Two Southeast Minnesota Athletes Named Finalist for Mr. Football Award

The Minnesota Football Coaches Association announced today the ten finalists for the 2022 Mr. Football award, and two of the finalist are from southeast Minnesota.

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Chatfield's Sam Backer and Kasson-Mantorville's Reese Tripp both made the list as a finalist.

Backer has not only had an incredible season for the Gophers, but has also had an incredible career. In 2022 alone, Backer ran the ball 213 times for  2,602 yards and 33 touchdowns. That is an average of 12.2 yards per carry. Not to forget, Backer has also completed 26 of 51 passes for 466 yards and eight touchdowns.

Backer's season has also helped the Gophers reach the Prep Bowl for the second consecutive season. The Gophers will take on Barnesville, who Chatfield beat in the Class AA Semifinals a year ago, in the Championship game Friday afternoon. Kickoff is slated for 1:00 p.m. You can listen to the action on 103.1 KFIL.

The Chatfield QB/RB has committed to play football at the University of Minnesota State, Mankato next fall.

Reese Tripp of Kasson-Mantorville has been a standout lineman on both sides of the ball for the Komets. The 6-foot-8 320-pound senior will be taking his talents to the University of Minnesota next fall and join the Golden Gophers.

The first Mr. Football Award was presented in 2004 to Nick Mertens of East Grand Forks, and the latest winner was Emmett Johnson of Academy of Holy Angels.

This year's award will be presented at the Mr. Football Banquet on Sunday, December 18th at the Doubletree by Hilton Minneapolis Park Place Hotel

The 10 Finalist for 2022 Mr. Football Award (in alphabetical order) are:

Name - School - Position - Sub-District - Class

• Sam Backer Chatfield QB/RB/SS Southeast-White 2A
• Ryan Bengtson Becker QB North Central-White 4A
• Kade Gilbertson Rosemount TB/LB Metro-Gold-South 6A
• Carson Hansen Lakeville South RB/S/PR Metro-Gold-South 6A
• Maxwell McEnelly Waconia RB/LB Suburban-White 5A
• Cade Osterman Elk River QB/DB/PR North Central-Black 5A
• Tanner Scheevel Lester Prairie RB/S/P/K Mid Southeast-Red 1A
• Max Shikenjanski Stillwater Area QB Metro-Maroon-North 6A
• Jordan Summers Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton RB/LB Midwest-Red 3A
• Reese Tripp Kasson-Mantorville OG/DT Big Southeast-Blue 4A

You can find a full list of past winners on the Minnesota Football Coaches Association website.