Morical named MVP as Cardinals honor team award winners

Team-voted awards for football and volleyball programs that ended the season in late November are starting to come in, and the Alexandria football team honored their senior running back with the Most Valuable Player Award recently.

Nolan Morical finished his career as the program’s all-time leading rusher in terms of yards with 2,817. He added 33 total touchdowns on the ground. In addition to being one of seven Alexandria Cardinals who earned all-district honors , Morical also earned the Cardinal Legacy Award for his impact on the program over the years.

Fellow senior Neko Glaser helped pave the way for Morical and the Cardinals’ ground game, and Glaser was named the team’s most valuable offensive lineman. Alexandria rushed for a total of 1,262 yards and 19 touchdowns this year. The Cardinals averaged 157.8 yards per game on the ground.

Senior Carter Moen earned the team’s Most Valuable Defensive Lineman Award. Moen had 22 total tackles (9 solo, 13 assisted), and two sacks. He also forced two fumbles and recovered two fumbles.

Junior Will Heydt was named the team’s most-improved player. Heydt was important for the Cardinals on both sides of the ball as he finished as the team’s third-leading tackler with 31 (22 solo, 9 assisted). He had five tackles for loss, while adding an interception and a fumble recovery. Heydt also ran for 378 yards and six touchdowns on 67 carries -- all second on the team behind Morical.

Alexandria named junior receiver Kristen Hoskins as the most valuable offensive back, and Hoskins also earned the district’s Most Valuable Special Teams Player Award. Hoskins was the team’s leading receiver with 41 catches, 628 yards (15.32 YPC) and nine touchdowns. He also added a kickoff return touchdown of 74 yards.

The MVP honor on special teams for the Cardinals went to junior kicker Myles Sansted. Sansted racked up 32 points by going 29-of-32 on extra points and 1-of-1 on field goals with a 30-yarder.

Junior Wyatt Odland rounded out the team award winners for Alexandria by earning the Most Valuable Defensive Back Award. He led the team in tackles with 65 (34 solo, 31 assisted), while also recovering a fumble.

Odland will be a two-year captain for the program after serving in that role this fall and being named a captain again for 2021. Heydt and Teagan Pfeffer join Odland as players named captain for next season.