One Month to Tourney: 2A Teams, Players to Watch

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We're entering the home stretch. With the state tournaments about four weeks away, it's time for teams to build their resumes, improve their seedings, and polish their rotations in preparation of substate, with the ultimate prize – a state title – awaiting.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here are teams and players from the 2A class to watch this final month:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Frontrunner – Lyndon</strong>:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Tigers are fully loaded, experienced and explosive. There are teams out there capable of knocking them off, but for now, it's hard to not see Lyndon running the table. They are led by newcomer [player_tooltip player_id='1270271' first='Tanner' last='Heckel'], who transferred from Inman, but they would be loaded without him. [player_tooltip player_id='2387748' first='Jalen' last='Massey'], Kaedin Massey, Casten Wirth, Daxten Miller…that's plenty of firepower to make a run at a title.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Challenger – Sterling:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sterling faces a huge stretch when they face Ell-Saline and Moundridge. They have weathered every challenge thus far, with just one loss to a Sunrise team. This team is in a media black hole, so there's not much news out about them. Big men Gabe Riffel, Carson Gray and [player_tooltip player_id='2403145' first='Boston' last='Ekart'] balance out sharpshooters [player_tooltip player_id='2314835' first='Isaac' last='Briar'] and Blake Smith. The Blackbears have been close to a breakthrough for a few years. This might finally be their year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Work to Do – Moundridge:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>How can you not have the defending state champs in the mix? They added [player_tooltip player_id='1953952' first='Kreighton' last='Kanitz'] (pictured) to a big two in [player_tooltip player_id='1740754' first='Barrett' last='Moddelmog'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2321606' first='Henry' last='Hecox'], guys who brought back tons of experience from last year's run. But the Wildcats have taken a few losses along the way as they put the new nucleus together. They have some experience, but just one senior in Kanitz.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Main Man – (tie) [player_tooltip player_id='1270271' first='Tanner' last='Heckel'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1740754' first='Barrett' last='Moddelmog']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Heckel is without a doubt one of the best players in the field, but it's what he adds to an already talented group that is special. He is an athletic beast on his way to a Division I football career. He brought explosiveness to a group poised for a run. Moddelmog was talented enough to be a title team leader as a sophomore. He's big and physical and can shoot from anywhere. If you believe Moundridge is a challenger, then Moddelmog is at the forefront.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Player to Watch – (tie) [player_tooltip player_id='1270299' first='Eli' last='Lawson'] and Kevion Ruiz:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We've believed in Lawson all along. We see him as one of the most dominant forces in the small school ranks. We believe Bennington has what it takes to make a run. They will have to put it all together to avoid a disappointing end like they suffered a year ago. A team who did make a run a year ago is Medicine Lodge, and they were led by the athletic Ruiz. He's football tough, plays inside and out and leads a group of winners. Both of these teams have taken a few losses this year, but have talent and the potential to go deep in the playoffs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->