PAGE 6 Experience, Depth Positives For Yankton Cheer Squad BY DYLAN HUGGINS Merlye Mason, Ruffinott, Stewart and Kaitlyn Wiener. For juniors, Lauren Vik, Madison Stahly, Kendall Megard, The Yankton Gazelles Taylor Kotschegarow, Abby Competitive Cheer team will Competitive Cheer & Dance Kuipers, Brooklyn Maldofeature a full roster of 28 girls 8/30 Watertown Inv. 5:30 p.m. 9/8 Yankton Inv. 5:30 p.m. nado, Makenzie DeLozier this year, and according to 9/17 Brookings Inv. 11 a.m. and Keistyn Albrecht. Six head coach Kerry Evans, that 9/20 Huron Inv. 5:30 p.m. sophomores are on the cheer will allow for more oppor9/27 O’Gorman Inv. 5:30 p.m. 10/1 Roosevelt Inv. 11 a.m. team including Courtney tunities for the Gazelles to 10/4 Brandon Valley Inv. 5:30 p.m. Bell, Madison Eggen, Jerah compete. 10/8 Mitchell Inv. 10:30 a.m. Johns, Madison Schaefer, “This team is a full team 10/13 ESD (Brookings) 5:30 p.m. 10/22 State (Aberdeen) 11 a.m. Miranda Schulte and Grace of 28 and I’ve never had that Toliver. The freshman before,” Evans said. “There includes 4 members: Payton will be a lot more bodies on some of the seniors who Stephensen, Larkyn Mason, the floor and we will be able are not only poised for a big Trinity Johnson and Madison to do a lot more.” season, but are also good Anstine. Finally, Meghan Evans said that even leaders on the team. DeLozier an eight grader. though expectations are high “Kaitlin Guthmiller and The first meet for the with the full roster, she said Kolbi Kennedy have been it’s more important to focus cheering since their freshmen Gazelles is on Aug. 30 in on improving, rather than year and they are some of the Watertown. The first and only setting a place finish in mind. girls that have been on teams home meet for the Gazelles is on Sept. 8. “I have set expectations in the past,” Evans said. “As “Expectations for this year pretty high for them, but veterans, they know the exwould be to have a season it’s hard to go out and say pectations and they’ve been where the girls are experiencwe’re going to place first or very good leaders for the third, you always want to do new girls that have come on.” ing success, getting better your best, but it’s really hard Evans also mentioned Emma and better each week and to put a place value on it,” Stewart and Rose Ruffinott as improving upon their skills so that by the end of the season, Evans said. good leaders for their cheer they can be the best possible At the state tournateam. ment last year, the Gazelles Nine seniors on the cheer team there is. finished ninth out of 16 teams team include Cheree Becvar, Follow @dhugg23 on Twitfor Grand Champion Cheer. Camille Friedenbach, Guthter. Of the 28 girls on the miller, Kennedy, Nikole Knox, roster, Evans acknowledged sports@yankton.net YANKTON The Yankton Competitive Cheer Team performs during a home meet in the 2015 season. Yankton Dance Team Sets Bar High In First Season Under Kinsley BY DYLAN HUGGINS team this year including Cheree Becvar, Belle Heine, Elle Hiltunen, Samantha Kanaly and Abbie Rehurek. Juniors include Savannah Frick, Nicol The Yankton Gazelles competitive Langdon, Piper Mikkelsen, Emily Nodance team competes in their first vak, Maddie Smith and Leah Waid. competition on Aug. 30, but first-year Two sophomores are on the dance head coach Anne Kinsley is confident in this year’s team to compete at a high team including Oliva Liebig and Tia Vlasman, as well as seven freshmen level. “They have the talent, the skills and including Kylie Briest, Kelsie Faulk, Brynlyn Hamberger, Morgan Heine, the background necessary in order to be successful and one of our goals is to Megan Highland, Paige Hoesing and Payton Steffensen. place well at competitions,” she said. Kinsley laid out the blueprint for Kinsley mentioned that although her team to have a successful season. the Gazelles have been practicing all “Having strong leadership, listening summer, the competitions in the fall to directions which they do a very are a way to not only show what they have been working on, but a way to see good job of that and staying focused,” she said. “If we have a couple of wins, what they may need to improve upon. we can’t ever let that guard down “We are getting to the point where because we have to keep working as we are just anxiously waiting for that hard as we are right now for the entire first competition and hoping that it season.” goes well and just to see what the The only home meet for the Gaother teams have to offer and what we do well and what we need to work on,” zelles is on Sept. 8 at 5:30 p.m. she said. Follow @dhugg23 on Twitter. Six seniors lead the Gazelles dance sports@yankton.net The Yankton High School competitive dance team performs during a home meet in the 2015 season. ‘Confident’ Stephenson Returns To Lead The Offense BY JEREMY HOECK jeremy.hoeck@yankton.net A year ago at this time, Nate Stephenson had little reason to think he’d ever be a starting quarterback in a varsity football game. Not that season, at least. Not with two seniors in front of him on the depth chart. Sure, Stephenson was likely — which he did — to see time as a defensive back, but quarterback? Probably not. Yet that’s exactly what happened. Stephenson took over as quarterback midway through the season and eventually helped lead the Bucks to a second straight Class 11AA state championship. A whirlwind? Overwhelming? “A little bit, yeah,” Stephenson, now a senior, said before a preseason practice. He is now the unquestioned No. 1 on the depth chart for the Yankton Bucks, who graduated their top six receivers and top four rushers from last season. That means Stephenson will be counted on to both grow and lead at the same time; continue his own progression Football FROM PAGE 5 he believes that will eventually come around. “If we can get that done, we’ll come around and be pretty good.” The top returning starter for the Yankton offense, in particular, is Stephenson. He began last season as the No. 3 quarterback on the depth chart, but midway through, was inserted as the starter. On the season, he completed 56 percent of his passes for 888 yards and six touchdowns, and also rushed for 185 yards and three scores. In addition, Stephenson was also as a passer/runner and help those around him adjust to increased roles. Any confidence gained from last year (particularly playing on the big stage in the DakotaDome) obviously comes in handy. “I’m definitely more confident than last year at this time,” Stephenson said. “I’ve been there before and it’ll be easier to handle.” When he became the starting quarterback last season, Stephenson was never really expected to be a bigtime yardage guy or attempt 40 passes in a game, he was more of a game manager. For the season, he completed 56 percent of his passes (49-of-87) for 888 yards, with six touchdowns and nine interceptions. The offense relied heavily on the production of senior backs and receivers, and as a result, even Stephenson’s long completion of 68 yards was on a short pass where the receiver broke free. “From where he was when he started out to where he was at the end, he gained a lot of confidence,” head coach Arlin Likness said. Particularly, as Stephenson said, when he realized he would be coming back the following year. “There’s definitely more confidence after playing a little bit last year and knowing I’ll be doing it again,” Stephenson said. During the playoff run last year, Stephenson did enough on offense, but the Bucks especially rode their defense through the first two rounds. For example, Stephenson threw four interceptions but passed for 206 yards in the first round, and in the semifinals, he scored the offense’s only touchdown (on a long run). “He did some things I didn’t think he could do, but he got it done, especially in the Dome,” Likness said. And in that championship game against Pierre at the Dakotadome, Stephenson completed 12-of-21 passes for 149 yards, with no touchdowns and one interception. He also ran nine times for 16 yards and a touchdown. But again, it was the defense that figured most a starting defensive back. As far as who emerges around him as receivers and running backs, that is yet to be determined. Outside of Stephenson, the next returning rusher is Dylan Lynde (Sr., 97 yards), and from there, others back this season had at most five carries a year ago. Lynde is also the top returning receiver (3 catches, 38 yards), while tight end Michael Heine (Sr., 4 catches, 29 yards, 1 TD) is also back. On the line, Mason Townsend (Sr.) is back as a starter. On defense, the Bucks return guys like linebacker Nick Rokusek (Sr., 49 tackles, 1 sack, 1 INT), lineman Heine (45 tackles, 2 sacks), defensive back Chris Kinsley (Sr., 30 tackles), Stephenson (13 tackles) and lineman Jordan Payer (12 tackles). The key to the championships over the last two seasons, though, had just as much to do with depth as the talent in the senior class. That’s an area Yankton will need to develop, Likness said. “And so we need some kids to step up and play like they’re seniors, or play up a grade, and help feed that,” Likness said. Throughout the preseason practices, one area that has stood out has been the play of the offensive lineman, Likness said. But, he cautioned, “we need eleven, so we’ve got a ways to go.” “We’ve got a decent group of powerful running backs who are strong and physical, www.KnutsonFamilyDentistry.com Yankton’s Nate Stephenson (14) NATE | PAGE 8 and a quarterback back from last year, so we’ve got some good things,” Likness added. “But so does everybody else.” The Bucks also said they realize the rest of the field in Class 11AA will be pursuing Yankton. “You know you have to work hard, because everyone else is coming after you,” Stephenson said. “It’s kind of fun to know everybody is chasing after you,” he added. Just like Yankton did, Pierre — last year’s 11AA runner-up — graduated a bulk of its starters on both offense and defense. Brookings, another perennial title contender, returns eight starters on defense and 4-5 on offense. Dr. Matthew Knutson, D.D.S Mead Lumber 113 W. Main St., Vermillion 605-624-2655 2409 Broadway, Yankton 605-665-9651 Go Tanagers GO TANAGERS 605.624.6291 Likness, though, would point to Mitchell as perhaps a team to keep an eye on this fall, based on the number of starters the Kernels return. And as the schedule lays out, Yankton’s first two games will come against Brookings & 624-4444 and Mitchell. “Our first two games in our conference will tell us a lot,” Likness said. Follow @jhoeck on Twitter