Football lands 13 on all-MIAA team

By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Thirteen members of Fort Hays State Football received All-MIAA selections for the 2021 season on Tuesday (Nov. 16). First-team selections went to Hunter Budke, Adrian Soto, and Amari Angram-Boldin, second-team picks included Chance Fuller, Jordan Starks, and Jhimon Preston, and third-team selections included Manny Ramsey and Kristopher Stroughter. Pat Kelly, Myles Menges, Ethan Sossen, Javaris Sanders, and Layke Heimerman all received honorable mention picks.

Budke, a junior from Beloit, Kansas, was the top receiving tight end in the MIAA in 2021, finishing with 47 receptions for 620 yards and eight touchdowns. This is the first all-conference selection of his career. He twice had over 100 receiving yards in a game this season with nine catches for 122 yards as his season high at Missouri Western. He produced four or more receptions in seven of 11 contests. Budke led the Tigers in receiving touchdowns for the season. He ranked eighth in the MIAA in receptions per game during the regular season (4.3).

Soto, a sophomore from Pueblo, Colorado, receives a first-team nod as an all-purpose back, helping the Tigers as a running back, receiver, and kick returner. He led the MIAA in all-purpose yards during the regular season with 1,728. His season total ranks fifth in FHSU history, the first Tiger with over 1,700 all-purpose yards since 2015 when Shaquille Cooper produced 1,753. Soto led the Tigers in rushing yards (814) and ranked third on the team in receiving yards (485). At the end of the regular season, he ranked seventh in NCAA Division II for all-purpose yards per game (157.1) and 12th in rushing yards per carry (6.8). His yards per carry average ranks second-best in FHSU history. He twice rushed for 100 or more yards in a game with 198 as his season high against Missouri Southern, while his season best in all-purpose yards was 309 against Nebraska-Kearney.

Angram-Boldin, a senior from Pahokee, Florida, is now a three-time All-MIAA selection on the offensive line. He was a second-team selection in 2018, a third-team pick in 2019, and now a first-team selection in 2021. He also has one All-Super Region selection to his credit as well. Angram-Boldin was a mainstay on the offensive line for the Tigers over the last three seasons, starting 34 consecutive games. He started all 11 this season at left guard. Angram-Boldin helped the Tigers rank third in the MIAA in total offense at 460.3 yards per game, second in passing offense, and fourth in rushing offense.

Fuller, a junior from Arlington, Texas, receives second-team honors at quarterback for the second-straight season. He finished the year with 230 completions for 3,038 yards and 22 touchdowns. Fuller threw for at least 300 yards in a game four times, with his season-high 474 yards against Missouri Western setting a new single-game record at FHSU. He also set a new single-game mark for completions in that contest with 40. He also owns the school career passing touchdown records now with 64. He earned MIAA Offensive Athlete of the Week three times throughout the season. He now has 7,567 passing yards in his career, which is second-most in school history just 115 yards shy of the record.

Starks, a senior from Tulsa, Oklahoma, is now a two-time All-MIAA selection at defensive back. He nets second-team honors this year after third-team honors in 2019. Starks ranked fourth in tackles for FHSU with 57, led the team in interceptions with two, and tied for the team lead in pass breakups with six. He was third on the team in tackles per game (5.7), since he missed one contest due to injury, and had a season-high 10 tackles against Northwest Missouri State. He now has 151 tackles, six interceptions, and nine pass breakups in his career at FHSU.

Preston, a senior from Missouri City, Texas, earns the first all-conference honor of his career at defensive back. He ranked third on the team in tackles with 62 and tied for the team lead in pass breakups. He also had a sack, a forced fumble, and a blocked kick this season. He twice reached double figures in tackles during the regular season with 11 as his season high against Nebraska-Kearney. Preston has 101 career tackles.

Ramsey, a junior from Canadian, Texas, is now a two-time All-MIAA selection at wide receiver. He was an honorable mention selection in 2019 before receiving third-team honors this season. Ramsey finished the 2021 season with 65 catches for 811 yards and four touchdowns. He led the MIAA in receptions per game during the regular season at 6.5, which ranks 13th in NCAA Division II. Ramsey was fourth among MIAA wide receivers in total receiving yards during the regular season, and second in total receptions. His 81.1 receiving yards per game also ranked second in the conference at the end of the regular season. Ramsey now has 128 receptions for 1,874 yards and 16 touchdowns in his career at FHSU.

Stroughter, a junior from Richmond, California, earns his first All-MIAA selection as a third-team pick on the offensive line. He made an immediate impact in his first year with the Tigers after earning all-conference honors at Diablo Valley College in California. Stroughter helped the Tigers finish with the third-best total offense in the MIAA during the regular season, producing 460.3 yards per game. He helped the Tigers produce the fourth-most rushing yards per game and second-most passing yards per game. He started eight of his 10 games played for the season.

Kelly, a junior from Staten Island, New York, is now a two-time All-MIAA selection on the offensive line. He was a third-team selection his redshirt-freshman season of 2017 and receives an honorable mention selection this year. Kelly started all 11 games at left tackle. He, like Stroughter, helped the Tigers to the third-best total offense in the MIAA during the regular season, including the second-best passing attack and fourth-best rushing attack.

Menges, a freshman from Bushton, Kansas, gets an honorable mention nod at linebacker. He led the Tigers in tackles for the season with 75, which included 6.5 for loss, and a sack. He had three pass breakups for the season.

Sossen, a freshman punter from Perth, Australia, receives an honorable mention selection. He averaged 38 yards per punt this season with 18 attempts resulting in fair catches and 20 resulting in drives starting inside the 20 yardline.

Sanders, a senior from Largo, Florida, is now a two-time All-MIAA selection on the defensive line. He receives an honorable mention pick this year after finishing sixth on the team in tackles with 42. He led the team in tackles for loss (8.0) and sacks (4.0). He finished his career at FHSU with 87 tackles, including 13 for loss.

Heimerman, a senior from Halstead, Kansas, receives the first All-MIAA selection of his career at linebacker. He was on pace for a big year at linebacker, but had his season cut short through five games due to injury. He still managed to finish fifth on the team in tackles despite the injury with 44, reaching double figures in a game twice. He was averaging 8.8 tackles per game this season. He twice reached double figures in tackles for a game, including a season-best 16 against Northwest Missouri State.

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