By John Rittenhouse
An outstanding season recently completed by the Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth football team wasn't overlooked by its peers when the 2001 All-Southwest Ridge Conference Football Team was chosen last week.
H-BC-E, which won the conference title with a 7-0 record, led all league teams by drawing six All-SRC selections.
Two more Patriots drew honorable mention from the SRC coaches, and two individuals representing the program picked up other notable awards for their efforts.
Chris Reid, who led the Patriots in rushing and scoring, picked up one of the team's six all-conference selections. The junior also was named the Back of the Year for the conference.
Dan Ellingson, the H-BC-E mentor, was named the league's Coach of the Year.
Joining Reid as selections to the 25-player All-SRC Team for H-BC-E are seniors Kevin Van Batavia, Darin DeBoer and Brad Haak, junior Jesse Leuthold and sophomore Curt Schilling.
Seventeen players drew honorable mention from the league's coaches.
H-BC-E senior Justin Van Maanen and junior Brant Deutsch were on the honorable mention list.
A 44-player SRC All-Academic Team also was announced last week, and the roster included Deutsch, Leuthold, Van Batavia, Van Maanen, seniors Ryan Ranschau Randy Krull and Lee Walraven.
Westbrook-Walnut Grove challenged H-BC-E by having five players named to the All-SRC squad.
Charger seniors Ryan Baker, Dustin Krick and Austin Scarset, and juniors Jeff Cooley and Ryan Paplow made the squad.
Sioux Valley-Round Lake-Brewster and Lincoln HI drew four All-SRC selections each.
Seniors Josh Ihrke, Kyle Knuth, Paul Paplow and Matt Sather graced the list for SV-RL-B. Ihrke was tagged the SRCÕs Lineman of the Year.
Seniors Josh Eastman, Scott Fogelson and Jack Weber and junior Mark Pedersen made the list from LH.
Lakeview and Edgerton picked up two all-league selections each.
Edgerton seniors John Bleyenberg and Phil Tinklenberg, and Lakeview seniors Taylor Kroger and Brady Rosa graced the list.
Capping the roster are Southwest Star Concept junior Tyler Leopold and Lake Benton senior Greg Stuefen.
W-WG and SV-RL-B led the league by picking up three honorable mention selections each.
W-WG seniors Travis Kottke and Matt Olsen, and junior Chris Monson were so honored, as were SV-RL-B juniors Robby Armstrong, Corey Place and Zac Schmitz.
Lake Benton juniors Tyrel McConnell and Tony Miller, SSC seniors Kyle Galle and Jeremy Updike, Edgerton seniors Scott Brouwer and Jeremy Landhuis, Lakeview senior Jeremy Mead and sophomore Tyler Jeseritz, and LH senior Kyle Scheik round out the honorable mention selecions.
Final SRC standings: H-BC-E 7-0, W-WG 6-1, SV-RL-B 5-2, LH 4-3, Lakeview 3-4, Edgerton 2-5, SSC 1-6, LB 0-6