🏈 Local athletes, coaches set for 8-Man All-Star Game in Beloit

Hays Post Sports

BELOIT, Kan. - Several Hutch Post-area student-athletes and coaches will be featured in the annual Eight-Man All-Star Football Games, set for Saturday at Trojan Football Stadium in Beloit.

The Kansas Eight-Man Football Association sponsors the event, which honors the top players from across the state in two showcase matchups. The Division II game will begin at 10 a.m., followed by the Division I contest at 1:30 p.m.

Among the local representatives, Victoria will be well represented in Division II. Cale Braun, Wyatt Griffin and Jeb Miller were selected to the West squad, and Aaron Dinkel will be the West head coach. Logan-Palco’s Rhett Kats and Caleb Sparks along with Wheatland-Grinnell’s Kaden Redburn are on the West team.

Ellis’ Caleb Noble and Trego’s Graeden Deines will play for the Division I West team along with Quinter’s Camden Polifka and Hill City’s Dayton Stephen. State champ Hoxie has three participants in Duncan Bell, Easton Nickelson and Sam Watkins. Hoxie’s Lance Baar is an assistant coach.

The Eight-Man All-Star Game tradition began in 1986 after a group of north central Kansas coaches came together to give recognition to athletes from the state’s smallest schools, many of whom were regularly overlooked for the Kansas Shrine Bowl. With support from similar associations in Nebraska and Oklahoma, the Kansas Eight-Man Football Association (KEMFA) was formed, and the first all-star game was played that summer.

The city of Beloit has served as the game’s permanent host site, with the annual event highlighting the excellence and legacy of eight-man football in Kansas.

Players reported to camp earlier this week to begin preparations.

Area Participants

Division I West
• Caleb Noble, Ellis
• Dayton Stephen, Hill City
• Duncan Bell, Hoxie
• Caleb Nickelson, Hoxie
• Camden Polifka, Quinter
• Graeden Deines, WaKeeney-Trego

Coaches
• Lance Baar, Hoxie (West assistant)

Division I East
• Dalton Garman, Osborne

Eight-Man All-Star Football Selections

Division I

East Team Kyler Bergkamp, Little River; Ruxton Birdsong, Little River; Cade Brokes, Sylvan-Lucas; Luke Budke, Chase County; Lucky Cherico, Sedan; Trent Haag, West Elk; Aiden Hekele, Central Plains; Dante Henley, Central-Burden; Eli Hurley, Central Plains; Josh Hutchinson, Oswego; Colton Isch, Madison; Creyo Koop, West Elk; Brodin Koch, Clifton-Clyde; Trextin Koch, Clifton-Clyde; Cooper McDill, Rock Hills; Rayden Myers, Oswego; Oliver Nobert, Clifton-Clyde; Logan Renken, Little River; Victor Ruiz-Torres, Ell-Saline; Jacob Tillberg, Ell-Saline.

Coaches – Derick Budke, Chase County (head); Colby Hamel, Lincoln; JD Johnson, Central Plains.

West Team Duncan Bell, Hoxie; Dorian Culwell, Rawlins County; Graeden Dienes, WaKeeney-Trego; Zac Hendrickson, South Gray; Khris Hermosillo, Wichita County; Alex Holguin, Meade; Cordell Jordan, Oxford; Zach Kraft, Kinsley; Damien Loewen, South Gray; Easton Nickelson, Hoxie; Caleb Noble, Ellis; Camden Polifka, Quinter; JT Prusa, South Central; Jase Rutherford, South Central; Jamie Sarmiento, South Central; Ryan Sramek, Rawlins County; Dayton Stephen, Hill City; Juan Tapia, Wichita County; Sam Watkins, Hoxie; Max Witham, Wichita County.

Coaches – Aaron Sramek, Rawlins County (head); Brett Westrup, South Central; Lance Baar, Hoxie.