Plenty of talented gridiron standouts to keep an eye on this fall in northeastern South Dakota

Last week we looked at some of the best area high school football teams to watch this fall. Now it's time to look at some of the best players to watch.

Good teams obviously have more good players than others, but every team has at least one or two good players.

Let's start with:

The Dandy Baker's Dozen

Juven Hudson, Watertown: It's a safe bet that the senior and returning Class 11AA All-State running back is going to be the focus of the Arrow offense and also the focus of opposing teams. The speedster rushed for 1,236 yards and 11 touchdowns in eight games last fall.

Hunter Cramer, Warner: The senior running back earned Class 9A All-State honors after leading the Monarchs to the state championship game last fall. He rushed for 1,361 yards and 28 touchdowns, passed for 328 yards and six TDs and also made 63 tackles. He's a three-time All-Lake Region Conference selection.

Luke Fraser, Hamlin: How about another speedster in the backfield. Fraser earned Class 9AA All-State running back honors after rushing for 1,634 yards and 18 touchdowns for a Hamlin team that advanced to the state Class 9AA semifinals last fall. He also caught 14 passes for 368 yards and six other scores.

Trevor Gill, Herreid-Selby Area: The Wolverines carried an unbeaten record into the state Class 9B champions last fall before falling to Hitchcock-Tulare. Gone are standout quarterback Tray Hettick and running back Brenden Begeman. Gill, a senior All-State right end, is back. A three-year starter, he caught 39 passes for 982 yards and 14 touchdowns.

Erik Salmen, Hitchcock-Tulare: Let's double up on state Class 9B championship players and talk about Salmen, a senior All-State running back who is one of the top returnees for the unbeaten state champion Patriots. He rushed for 1,004 yards and 17 touchdowns last fall.

Robert Begalka, Deuel: Yes, we know, the skill-position guys get all the credit so let's talk about a 6-foot, 240-pound lineman who is one of the key returnees for a Deuel team that advanced to the quarterfinals of the state Class 11B playoffs last season. He earned all-conference honors in both the Eastern Coteau and Northeast conferences last fall. He has 45 career pancake blocks and 79 career tackles. (Note: Originally, I messed up the brothers by originally crediting Ronnie, an honorable mention All-State lineman graduated last fall and is now playing at Dakota State).

Kadyn Fast, De Smet: The Bulldogs have graduated a load of talented players the last couple of years, but still keep out churning successful teams. The senior wide receiver-defensive back is one of the guys who will have to shine if De Smet is going to live up to the No. 2 preseason ranking in Class 9B. He earned All-State and All-Dakota Valley Conference honors last fall.

Austin Erickson, Aberdeen Central: The Golden Eagles enjoyed a pretty good season in Class 11AA last fall with backs Karson Carda and Spencer Barr producing big years. They're gone, leaving players like this 5-5, 200-pound senior running back to step into a bigger role.

Quincy Thu and Lane Tvedt, Castlewood: We started off with a Dandy Dozen, but picked these two senior Warriors to make it a Baker's Dozen. Thu earned Class 9A All-State honors as a special teams player and had 1,020 all-purpose yards for a Castlewood team that made the quarterfinals of the state playoffs. Tvedt, a quarterback, threw for 1,342 yards and 20 touchdowns and also rushed for 12 TDs last fall.

Layne Cotton, Faulkton Area: The Trojans are ranked fifth in the preseason Class 9B poll thanks to a returning cast that includes Cotton, a three-year starter at safety on defense who will be handling the quarterback duties for a second-straight year after playing wide receiver as a sophomore.

Boden Schiller, Sioux Valley: The Cossacks suffered a first-round exit in the state Class 11B playoffs last fall and have opened the season as the No. 3 team in Class 11B in part due to a strong returning cast that includes Schiller. The senior earned All-State honors as a special teams player. He can play just about anywhere on the field and is listed as a wide receiver, quarterback and defensive end.

Tyson Stevenson, Hamlin: Tyson's father Mark quarterbacked Hamlin to its first state championship in 1989 and his son wouldn't mind closing out his career by matching that feat this fall. The senior threw for 1,636 yards and 23 touchdowns last fall.

More: Hamlin, Warner and Sioux Valley appear to be the cream of the crop for area gridiron squads

How about 13 Others

Collin Tisdall, Herreid-Selby Area: The senior earned Class 9B All-State honors as a lineman last fall and also plays linebacker.

Carson Griffith, Elkton-Lake Benton: The Elks made it to the Class 9AA semifinals last fall and do return some quality pieces. One of those is Griffith, a senior All-State tight end who caught 22 passes for 395 yards and eight touchdowns last fall.

Simon Hendricks, Watertown: Seniors Hendricks and Austin Johnson and juniors Spencer Wientjes are all returning linebackers for the Arrows. Hendricks led the team with 53 tackles last fall.

Trevor Heinz, Ipswich: The 5-10, 155-pound senior caught 37 passes for 596 yards and five touchdowns for the Tigers in 2022. He also had 25 tackles and two interceptions on defense.

Brendan Nowell, Hitchcock-Tulare: The senior All-State defensive back is another key returner for the Patriots. He had eight interceptions last fall, including one that he returned 98 yards for a TD in the state championship game.

Ryder Falkenhagen, Potter County: The senior earned honorable mention honors on the Class 9B All-State team last fall after catching 26 passes for 368 yards and five touchdowns. He also made 84 tackles and four interceptions on defense.

Jameson Nebel and Cristhian Rodriguez, Hamlin: The two seniors are a big part of the returning offensive and defensive lineman mix for the Chargers. Nebel earned honorable mention All-State honors last fall.

Jake Jorenby, Deubrook Area: Former Waverly-South Shore assistant Nathan Lamb is rebuilding the Dolphin program with guys like Jorenby, who earned honorable mention Class 9A All-State honors as a defensive back last fall.

Grady Fey and Elijah Morrissette, Redfield: The 260-pound senior lineman and going to be three-year starters for the Pheasants, who made the Class 11B playoffs last fall.

Parker Lemer, Aberdeen Central: Lemer was a regular in the defensive backfield for the Golden Eagles in 2022 and is one of the quarterback options for head coach Justin Briese in 2023.

Brayden Sumption, Leola-Frederick Area: The senior quarterback returns for the Titans after passing for 443 yards and six touchdowns and rushing for 563 yards and nine scores in 2022.

Other Players to Watch

Class 11A: Senior Jayden Johnson earned All-Northeast Conference honors (nine receptions for 160 yards and three touchdowns and 25 tackles) for Milbank. Senior Garrett Mertens was an honorable-mention All-NEC honoree after passing for 896 and nine scores.

Class 11B: Seniors Colby Dunker (80 tackles), Lane Tietz, Teylor Diegel and Logan Ringgenberg were either named or received honorable mention All-NEC honors last fall for Groton Area. Sioux Valley's returning cast includes juniors Donovan Rose and Brock Christopherson and senior Hudsyn Ruesink. Senior Trey Maaland (1,396 yards passing with 18 TD passes in his career) and 280-pound senior Kaden TeKrony are other leaders for Deuel.

Junior Elliot Bratland of Clark-Willow Lake, senior Josh Schaunaman (All-NEC) and junior Zane Backous of Aberdeen Roncalli and Mobridge-Pollock junior Jackson Eisemann are also key returnees for their squads. Seniors Brent Bearman and Carson Mount of Webster Area (All-NEC and All-ECC), junior Mason Shultz of Sisseton (All-NEC) and juniors Dylan Rumpza and Brooks Dolen of Dakota Hills (All-ECC) are also returning all-conference players.

Class 9AA: Juniors Tanner Stein and Riddick Westley of Elkton-Lake Benton are returning All-DVC players. Senior Collin Beaner (All-ECC) and sophomore Bryce Hawkinson of Britton-Hecla, junior Karter Kohlenberg of Florence-Henry (All-ECC), senior Myles York (All-ECC) and junior running back-defensive back Micah Holien of Great Plains Lutheran , senior Chet Peterson of Ipswich, juniors Evan Stormo (All-NEC) and Zac VanMeeteren of Hamlin and seniors Brandon Pickell and Levi Little of Leola-Frederick Area.

Class 9A: Senior receiver-defensive back Cody Thompson of Waverly-South Shore (All-ECC) and seniors Mattix Hausman and Caden Ching of Estelline-Hendricks.

Class 9B: Senior Caden Murphy of Arlington (All-DVC), seniors Garrett Cramer and Gus Kopecky of Faulkton Area and senior Trace Van Regenmorter of De Smet.

Follow Watertown Public Opinion sports reporter Roger Merriam on Twitter @PO_Sports or email: rmerriam@thepublicopinion.com.

This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Some of the top area high school football players to watch this fall