Colony senior to play football at Valley City State

PALMER — During his junior season, Cooper Sant came to a realization. Sant knew he didn’t want his football career to end in high school. Now a Colony High School senior, Sant will have the opportunity to play beyond the prep level.

Sant has signed his National Letter of Intent to attend Valley City State University in North Dakota and will play football for the NAIA Vikings.

“My junior year I really decided I wanted to do it,” Sant said. “High school was not enough football for me. I needed to play a few more seasons.”

And Sant will get his shot at the North Dakota school known for consistently recruiting Alaska talent. Sant said he was able to form a good relationship with Valley City head coach Dennis McCulloch, who has served at the helm of Vikings football for the past 23 years. McCulloch serves as a coach at the All-Alaska Football Camp, which is hosted by Colony High School each summer, and has created a pipeline that sends talent from the 49th state to Valley City each year. Sant will become the third Colony product on the current roster. Riley Fredrickson, a 2015 graduate of Colony High, is a linebacker and incoming junior on the team. Offensive lineman Ryan Wharry, a 2016 graduate of CHS, will be a sophomore next season.

Sant said joining a program that already includes two of his high school teammates certainly played a role in his decision to attend the school and play for a team, that also includes Wasilla High graduate and offensive lineman Dahlton Wasankari.

Sant, who chose Valley City over other options such as Minnesota-Morris and Luther College, will play defensive end at the next level. Sant was named first-team All-Railbelt and first-team all-state at offensive tackle, but also stood out for the Knights on the defensive side. Sant finished with 90 tackles and nine sacks as a senior. Overall, Sant said, considering his size, he feels he’s a better fit on the defensive line.

“My size, I’m a little bit too small to play offensive line in college,” Sant said.

Sant currently stands 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds. He said he’d like to get to about the 250-pound mark.

Colony head coach Rhett Magner, who also played at the college level following his own stellar career at CHS, said he certainly sees a future for Sant as a college defensive end.

“I really think the potential for (success) is pretty high,” Magner said. “He’s dedicated. He’s one of those kids, yes coach, I’ll do whatever it takes.”

Magner agreed with Sant’s desire to get bigger for the next level, and said the potential for growth combined with his skill set could create a successful combination. Magner said Sant has the height and the length, and the overall strength.

“He’s quick enough to hold an edge, contain and edge, and strong enough to handle an offensive tackle,” Magner said.

Magner said Sant played a vital role for a Colony defense that has been one of, if not the state’s best, in the last two years.

“He did exactly what we asked our D-ends to do, setting that edge and you can’t let anything outside of him. He was a big part of our defense,” Magner said.

Sant plans to study business at Valley City.

The Vikings finished 6-4 last season, and posted a second-place finish in the North Star Athletic Association. Valley City has won four conference titles in the last six seasons.

As a senior, Sant helped Colony finish second in the Railbelt and advance to the large-schools state playoffs.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.