By Scott Bidroski The Hawk senior who tore up the field in 6-man football is headed for the Division II ranks.
Hay Springs senior Gage Mintken made it official on Wednesday, February 7 as he put pen to paper and signed his Letter of Intent to play football at Chadron State College.
Mintken, who led the Hawks to a runner-up finish this past season in Nebraska 6-Man football, is slated to play safety for the Eagles.
“When Gage came to our summer camps, he made some really electric plays. My defensive backs coach called me and told me to come over and watch this kid from Hay Springs,” said Chadron State Football Head Coach Jay Long.
“Once we watched him make some of those big plays, we offered him at camp,” he added.
In his time as a Hawk, Mintken rushed for 3,908 yards on 536 carries. He found the endzone 84 times as a running back as well.
On defense, Mintken compiled 252 total tackles in his career, including 20 tackles for loss, 4 sacks, and 14 interceptions.
In his 36 career games as a Hawk, Minkten would score 106 total touchdowns.
“Gage was a leader on and off the field during my 3 years as his coach,” said Hay Springs Head Coach Trevor Ginkens.
“But it’s more than what he did on the field and in the classroom. Gage was, and still will be, a big part of building this program into what it is today. He has shown his teammates and the younger players that with hard work we can compete at that state championship level every year,” he added.
Mintken was one of 39 signees into Coach Long’s class.
Upon his graduation this spring, Mintken will join the Coach Long and the Eagles in the summer to begin preparation for the 2024 Football season.
“The thing that stands out the most about Gage is that he is a winner. That is one of the biggest traits we look for in a player and Gage wins at everything he does,” said Coach Long.
“We’ve had a lot of success from 8 and 6-man players making the transition and we think that he has that capability to be really, really successful at Chadron State.”