Norse football all time list (well from 2004-2015!)

My career as a media member covering Roland-Story Norsemen football is over (for now at least). I've been covering Norse football since the fall of 2004. I started writing for the Story City Herald then, and did that through the fall of 2014. In the fall of 2008, Paul Clark started The Norsemen Network, and had me on as the Herald football reporter, as a guest during the pregame of the Powerade scrimmage. We seemed to work well together, and I just hung around with him. Paul upgraded The Norsemen Network to The Rocket, and I stayed on there in the fall of 2015.

Well The Rocket is done, I'm not going back to the Herald, so this fall I go back to being simply a Norsemen fan. Here's a pic of Paul and I ready to call a game from the new pressbox.

Through the years, I've pondered who the best I have seen. Now that I am done, I decided to put together a list of the Roger As Media All-Norsemen Football Team. My friend, and Norse basketball PA man Tom Lathen, did something similar for his tenure calling Norse basketball games.

The thing is, when reading Tom's list, I kinda just have to trust him on it, and can't argue it. I think high school sports has a limited viewpoint. I think people seem to pay more attention when their kids are in school, but don't really follow it as closely any other time. And while I lived here in 2000 for example, I don't know that I went to a Norsemen basketball game that year. So in my case, most readers will probably go, "Who was that?" for at least a few of the guys.

But I'm gonna do it anyway. Some guys are clear to me. But that is easy in the skill positions, because they have the stats in the paper each week. I'm also not going to name anybody two ways. And the spot where I struggle the most is the interior of the defensive line. I have nobody in mind for those spots. I have some potential names, but they will be going on the offensive line. And then for the picks. Some guys played on great teams, and some guys played on some bad teams. I tried to take in consideration of likely success no matter the year they had played. Also a note, for any player, I will put their graduation class after them, but remember, their senior football season would have been the year before. So if I say Thor Svensen (2008), that means his senior football campaign was in the fall of 2007.

So let's get started.....

My first draft pick regardless of position is Sam Hammes (2006). Sam ran for almost 1500 yards in the fall of 2005, and had a career per carry average of almost 7.7 yards. Just a beast running the ball for the Norse.

Now that the top pick is in, let's go over to the defense first, because, as they say, defense wins championships. Of course, depending on the opponent, is what kind of defense you might run. But I'm going to go with a 4-4-3 base package. So let's start up front first. Two come to mind right away. At defensive end, I'm going with Nolan Rasmussen (2009) and Brandon Morgan (2011). These guys were quick and strong off the end. Brandon had his career cut short due to concussions, but both are worthy.

For noseguard/nose tackle I have some guys in mind, but I'm going to put them on the offensive line, so scratch them. This position is difficult, because they don't get a lot of big stats as the linebackers do all the cleaning up. But I'm going to go with Garrett Schubert (2008) and Westin Barnes (2006) to plug up the front.

Switching to linebacker, there are a lot of good options. Some played hybrid positions, "Monster" being one of the well known name from years past. But I'm going to lump them all together with 4 linebacker positions. Cole Billerbeck (2009) comes to mind first. And he'd probably be my #2 overall draft pick, if I was doing that. A combined 290 tackles between his Junior and Senior years, and just always seemed to be getting up off the pile. Next I'm going with a guy I only saw for one year, Nick Handeland (2005). He was the District Defensive MVP. Enough said. Justin Doolittle (2008) was a 3 year starter with 240 career tackles. I'm struggling with who to go with my 4th linebacker. Because the 3 others are solid on the interior, I'm gonna go with a little more speed on the outside, and use him as a partial cover guy, and that is Josiah Soderstrum (2015).

Switching to the D-backs, a lot of good choices there. We've had 7 1st team All-District selections here in my timeframe. At the corner position, one guy comes to mind right away. He was a 1st team All-District pick. He wasn't that big, but his wrestling toughness really helped him, and that is Dan Brodie (2007). For the other corner, I'm going with somebody who seemed to be a good cover guy, and that is Jordan Sheahan (2005). At safety, this may be my toughest pick out of two guys in my entire list. So I'm gonna mention them both. Zeb Hammes (2009)did a great job at covering people, and was always there to clean up. But he is not my pick. I'm gonna go with Tyler Hovick (2016). The Norse have not had a harder hitting safety in my years covering the team. Fun to watch him crack the opponent pads. Unfortunately, he didn't play on the best defensive teams, so he got in on a lot of tackles too, leading the team in the fall of 2015, which is not a good thing for a safety.

Time to head over to the offense. Much of my time covering the team, the Norse ran a wishbone offense. And in my all-timer team, if I ran that, I'd need 3 running backs. I like the 'Bone, but with the guys I have, I'm gonna have a pro set offense, so 2 running backs, 2 wide outs, and a tight end. Also, the wishbone meant an option quarterback. The guy I am picking at quarterback, I would not choose for running the option tho. If I were, the aforementioned Zeb Hammes would be my pick, but again, he ends up as the runner-up at a position. My starting quarterback is Evan Johnson (2013). Johnson didn't throw a lot. But when he did, he was very efficient. A starter for a year and a half, 60% completion rate, even career TDs vs interceptions (which is rare at R-S). My team needs a good game manager, so Evan's my guy. Roland-Story's Trent Dilfer.

In the backfield, as I mentioned at the beginning of the post, is my first overall pick, Sam Hammes (2005). He's Roland-Story's 5th all-time leading rusher, and has the highest per carry average of any back with at least 100 carries. There are a lot of good choices for the 2nd running back slot. And a lot of guys in the career rushing top 10. I'm gonna go with Darren Johnson (2008). He has the 3rd most rushing yards of any Norsemen ever, and was tearing up the field starting in his sophomore year. Definitely had the quicks and was a 3 time 2nd team All-District rusher.

Switching to the wide receiver spot, I'm first going with Ryan Skaar (2013). He was more known for his basketball exploits, but he could jump and had good hands to catch the ball. He's 4th all time for the Norse in career receptions and receiving yards. And for my next slot, I'm biased, but with that said, I'm going with Jerald Fritz (2015). Jerald had his 6'4" height and speed to cause opposing defenses to change up to cover him, especially against smaller defensive backs. Other than Skaar, he had the single best receiving season during my time covering the Norse. Here's Brett Staton (2017) to Fritz for a long completion called back for a penalty, and then on the next play, the same play call, and the longest pass completion in Norsemen history.

Going to tight end, I'm going with Jacob Rathmacher (2009). Not to beat on the coaching staff, but he gets the award, in my opinion, for most under utilized player I have seen for the Norse. He was tall, big, and strong, but we rarely passed to him. Even so, he still did a nice job blocking up front.

As for the big uglies up front, here's my 5. Logan Voga (2006), Ben Whaley (2006), Bret Johnson (2011), Xavier Drake(2011), Nick Ahrens (2014). Voga was the best of the bunch, IMO, a 3 year starter, and 2 year 1st team All-District pick. Bret Johnson was my next pick, a 2 time 1st Teamer. Zippy Drake was always solid and Nick Ahrens gets in based on his senior campaign. He had a really nice senior year leading the line.

Of course we need special teams too. For a kick returner, I'm going with Bryttan Thompson (2011). 28 yard average for his career and 32 yard average his senior year. State Track sprinter speed. Bryce Sampson (2009) is my punt returner. Most punts returned out of anyone I've seen with a healthy 10 yard average

Punter is close. Gunder Howe (2016) and Bryce Holdridge (2009) both punted for 3 years, are 1/2 in R-S career punting average with Gunder having a career average of 8 inches (yes inches) more than Bryce. But I'm going to take Bryce as my punter. Bryce was a bit more consistent, so the old guy gets the nod.

Kicker is another close one. I have been witness to the golden years of Norsemen kicking. In the entire history of Roland-Story Norsemen football, there have been only 28 made field goals. And I have seen 21 of them.

I didn't necessarily layout the stats for other positions, but this one is really interesting. It is 3 guys that are neck and neck and neck. Gunnar Wyatt (2009), Charlie Steenhagen (2013) and Gunder Howe (2016). Career kickoff average is Steenhagen 47.63 yards, Wyatt 45.84, and Howe 45.71. Career made field goals: Steenhagen 8, Howe 7, Wyatt 6. Career PAT % Wyatt 84.7, Howe 84.2, Steenhagen 77.5. Longest career field goal: Wyatt 42, Steenhagen 38, Howe 38. I'm a stats guy, and I think a case could be made for any of them. But I've come this far, so I gotta make a pick. I'm just gonna go with my gut, and take Gunnar Wyatt as my kicker.

So there ya' have it. There are some guys I covered that are still playing, that I think could bump onto the list, if they have nice Senior years this year. But since my era ended with last fall, they hadn't shown enough to get onto the list yet. So hopefully the Norse have a nice year this year, and make some good memories.

So who did I miss? Who do you disagree with? I'd like to hear what you think, so leave a comment.