WARNER – Dawson Hanson enjoys a good collision and would like to add to his total this weekend.

The Warner standout is a member of the Blue squad which will be competing in Saturday’s High School All-Star Football Game at 1 p.m. at the DakotaDome in Vermillion. Hanson is coming off an all-state senior season in which he was named Lake Region Conference Defensive Player of the Year from his middle linebacker position.

While Hanson was a two-way starter for the Monarchs, there is no denying his love for contact.

“My favorite position has to be middle linebacker. I like hitting people,” Hanson said. “I get to see the field and I kind of feel like the leader out there, getting downhill and just the collision.”

Hanson, who currently stands 5-feet 9-inches and weighs 190 pounds, knows he will be on the field with many players much taller and heavier than him on Saturday. However, he is not one bit intimidated.

“I’m not worried about it. I can take a hit,” Hanson said. “Me being very undersized, but seeing those guys out there, it’s going to be cool to see how I match up.”

Hanson was also a key member of the Warner offense. He switched from guard to center his senior season and said there was a bit of a difference between the two offensive line positions.

“You kind of figure it out. It’s harder because you have to snap the ball and then you have to get out and get to your man,” Hanson said. “It’s a little bit more difficult than just playing guard where you can just get off the ball right away. But at center you have to time it up perfectly, make sure it gets to the quarterback’s hands. You’re the first responsibility.”

While Hanson handled that task without issue, it was playing defense that really got him going as he led the Monarchs with 72 tackles this past season to push his career total to 127.

It was a special teams play, however, where Hanson recorded his best bone-jarring collision of the season, coming on a kickoff return.

“We were receiving,” Hanson recalled. “We set up a wall and I came through the wall and there was a player on the other team and I lit him up.”

That play was memorable for multiple reasons because it resulted in a touchdown on the play on homecoming night. And of course, it elevated Hanson’s adrenaline rush to a whole new level.

“That’s was probably the best hit in my career,” Hanson said. “It just brought so much excitement to me and hearing the crowd.”

Hanson, who plans to attend Lake Area in the fall and go into Marketing Management, knows that Saturday will likely be his final football game. He also knows that will likely bring a wide array of emotions.

“It’s going to be nostalgic to do it for the last time. It’s going to be sad,” Hanson said. “It’s going to be different too, because I don’t know a lot of people there.”

Whenever Hanson does walk away from football, he’ll take with him some fond memories of his playing days at Warner, which include playing for a state championship at the Dome his junior season in addition to a stellar campaign his senior season.

“This was probably the best year of football I’ve ever experienced in my life,” Hanson said. “I got close to the team and it was fun.”

And it wasn’t his tackle total, wins and losses, or even his big hits that he will recall the most.

“Just the environment, the coaches, the players, we all got a long. We all had fun doing it,” Hanson said. “The coaches, players, I mean everything. We’re a family. It’s going to be hard to let go. That’s what I’ll miss the most, being so close to everybody.”

While he will also miss those Friday night highlight-reel hits, could it be that he has one more left to deliver this weekend?

“We’ll see,” Hanson said. “I think I have one more left in me maybe, but we’ll see how it goes.”

Among the other Blue team members are Ben Gustafson of Langford Area, Cooper Logan of Potter County, Sean Domke of Redfield, and Trevor Sayler and Trey Sayler of Herreid-Selby Area. HSA coach Clayton Randall will be an assistant for the squad.

Members of the Red team include Brady Rohrbach and Alec Voegele of Aberdeen Central.