Marcus Beatty, Lincoln Snitker headline 2021 Gazette all-area football team

Marcus Beatty made a lot of moves, set a lot of records on the football field.

But that’s not what he’ll remember the most.

“It’s the locker room,” he said. “That’s what I’ll always remember about Friday nights.”

And there wasn’t a locker-room scene more memorable for Beatty than the one he was a part of at Van Horne in late October.

“Pregame, we were all locked in,” he said. “Postgame, we celebrated, a lot.”

It was there that Beatty carried the ball 45 times for a school-record 319 yards and three touchdowns. And it was there that Independence enjoyed a postseason victory, 26-6 over Benton Community.

Beatty, who finished his season with 2,334 rushing yards and his career with 4,354, is The Gazette’s offensive player of the year.

Waukon’s Lincoln Snitker earned defensive-player-of-the-year honors after leading the Indians back to the UNI-Dome and the Class 2A state semifinals.

He is Waukon’s second straight Gazette DPOY, following 2020 selection Brennan Sweeney.

Class 5A state semifinalist Iowa City High and 4A runner-up Cedar Rapids Xavier led the honor team with four representatives apiece on the 40-man roster.

Cedar Rapids Kennedy, a 5A quarterfinalist, had three selections. Cedar Rapids Prairie, Cedar Rapids Washington, East Buchanan, Linn-Mar, Monticello, Solon, Waukon, West Delaware and Williamsburg landed two apiece.

Beatty has been a key part of one of the best eras of Independence football history. The Mustangs enjoyed an unbeaten regular season when he was a sophomore, then went 9-2 and reached the Class 3A quarterfinals this fall.

“Playing with those guys when I was a sophomore, it helped me become a leader for these guys,” said Beatty, who will play baseball at Iowa Western Community College.

Indee Coach Justin Putz called Beatty “one of the best football players to come out of here, he’s that good.

“He’s physical. He’s fast. He’s a great competitor. He’ll do whatever we need him to do, even if it’s 45 carries against Benton, whatever.”

Beatty ran for 458 yards as a sophomore, 1,515 as a junior, 2,334 in his final campaign.

Snitker was part of Waukon’s 2A state-championship team as a junior, and one of just a handful of returning starters this year.

The Indians lost their opener to Decorah, won 10 straight to return to the UNI-Dome, then fell to Southeast Valley in the semifinals.

“It was a challenging role to step into as a senior,” Snitker said. “But once we got the kids around us to figure out their roles, we knew we could be successful.”

Snitker was a two-way standout. In addition to his 79.5 tackles (15 for loss) and four interceptions on defense, he ran for 861 yards and 11 touchdowns, and caught 34 passes for 589 yards and seven TDs.

“He reads really quick, he’s fast to the ball,” Waukon Coach Chad Beermann said. “I don’t know if our tackle totals are accurate. He may have gotten shorted a few.

“Lincoln is our signal caller. He made all of our adjustments for the defense. He sets our front and handles our coverage checks. He’s a kid that is constantly learning, processing as the game goes along.

“If a team sneaks in a route, the second or third time he has seen it, it’s probably going to be a pick.”

The Gazette’s 2021 All-Area Football Team

OFFENSE

Quarterbacks

Gabe Kopriva, 5-10, 160, sr., North Tama

Alex Neal, 6-1, 190, sr., Cedar Rapids Xavier

Brandon Vlcko, 6-3, 185, sr., Cedar Rapids Prairie

Running Backs

Marcus Beatty, 5-9, 200, sr., Independence

Carter Henderson, 6-0, 190, jr., Linn-Mar

Pat Hennessy, 6-1, 175, sr., Waukon

Cade Molyneux, 5-9, 180, sr., Sigourney-Keota

Receivers

Harrison Rosenberg, 6-2, 170, sr., Clear Creek Amana

Caleb Sauser, 5-10, 175, sr., Monticello

Jake Weber, 5-10, 180, sr., Williamsburg

Tight End

Brenden Linde, 6-4, 215, sr., Cedar Rapids Kennedy

Linemen

Gabe Burkle, 6-7, 240, sr., Cedar Rapids Prairie

Cody Fox, 6-4, 260, soph., East Buchanan

Ethan Mills, 6-1, 270, sr., Cedar Rapids Kennedy

Luke Reth, 6-5, 227, jr., West Delaware

Aaron Stalkfleet, 5-10, 230, sr., Iowa City High

Utility

Austin Hilmer, 5-10, 175, sr., North Linn

Darren Richardson, 5-11, 195, sr., Iowa City High

Sean Stahle, 5-10, 162, jr., Solon

Kicker

Trysten Vasquez, 6-3, 200, sr., Cedar Rapids Xavier

DEFENSE

Linemen

Owen Douglas, 5-10, 180, jr., Williamsburg

Luke Gaffney, 6-3, 245, sr., Linn-Mar

Jason Koopman, 5-11, 155, sr., Dyersville Beckman

Gage Marty, 6-0, 245, sr., Solon

Aidan Udell, 5-10, 195, sr., Iowa City Regina

Linebackers

Adam Hackett, 6-0, 175, sr., East Buchanan

Ben Kueter, 6-1, 192, jr., Iowa City High

Chase Mahoney, 6-2, 195, jr., Cedar Rapids Washington

Lincoln Snitker, 5-11, 205, sr., Waukon

Thomas Sundell, 5-10, 175, jr., Cedar Rapids Xavier

Wyatt Voelker, 6-0, 215, sr., West Delaware

Backs

Jacob Brecht, 6-0, 185, sr., Benton Community

Watts McBride, 6-0, 180, jr., Cedar Rapids Washington

Aidan McDermott, 6-2, 190, jr., Cedar Rapids Xavier

Gable Mitchell, 5-9, 170, sr., Iowa City High

Jeron Senters, 6-0, 160, sr., Cedar Rapids Kennedy

Utility

Will Bennett, 5-11, 175, sr., Lisbon

Eddie Burgess, 6-4, 230, sr., Montezuma

Preston Ries, 6-0, 195, soph., Monticello

Punter

Cullen McShane, 6-2, 210, sr., MFL MarMac

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

To be announced Sunday

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Marcus Beatty, sr., Independence

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Lincoln Snitker, sr., Waukon

COACH OF THE YEAR

To be announced Sunday

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com