High school football: Riley Tschetter of South Dakota, Elliot Belquist of North Dakota headline 9-man All-Americans

Tschetter led Freeman to No. 1 in the MaxPreps 9-man national computer rankings while finishing 12-0 with a 9AA state title. He posted 2,876 yards of total offense and led the state of South Dakota with the most combined touchdowns with 44.


The 9-man All-Americans team consist of 51 players on two teams. The players are chosen from the five states that play 9-man football: Georgia, Minnesota, North Dakota, Oregon and South Dakota. 9-Man All-Americans

First Team Offense

WR — Micah Bush, Hills-Beaver Creek (Hills, Minn.)
Height: 6-1 | Weight: 175 | Year: 2026
One of just two 9-man players to make the Minnesota Vikings All-State Team, Bush caught 53 passes for 811 yards and 11 touchdowns and also ran 28 times for 323 yards and five touchdowns.

WR — Easton Benz, New Rockford-Sheyenne/Maddock (New Rockford, N.D.)
Height: 6-3 | Weight: 180 | Year: 2026
Gained 1,033 receiving yards with 15 touchdowns.

TE — Tate Sorensen, Freeman/Marion/Freeman Academy (Freeman, S.D.)
Height: 6-2 | Weight: 200 | Year: 2026
Sorenson caught 22 passes for 430 yards and nine touchdowns for 9AA state champions.
 
T — Riley Kerner, Wall (S.D.)
Height: 6-4 | Weight: 315 | Year: 2026
Mainstay on a team that rushed for nearly 3,000 yards during the season.

G — Wyett Shimp, Hills-Beaver Creek
Height: 6-3 | Weight: 225 | Year: 2026
A stalwart on a line that had 5,300 yards of total offense, Shimp also excelled on defense where he had 29 tackles.

G — Kyler Kjerstad, Wall
Height: 6-3 | Weight: 250 | Year: 2026
Part of the offensive line that paved the way to Wall's 12-0 season and a Class 9A state championship.

C — Hunter Nankivel, Freeman/Marion/Freeman Academy
Height: 6-2 | Weight: 200 | Year: 2027
The key blocker in the middle of the line, Nankivel is also a basketball standout at Freeman.

QB — Riley Tschetter, Freeman/Marion/Freeman Academy
Height: 5-10 | Weight: 180 | Year: 2026
Completed 124 of 190 passes for 2,385 yards and 29 touchdowns while rushing 71 times for 491 yards and 14 scores.

QB — Colt Beck, Elkton/Lake Benton (Elkton, S.D.)
Height: 5-10 | Weight: 175 | Year: 2026
Threw for 1,560 yards and 22 touchdowns. Added 1,161 yards and 21 touchdowns on the ground.

FB — Kolt Becker, Howard (S.D.)
Height: 5-10 | Weight: 160 | Year: 2027
Led Howard to 9A championship game, rushing 234 times for 1,933 yards and 27 touchdowns.

RB — Carter Therkilsen, Red Rock Central (Lamberton, Minn.)
Height: 5-9 | Weight: 175 | Year: 2026
The leading 9-man rusher in Minnesota, Therkilsen ran 288 times for 2,722 yards and 31 touchdowns. Also had four interceptions on defense with 61 tackles.

Height: 5-11 | Weight: 190 | Year: 2026
Led Wall to the 9A state title, carrying 93 times for 1,661 yards and 31 touchdowns.

ATH — RaeShaun Earl, Hankinson (N.D.)
Height: 6-1 | Weight: 185 | Year: 2027
Rushed for 1,850 yards and 30 touchdowns while throwing for 1,662 yards and 29 scores.

K — Logan Street, Hill City (S.D.)
Height: 5-10 | Weight: 145 | Year: 2028
Booted five field goals with a long of 52. Also converted 47 of 49 extra points and had 48 touchbacks.

First Team Defense

DL — Eli Carroll, Lafayette Christian (LaGrange, Ga.)
Height: 6-2 | Weight: 190 | Year: 2026
Recorded 44 tackles, 13 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks.

DL — Carlo Pica, St. Mary (Dell Rapids, S.D.) 
Height: 6-0 | Weight: 235 | Year: 2026
Tallied 34.5 tackles and three sacks for the state champions.

DL — Owen Guerra, Heppner (Ore.)
Height: 5-11 | Weight: 185 | Year: 2026
Posted 51 tackles with 19 tackles for loss and nine sacks.

LB — Al'Shamon Gunter, Avon (S.D.)

LB — Younger Amiotte, Wall
Height: 6-1 | Weight: 200 | Year: 2026
Anchored the Wall defense with 65 tackles and seven sacks. He had six tackles for loss and two sacks in the championship game against Howard.

LB — Lincoln Lebrun, St. Mary
Height: 6-0 | Weight: 190 | Year: 2026
All-conference and all-state linebacker also rushed for 1,296 yards. 

LB — Keagan Dunlea, Lost River (Merrill, Ore.)
Height: 5-5 | Weight: 138 | Year: 2028
Player of the Year on the Class 9-man all-state team on both offense and defense.

DB — Gunner Thielges, LaMoure/Litchville-Marion (LaMoure, N.D.)
Height: 6-1 | Weight: 185 | Year: 2026
The senior athlete of the year in 9-man football in North Dakota, Thielges rushed for 2,379 yards and 42 touchdowns. He had 7,987 yards and 129 TDs in his career.

DB — Easton Tschetter, Freeman/Marion/Freeman Academy
Height: 5-10 | Weight: 170 | Year: 2028
Led Freeman with 116 tackles and seven tackles for loss. He also led the team in forced fumbles with four and fumble recoveries with two. He added three interceptions..

DB — Trimmier Hanson, St. Mary
Height: 5-11 | Weight: 170 | Year: 2026
A four-year starter, Hanson did a little bit of everything including two interceptions, a defensive touchdown and 19 total TDs.

DB — Ondreo Sawyer, Unity Christian
Height: 6-2 | Weight: 170 | Year: 2026
Scored 11 touchdowns in leading Unity to a 12-0 record. He also averaged over 20 yards per catch and snagged 10 interceptions on the year. 

P — Jax Sullivan, Littlefork-Big Falls (Littlefork, Minn.)
Height: 6-2 | Weight: 185 | Year: 2026
One of two 9-man players named to the Minnesota Vikings All-State Team,  he completed 68 of 117 passes for 1,126 yards and 15 touchdowns. Also ran 85 times for 991 yards and 14 scores

Second Team Offense

WR — Thomas Allmaras, New Rockford-Sheyenne/Maddock
Height: 5-8 | Weight: 150 | Year: 2027

WR — Sean Berge, Hillcrest Lutheran Academy
Height: 6-3 | Weight: 190 | Year: 2026

TE — Tripp Stewart, Heppner
Height: 5-11 | Weight: 165 | Year: 2027

T — Elliott Whiteside, Unity Christian
Height: 5-10 | Weight: 265 | Year: 2026

G — Chad Sweat, Lost River
Height: 6-0 | Weight: 180 | Year: 2026

G — Landon McMahon, Heppner
Height: 5-11 | Weight: 220 | Year: 2026

C — Liam Carroll, Lafayette Christian
Height: 6-3 | Weight: 220 | Year: 2026

QB — Easton Simon, New Rockford-Sheyenne/Maddock
Height: 6-0 | Weight: 170 | Year: 2026
 
QB — Ethan Swedberg, Hillcrest Lutheran Academy (Fergus Falls, Minn.)
Height: 6-3 | Weight: 220 | Year: 2026

RB — Kyle Hettich, Ipswich (S.D.)
Height: 5-9 | Weight: 170 | Year: 2026

RB — Eliot Erickson, Elkton-Lake Benton
Height: 5-10 | Weight: 170 | Year: 2026

Ath — Brodie Metzger, Hills-Beaver Creek

K — Baryn Huerta, Grant Union (John Day, Ore.) 
Height: 5-7 | Weight: 125 | Year: 2026

Second Team Defense

DL — Joshua Blunt, Young Americans Christian (Conyers, Ga.)
Height: 6-0 | Weight: 226 | Year: 2028

DL — Mason Mauch, Hankinson (N.D.)
Height: 6-2 | Weight: 225 | Year: 2026

Height: 6-4 | Weight: 250 | Year: 2027

LB — William Wilson, Unity Christian (Rome, Ga.)
Height: 5-11 | Weight: 185 | Year: 2027

LB — Alakae Rodriguez, Heppner
Height: 5-5 | Weight: 175 | Year: 2027

LB — Myles Poindexter, Elkton-Lake Benton
Height: 6-2 | Weight: 195 | Year: 2026

LB — Carson Roe, LeRoy-Ostrander (LeRoy, Minn.)
Height: 5-10 | Weight: 180 | Year: 2026

DB — Kyle Diaz, Lost River
Height: 6-1 | Weight: 208 | Year: 2026

DB — Colby Thielges, Lamoure/Litchville-Marion
Height: 5-11 | Weight: 170 | Year: 2027

DB — Jonathan Ross, Lafayette Christian Academy
Height: 6-1 | Weight: 180 | Year: 2026

DB — Riley Casey, Little Wound (Kyle, S.D.)
Height: 6-2 | Weight: 175 | Year: 2026

P — Jamin Metzger, Hills-Beaver Creek
Height: 6-5 | Weight: 210 | Year: 2026