12/30/2025
Congratulations Tate Balthazor!
KPG Top 8 Capsule: Tate Balthazor, Hill City, QB/DB, 5-10, 153
Tate Balthazor capped his senior season as the primary quarterback and a key defensive contributor for Hill City during a 10-2 campaign in Kansas Class 8-Man Division I under head coach Travis Desbien. The Ringnecks opened the season with a loss to Trego, then won 10 of its next 11 games, including shutouts of Stockton, Oberlin-Decatur County, and Oxford before knocking off that same Trego team 58-36 in the state quarterfinals. The Ringnecks narrowly fell to eventual state champs South Central 40-32 in the state semifinals.
Balthazor directed an offense that averaged more than 50 points per game. He completed 56 of 97 passes for 1,229 yards and 21 touchdowns with four interceptions, posting a 57.7 completion percentage. He added significant production on the ground, rushing 138 times for 1,262 yards and 24 touchdowns, averaging 9.1 yards per carry and recording six 100-yard rushing games. His longest rush of the season covered 60 yards.
Balthazor recorded one catch for 31 yards and a touchdown, and accumulated 1,904 all-purpose yards as a senior, an average of 158.7 yards per game. He accounted for 2,522 total offensive yards during the season.
On defense, Balthazor was a central playmaker in the secondary. As a senior, he recorded 73 total tackles and intercepted 11 passes, returning them for 157 yards. He also added five pass deflections and caused one fumble.
Over his three-year varsity career, Balthazor appeared in 31 games and totaled 5,471 offensive yards. He threw for 3,185 yards and 49 touchdowns while rushing for 2,211 yards and 40 touchdowns. Defensively, he finished with 119 total tackles and 12 career interceptions, returning those picks for 168 yards.
Graham County USD 281 Hill City, Kansas Hill City Ringneck Football
(Photo: Erin Wohletz Photography)
