Four area players named to Vikings All-State football team
Dec. 14—ROCHESTER — Four area football players have been selected to the 2022 Minnesota Vikings All-State Team.
The entire team and the Vikings High School Coach of the Year will be recognized pregame when the Vikings host the Indianapolis Colts at noon Saturday at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Area players selected to the squad include Sam Backer of Chatfield, Kaiden Peters of Plainview-Elgin-Millville, Owen Sikkink of Stewartville and Reese Tripp of Kasson-Mantorville.
The awards keep rolling in for Backer and Tripp. Both players were named first-team Associated Press All-State last week.
Backer, Peters and Tripp all played in the annual Minnesota High School Football All-Star Game which was held last Saturday at U.S. Bank Stadium. Now they will return to the stadium for the second time in a week.
—Backer helped guide Chatfield to a runner-up finish in Class AA this season as the team's quarterback. He was named All-State as a running back. He rushed for a whopping 2,782 rushing yards and 35 touchdowns in 2022. He also passed for 581 yards and nine touchdowns.
Backer finished his career as Minnesota's second all-time leading rusher with a stunning 7,379 yards. He will play college football at Minnesota State University, Mankato.
—Tripp is a massive lineman who stands 6-foot-7 and 330 pounds. He helped the KoMets average 293 yards rushing per game in 2022. As a mobile defensive lineman, he also collected nine sacks. He will play on the offensive line at the University of Minnesota.
—Sikkink was a standout running back for Stewartville and he excelled at catching passes, too. He rushed for 1,165 yards and had 35 catches for 536 yards. He finished with a whopping 34 touchdowns overall. He helped the Tigers reach the Class AAA state tournament before the team lost in the quarterfinals.
—Peters was a defensive back/receiver for P-E-M but he made his real mark as an electric kick returner. He had an amazing seven kick returns for touchdowns as a senior, six punt returns and one kickoff return. He averaged 26 yards on punt returns and 32 yards on kickoffs. He will play football at Winona State University.
The Vikings All-State team is composed of 32 senior student-athletes from all classes of football in the state, selected in conjunction with the Minnesota Football Coaches Association. Chris Mensen of Simley was named the Coach of the Year.
The Vikings All-State team has been selected annually since 2002.
