Aug. 20—GRAND FORKS — Grand Forks Red River’s three selections led the way as the Grand Forks Herald selected 12 players to watch from the coverage area for the 2024 high school football season, which begins this weekend.
The Roughriders were represented by record-setting, three-year starting quarterback Pearce Parks, all-conference linebacker Ray Dusek and South Dakota State-bound offensive lineman JB Walters.
Red River was picked fourth at the Class AA level in the preseason poll, which was released Monday.
Grand Forks Central was represented on the watch list by Naz Fisher and Eli Thompson — two players expected to break out for a Knights team looking to replace three players on the 2023 Herald watch list: Erick Paye, Tray Kuntz and Jack Simmers. Paye and Kuntz are now with the UND football program, while Simmers is playing at Mayville State.
North Prairie, coming off a 9-man state championship, was the only other team to see multiple selections to the team. Cole Henderson and Brett Tastad made the list for the co-op of Rolette, Rolla and Wolford — a co-op that won a state title for the first time in 2023.
Cody Amble, Langdon-E-M: The 6-foot-3 senior was an all-state Class A pick last year on the second team. He caught 42 balls for 788 yards and eight touchdowns. On defense, he had five interceptions and two defensive touchdowns.
Kyler Droog, Grafton: The 6-foot-7 senior quarterback threw for 1,773 yards and 18 touchdowns last season while completing 66 percent of his passes.
Ray Dusek, GF Red River: The 5-foot-10, 200-pound all-EDC senior linebacker made 59 tackles and recorded 6.0 tackles for loss.
Naz Fisher, GF Central: The junior linebacker came on late last season and despite just playing in eight games, Fisher had 42 tackles, 4.0 sacks and 7.0 tackles for loss.
Cole Henderson, North Prairie: The 9-man all-state selection helped North Prairie to the co-op’s first state title last season and had seven catches for 256 yards on offense. On defense, he had 70 tackles and an interception.
Levi Kautzman, Griggs Midkota: The 6-foot-1, 245-pound senior offensive and defensive lineman has been a two-time all-region choice for the 9-man Titans.
Pearce Parks, GF Red River: The three-year starting quarterback, at 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds, was a first team all-state pick last season. He broke Red River’s school passing record with 1,680 yards with 20 touchdowns to six interceptions.
Karter Peterson, Thompson: The very first commitment of UND’s 2025 recruiting class, the senior tight end, at 6-foot-5 and 205 pounds, had 36 catches for 416 yards and nine touchdowns last season.
Brett Tastad, North Prairie: The 6-foot-4, 260-pound senior all-state 9-man pick had 24 tackles, 3.0 sacks and 6.0 tackles for loss. He’s the brother of North Dakota State offensive lineman, two-time all-state pick and North Prairie 2024 graduate Nate Tastad.
Eli Thompson, GF Central: The junior tied for the Class AA East Region lead with three interceptions last season. Thompson also added 51 tackles, 4.0 tackles for loss and a pair of sacks.
JB Walters, GF Red River: One of the state’s most coveted college prospects, the senior offensive lineman helped Red River win six games last season. The returning all-EDC pick, at 6-foot-4 and 260 pounds, chose to commit to South Dakota State this summer after holding offers from UND, Air Force, Army and Navy.
Oliver Wirth, Devils Lake: The 6-foot-5 senior, who’s attracted some NCAA Division II recruiting interest, had 23 catches for 314 yards and two touchdowns last season. Defensively, the multi-sport standout was fourth in the region with six pass breakups.
