Seven named all-district for Alexandria

The Alexandria football team had a long list of players who earned all-district status when the North Central (Red) award winners were announced recently.

Nolan Morical (RB/CB), Kristen Hoskins (SB/CB), Wyatt Odland (TE/LB), Will Heydt (RB/CB), Teagan Pfeffer (SE/CB), Carter Moen (OT/DT) and Gunner Anderson (OT/DT) all earned all-district honors after their roles in helping the Cardinals to a 4-4 overall season.

Anderson and Moen helped set the tone up front. Anderson had 19 tackles defensively, and Moen had 22 tackles to go with two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.

Morical led a ground game for Alexandria that put up 1,262 yards this season. That was good for an average of 157.8-yards per game.

Morical finished with 589 yards on 103 carries to go with nine touchdowns. He averaged 5.72 yards-per carry in a season where he battled injuries to make an impact in almost every game.

Heydt was Alexandria’s second-leading rusher with 378 yards (5.64 YPC) to go with six touchdowns. He also caught a touchdown and was third on the team in tackles defensively with 31 (22 solo, 9 assisted). Heydt had a team-best five tackles for loss and added an interception and a fumble recovery to his line.

Hoskins led all Alexandria receivers with 41 catches and 628 yards (15.3 YPC). The junior averaged 78.5 yards per game and finished with nine touchdowns receiving and one touchdown on a kickoff return.

Odland led Alexandria in tackles with 65 (34 solo, 31 assisted). He had one tackle for loss and added a fumble recovery, while Pfeffer also helped anchor the defense with 26 tackles (16 solo, 10 assisted). Pfeffer had an interception, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

Alexandria also had five players named honorable-mention all district in Aaron Jost (RB/LB), Carter Steffensmeier (QB), Zander Homelvig (T/DE), Elijah Holthaus (SE/CB) and Kelly Johnson (WR/CB).

Jost was second on the team in tackles with 62 (36 solo, 26 assisted) and had the lone defensive touchdown on the team on an interaction return.

Homelvig had 25 tackles, including two for a loss. He and Pfeffer accounted for one safety each, as Homelvig jumped on two fumble recoveries to help lead the defense.

Holthaus had 14 tackles to go with one forced fumble and two fumble recoveries.

Steffensmeier, a junior, threw nine touchdowns and nine interceptions in his first year as the regular starter at quarterback. He completed 68-of-121 passes for 929 yards.

Johnson was the Cardinals’ second leading receiver with 15 catches for 187 yards (12.5 YPC) and two touchdowns.