Substate Preview: 1A-1
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District 1 The favorite: Remsen, St. Mary’s has made six consecutive trips to the state tournament, and after earning the top seed in the district, a seventh straight trip is within reach. The Hawks once again have have excellent defensively,…
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The favorite: Remsen, St. Mary’s has made six consecutive trips to the state tournament, and after earning the top seed in the district, a seventh straight trip is within reach. The Hawks once again have have excellent defensively, allowing just 43.7 points a game, and they have a balanced offensive attack that sees five players averaging at least 8.6 points a game. Jaxon Bunkers Jaxon Bunkers 5'11" | SF St. Mary's, Remsen | 2023 State IA (15.8, 5.2 assists) leads the team in scoring and assists and is a senior leader who has been a key piece for three straight state tournament teams, while sophomore forward Collin Homan Collin Homan 6'5" | PF Remsen, St. Mary's | 2025 State IA (14.4, 8.2 rebounds) has been a dominant force in the paint, shooting 62% from the floor. This year’s iteration of the Hawks don’t shoot it as well from the arc (28.1%) as previous teams have, but they play strong, disciplined defense, rebound well, and share the ball. This is a veteran team that knows how to win big games. They own a season sweep of South O’Brien and wins over HMS and Kingsley-Pierson.
The biggest threat: Despite being the #3 seed in the district and facing a trip to Kingsley-Pierson in the district semifinals, South O’Brien is the biggest threat to St. Mary’s in the district. The Wolverines are 13-6 (at the time of this writing), and those six losses have come to St. Mary’s (twice), Gehlen Catholic (the top seed in District 2), and two good 2A schools – West Sioux (twice) and Unity Christian. The Wolverines just played St. Mary’s to a seven-point game and have the balanced offensive attack and solid 2-3 defense that could cause problems in a third meeting. Boston Riedemann (11.7) leads the team in scoring, but Willie Conley (11.6) and David Bottjen (11.0) are right behind him, giving them a trio of solid scoring threats. It’s always difficult to beat a team three times in a season, and these teams are very familiar with one another. The major difference in conferences (War Eagle for South O’Brien versus the Western Valley for Kingsley-Pierson) gives the Wolverines an edge here.
The dark horse(s): Kingsley-Pierson is coming into postseason play hot, winners of 10 straight games, using a suffocating defense to control games, allowing just 38.8 points a game, fourth in the class. The Panthers are led by junior guard Beau Goodwin (12.7) and senior Boston Doeschot (10.8), and they have a defense that can force a ton of turnovers and take advantage of loose ball-handling teams. They’ll get the district semifinal game against (likely) South O’Brien at home, which will be beneficial. The other team to watch in this district is Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn. The Hawks have a pair of Division 1 athletes on their side in future football players Lance Berends Lance Berends 6'4" | PF HMS | 2023 State IA (21.3, 12.5 rebounds) and Kooper Ebel Kooper Ebel 6'2" | SG HMS | 2023 State IA (18.8, 9.9 rebounds), who are headed to Northern Iowa and Iowa State, respectively. Both are fantastic athletes with strength, physicality, and experience, and both are difficult matchups at this level. HMS played St. Mary’s to a 10-point game last month and is capable of giving the Hawks a handful in the semifinals.
Players to watch
2023
Jaxon Bunkers
Jaxon
Bunkers
5'11" | SF
St. Mary's, Remsen | 2023
State
IA
, Remsen, St. Mary’s
2025
Collin Homan
Collin
Homan
6'5" | PF
Remsen, St. Mary's | 2025
State
IA
, Remsen, St. Mary’s
2023
Cael Ortmann
Cael
Ortmann
6'2" | SF
St. Mary's, Remsen | 2023
State
IA
, Remsen, St. Mary’s
2023 Boston Riedemann, South O’Brien
2024 Willie Conley, South O’Brien
2024 David Bottjen, South O’Brien
2024 Beau Goodwin, Kingsley-Pierson
2023 Boston Doeschot, Kingsley-Pierson
2023
Lance Berends
Lance
Berends
6'4" | PF
HMS | 2023
State
IA
, Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn
2023
Kooper Ebel
Kooper
Ebel
6'2" | SG
HMS | 2023
State
IA
, Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn
2023 Braden Sonksen, Alta-Aurelia
2023 Tyce Gunderson, Harris-Lake Park
2024 Laytin Koch, Akron-Westfield
2023
Caleb Burns
Caleb
Burns
5'10" | SG
River Valley | 2023
State
IA
, River Valley
2023 Nolan Porter, Siouxland Christian
District 2
The favorite: Gehlen Catholic earned the top seed in the district, and should, in theory, have an easier path to the district final than the contenders on the bottom of the bracket. The Jays have lost four games, but three of those have come to good 2A teams (Unity Christian, Western Christian, West Sioux), and the other came against Remsen, St. Mary’s, the top-seeded team in District 1. Senior guard Keaten Bonderson Keaten Bonderson 6'0" | PG Gehlen Catholic | 2023 State IA (21.5) is one of the most dynamic players in the class, a quick guard who can break down a defense and get to the bucket as well as torch teams from the arc. Keaton Logan (9.3, 4.9 assists) has allowed Bonderson to move off the ball more this season, allowing him to focus more on scoring and the Jays have taken off as a result. Drake DeRocher (11.7, 39.8 3P%) gives them some needed perimster shooting. This is a group that shares the ball well (16.1 assists a game) and plays solid defense. In Bonderson, they have an elite player, and they have a lot of solid pieces around him.
The biggest threat: The highest-ranked team in BCMoore’s rankings in the district is actually Newell-Fonda, the team seeded third. The Mustangs are an explosive offensive team, averaging 80.2 points a game (third in the class) behind dynamic senior guard Carter Sievers Carter Sievers 6'1" | PG Newell Fonda | 2023 State IA (27.7), who is having a sensational year as an efficient three-level scorer. Mason Dicks (15.2, 4.8 assists) has been really good as a lead guard, and the Mustangs play an up-tempo, pressing style that forces a ton of turnovers (14.5 steals a game). They were given the #3 seed in part because of a head-to-head loss to GTRA a week ago, but that loss was by just two points and came in a game in which they shot 10 points worse than their season averages from the floor.
The dark horse(s): GTRA just beat Newell-Fonda last week and will get the rematch at home again in the district semifinals, which gives them an edge. The Titans have four double-figure scorers in Drew Schnell Drew Schnell 5'9" | PG GTRA | 2023 State IA (15.9), Eric Heinrichs (15.2), Kory Hough (11.5), and Max Hough Max Hough 5'11" | PG GTRA | 2023 State IA (10.5), all seniors. Max Hough Max Hough 5'11" | PG GTRA | 2023 State IA is one of the top lead guards in the area, a facilitator who is dishing out 7.9 assists a game, and this group rarely turns it over, averaging fewer than nine turnovers a game. Their variety of scoring threats makes them difficult to defend, they protect the ball, and their senior-laden, which makes them dangerous. George-Little Rock may still be a year away from making real noise, with four juniors leading the team in scoring, but the Mustangs play in the always tough Siouxland Conference, which will prepare them well for the competition they’ll see here. Forward Drew Denekas Drew Denekas 6'2" | PF George-Little Rock | 2024 State IA (13.2, 10.5 rebounds) is a handful on the inside, and Isaiah Johnson (7.3, 3.7 assists, 42.9 3P%) is a solid lead guard who can protect the ball and knock down shots.
Players to watch
2023
Keaten Bonderson
Keaten
Bonderson
6'0" | PG
Gehlen Catholic | 2023
State
IA
, Gehlen Catholic
2023 Drake DeRocher, Gehlen Catholic
2023 Keaton Logan, Gehlen Catholic
2023
Carter Sievers
Carter
Sievers
6'1" | PG
Newell Fonda | 2023
State
IA
, Newell-Fonda
2023 Mason Dicks, Newell-Fonda
2023
Drew Schnell
Drew
Schnell
5'9" | PG
GTRA | 2023
State
IA
, GTRA
2023 Eric Heinrichs, GTRA
2023
Max Hough
Max
Hough
5'11" | PG
GTRA | 2023
State
IA
, GTRA
2024
Drew Denekas
Drew
Denekas
6'2" | PF
George-Little Rock | 2024
State
IA
, George-Little Rock
2026
Brayson Mulder
Brayson
Mulder
6'3" | SF
MMCRU | 2026
State
IA
, MMCRU
2024 Dustin Hoksbergen, Trinity Christian
2025 Gage Semple, Lawton-Bronson
SUBSTATE FINAL PREDICTION
Remsen, St. Mary’s vs. Newell-Fonda
We’ll call for the slight upset (based on seeds at least) and take Newell-Fonda to emerge out of District 2 and face off with St. Mary’s in the substate final. If this game were to emerge, it would be an interesting contrast in styles, with Newell-Fonda wanting to push the pace and St. Mary’s preferring to use their smothering defense to control a halfcourt game. The explosiveness of Carter Sievers Carter Sievers 6'1" | PG Newell Fonda | 2023 State IA proves to be too much here, and Newell-Fonda punches their first state tournament ticket since 2014, stopping the Hawks’ bid for seven straight one game short.