congratulations to Chad Johnston and the Minneota Vikings football team for celebrating the re-naming of their football field by setting a record 49th consecutive win. They have done it with style and class, and they have produced many outstanding players in that span of 49 games. The previous record was held by Gerhard (Gary) Meidt's teams in the mid-eighties, led by his son, Chris, an outstanding quarterback. Chris went on to become a great player and coach at Bethel University.
Minneota has had an outstanding run of success since the eighties, but long before that, they were a powerhouse in the late 50's. Those teams featured two great running backs, John Stoples and Les Josephson. Josephson went on to play 11 seasons with the Los Angeles Rams, and was named "All-Pro" in the 1967-68 season. The Minneota Vikings had a 28-game winning streak that was snapped in the 1958 season by my hometown Tyler Danes. Tyler went undefeated that season, and they won their only District Championship by defeating the Wood Lake Warriors 41-38 in a classic Championship game.
That game was a back-and-forth game, and with a minute to go, Wood Lake scored a touchdown to take the lead, 38-35. But Gary Utoft returned the kickoff to the 50-yard line, and then quarterback Les Hansen unleashed a pass towards the end zone, and Jens Reinseth caught it and slipped by two defenders to score the winning touchdown. I was eight years old at the time, and I am doing this mostly from memory, so forgive me if there are some factual errors here. But I heard that after Wood Lake scored the go-ahead touchdown in the final minute, many of their fans headed to their cars, assuming that they had won the game, so they missed the actual game-winning play. This may be more rumor than fact, but I heard this story many times growing up, so I believe it!!
Les Hansen went on the become Tyler's first 1000-point scorer in basketball, and played football, basketball and baseball at South Dakota State. He related a funny story to me years later. He said, "I came to SDSU as a hot-shot Championship quarterback, and I was feeling pretty good about myself at our first practice. So I am throwing the ball around in warmups, and I asked the coach who I should throw the ball to. He said, 'Bend over and throw it between your legs, we are going to make you a center'. A pretty humbling experience!"
South Dakota State has had several local alumni beside Les. John Stone, a Hendricks native, was a three-year starter and Captain off the 1962 Jackrabbit squad. He played linebacker and fullback, and was an accomplished kicker who earned a tryout with the Los Angeles Raiders after college.
Shane Bouman and Darren Baartman were a great pitch and catch combination at SDSU. They played together at Ruthton High School, and both went to Brookings to further their careers. Shane was a two-year starter at quarterback, and Darren was a three-year starter as a receiver. Darren was the second leading receiver in SDSU history by the time his career was over.
Adrian native Darwin Gonnerman was a two-time All-American running back for the Jackrabbits in 1967 and 68. I remember watching him dominate games when our football coaches would take us to the games to watch Tyler HS alumni Terry Sorensen play along side him as a receiver and linebacker.
My friend, Terry Porter, reminded me that I had forgotten some outstanding players from Marshall, both past and present. Marshall Central standout Greg Lens was who Terry was thinking off, but I remembered him as more of an outstanding basketball player. I did not know that after attending Trinity College, he was a 4th round draft pick in 1970 by the St. Louis Cardinals. He ended up going to the Atlanta Falcons in 1970-71, where he played in 21 games, starting 14 of them. He passed away in 2009 at age 64.
Recently, Marshall High School has sent four more players to the NFL. Blaise Andries had an outstanding career at the University of Minnesota, where he started all 46 games. He earned All-Big Ten honors three times, and was named to the First Team in 2021. He signed with the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent.
There are three Marshall natives who are currently on NFL rosters. Brothers Trey and Bryce Lance both played at NDSU, where they each had outstanding careers. Trey was the MVP in the 2020 NCAA Division Championship game. He won the Walter Payton and Jerry Rice Awards in 2019, and he was the 3rd overall pick by the San Francisco 49'ers in the 2021 NFL Draft. He is currently the backup quarterback for the San Diego Chargers. Bryce was a two-year starter for the Bison, and he was a 4th Round Pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. He currently plays for the New Orleans Saints.
Last but not least is Yahah Black, who after graduation from Marshall High School, went on to play for the Iowa Hawkeyes. He was a 5th Round Pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Well, there is my expanded list of fine football players from the area that I can remember off the top of my head. I am very sure that there are many more that I didn't include, and I am equally sure that some of my pals will be quick to remind me of who I have forgotten. My apologies to those I have missed. It's OK, I need some material for my future columns anyway!!