Jungels on 1st Team All-State; Clifton, Weninger 2nd

Linemen don't seek the spotlight, but they often do the sometimes-unheralded work at the point of attack to get the players with the ball their moments in the sun.

So it was that Carrington senior center Brock Jungels, along with two of the players for whom he opened running lanes, junior Corbin Clifton and senior Logan Weninger, were lauded for their exploits in Class A 11-man football in 2023.

Jungels, a Pingree-Buchanan athlete, was named to the North Dakota High School Coaches Association (NDHSCA) All-State First Team, which was released to the public Tuesday, November 14.

Clifton, a running back/linebacker, and Weninger, a running back/cornerback, were selected to Second Team status.

"Brock has been the anchor of our offensive and defensive lines the past two seasons," CHS Head Coach Kyle Smith said. "He has good feet, he's very strong, a great leader, and he has a really high football IQ."

Starting all 10 games for the Cards on offense and defense, Jungels finished with 78 tackles, 46 of those solo and 32 assisted. He also recorded one sack and a team-high 12 tackles for loss.

Both Clifton and Weninger also made their mark as two-way players. While Weninger was the home-run hitter on offense with his speed and was often matched up with the opponents' better receivers on the X-side, Clifton was one of Region 2's more sure-handed tacklers from the linebacker position, and no slouch himself when he lined up in the backfield.

"Logan's probably the most explosive football player I've ever had the privilege to coach," Smith said. "Every time he touched the ball, he was a threat to score. He's very slippery in the open field, and he worked really hard to become a good receiver out of the backfield as well. Defensively, he had the ability to be a shut-down corner with his speed."

Weninger had 140 carries for 1,141 yards, an 8.2 yard-per-carry average, for 17 touchdowns. He also had 285 yards receiving and four scores, and an additional score on a kickoff return.

Clifton was described by Smith as, "A relentless defender, a great tackler, and also has the speed to cover well on the pass. Offensively, he gets vertically very quickly, and he's very shifty in the open field."

He was the top tackler for the Cards with an even 100 stops (52 solo, 48 assisted), and four tackles for loss. Clifton was the second-leading rusher behind Weninger with 538 yards on 54 carries and five touchdowns, and 11 catches for 91 yards and one touchdown.

HWC had two players, senior tight end/defensive end Keaton Keller, and junior running back/linebacker Kayl Sieg, make the Second Team for the Hornets. Stats for Keller and Sieg were not available at press time.

A full list of those selected to the Class A All-State teams are as follows:

NDHSCA Class A Football

All-State First Team

Offense

Ben Schepp, Jr., QB, Velva/Garrison/Drake-Anamoose; Jace Kovash, Sr., QB, Dickinson Trinity; Rayce Worley, Sr., QB, Langdon/Edmore/Munich; Ty Dassinger, Sr., RB, Dickinson Trinity; Hank Bodine, Jr., RB, V-G-D-A; Mason Romfo, Sr., RB, L/E/M; Reggie Bruner, Jr., RB, V-G-D-A; Treyson Iglehart, Jr., WR, V-G-D-A; Coy Okeson, Sr., OL, Bishop Ryan; Riley Sunram, Sr., OL, Kindred; Brock Jungels, Sr., OL, Carrington; Tanner Roers, Sr., OL, Dickinson Trinity

Defense

Tyler Cruchet, Sr., DL, Central Cass; Cole Welsh, Sr., DL, L/E/M; Cade Okeson, So., DL, Bishop Ryan; Hugh Meyer, So., Dickinson Trinity; Jace Handy, So, DL, Killdeer; Jake Starcevic, Jr., LB, Kindred; Marcus Biffert, Sr., LB, Central Cass; Isaac Emmel, Sr., LB, Shiloh Christian; Peyton Lemar, Sr., DB, Central Cass; Michael Fagerland, Sr., DB, Shiloh Christian; Jake Shobe, Sr., DB, Dickinson Trinity; Luke Shobe, Sr., DB, Dickinson Trinity; Carson Haerer, Sr., DB, Bottineau

Second Team

(no positions listed)

Matthew Hoppe, Jr., Northern Cass; Brooks Bakko, Fr., Kindred; Trey Skoglund, Sr., Oakes; Joseph Kramlich, Jr., Ellendale/Edgeley-Kulm; Wyatt Olson, Sr., Lisbon; Isaac Wisnewski, Sr., and Brayden Mitchell, Sr., Central Cass; Logan Weninger, Sr., and Corbin Clifton, Jr., Carrington; Keaton Keller, Sr., and Kayl Sieg, Jr., HWC; Cody Amble, Jr., L/E/M; Tony Villarreal, Sr., Grafton; Jett Lundeen, Jr., Bishop Ryan; Logan Rist, Jr., Ty Hughes, Sr., and Kole Knecht, Sr., Des Lacs-Burlington; Keaton Cole, Sr., Nedrose; Cody Rice, Sr., Ray/Powers Lake; Gage Glaser, Sr., and Jeremiah Jilek, Sr., Dickinson Trinity; Noah Jepson, Jr., and Birch Bang, Sr., Killdeer; Samuel Benson, Sr., and Carter Seifert, Sr., Shiloh Christian; Simon Buchfinck, Sr., Beulah

NDHSCA Class A Senior Athlete of the Year

Ty Dassinger, Dickinson Trinity

NDHSCA Class A Coach of the Year

John Odermann, Dickinson Trinity