CUSTER — TJ Smith and Craig Lunde guided their Grass Range-Winnett and Wibaux football programs to the best 6-Man finishes in school history — Lunde’s Longhorns won the state championship, defeating Smith’s Rangers in the semifinals — and both will be on the sidelines for this summer’s 6-Man all-star game.
Smith was named head coach of the Red Team, consisting of athletes from the 6-Man North and South, while Lunde will mentor the Blue Team, with athletes from the 6-Man East and West. The rosters were released on Wednesday morning.
Three of Lunde’s Longhorns will compete in the all-star contest on June 1, 2019: Cade Dschaak, Cobe Begger and Chance Larson. Semifinalist Richey-Lambert will also send three players in Seth Prevost, Tyler Thiessen and Bryce Reitz. The Fusion upset No. 2 Geraldine-Highwood 56-54 in the second round of the 6-Man playoffs, before falling to eventual runner-up Jordan 50-37 in the semifinals.
Geraldine-Highwood, which remains undecided on the future of its co-op, has a program-best four athletes on the Red Team roster. Mavrick McKinlay, Joey Hale, Brady Duvall and Zeke Davison will represent the Rivals, as will coach Brandon Gondeiro.
Smith will have three of his Rangers on the Red Team — Zane Stahl, Caleb Hess and Caden McCarthy — while Sunburst’s Renny Turner, Lane Lerum and Cody Smith will represent the Refiners.
The Blue Team won its fourth consecutive contest in the series last summer, a 70-28 victory. Big Sandy’s Weston Allderdice was named the game’s offensive MVP, while Shad Mack of Terry earned defensive MVP.
Complete rosters can be found below.
23rd annual 6-Man all-star football game
Saturday, June 1, 2019 at Custer
Red Team (6-Man North, 6-Man South)
Head coach — TJ Smith, Grass Range-Winnett.
Assistant coaches — Dustin Kinkelaar, Roy-Winifred; Brandon Gondeiro, Geraldine-Highwood; Chuck Terry, Big Sandy.
Players — Zane Stahl, Grass Range-Winnett; Caleb Hess, Grass Range-Winnett; Caden McCarthy, Grass Range-Winnett; Colby Zentner, Bridger; Eric White, Bridger; Ryan Russell, Roy-Winifred; Mavrick McKinlay, Geraldine-Highwood; Joey Hale, Geraldine-Highwood; Brady Duvall, Geraldine-Highwood; Zeke Davison, Geraldine-Highwood; Jake Solomon, Denton-Geyser-Stanford; Kyle Lee, Denton-Geyser-Stanford; Renny Turner, Sunburst; Lane Lerum, Sunburst; Cody Smith, Sunburst; Joey Zylks, Power-Dutton-Brady.
Alternates — Ryan Drollinger, Grass Range-Winnett; Jake Mitzel, Bridger; Erik Holstein, Fromberg; Everett Sipler, Big Sandy; Mike Buckley, Sunburst; J.R. Spencer, Geraldine-Highwood.
Blue Team (6-Man East, 6-Man West)
Head coach — Craig Lunde, Wibaux.
Assistant coaches — Shawn Lien, Richey-Lambert; Jim Lawson, Hot Springs; Jeff Mathews, West Yellowstone.
Players — Brandon Ledahl, Westby-Grenora; Tell Soiseth, Westby-Grenora; Cade Dschaak, Wibaux; Cobe Begger, Wibaux; Chance Larson, Wibaux; AJ Ullmer, Bainville; Tyler Thiessen, Richey-Lambert; Seth Prevost, Richey-Lambert; Bryce Reitz, Richey-Lambert; Tyler Knudsen, Hot Springs; Tyler Carr, Hot Springs; Branson Becker, Valley Christian; Levi Brubaker, Noxon; Caleb Fix, Ekalaka; Bill Hanson, White Sulphur Springs; Will Collins, White Sulphur Springs.
Alternates — Moxon Lee, Sheridan; Edison VanVleet, Noxon; Koby Willie, Gardiner; Cameron Downs, Bainville; Sawyer Thiel, Savage; D/Marco Land, Westby-Grenora.
