There isn’t much the 6’4″ gunslinger
can’t do on the football field
by Bryan Zollman
Co-Publisher/Let’s Play Football
There isn’t much not to like about Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa quarterback Luke Dingmann.
The senior stands 6’4” and is a healthy 205 pounds. He runs a 4.6 40-yard dash. He is strong, mobile, quick and isn’t afraid to initiate contact.
Maybe that is why he is putting up great numbers and the Jaguars are 9-0 heading into section semifinals and ranked atop the field in Class A football in QRF and fifth in the Star Tribune weekly.
Dingmann and his Jaguars are coming off a 60-8 playoff win over Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City in Section 4A. Dingmann was 20-for-24 on the day for 250 yards and four touchdown passes. He also ran for three scores and finished with 77 yards on the ground.
Dingmann emerged as a sophomore in 2021 when he helped lead the Jaguars to the state tournament. Despite three losses during the regular season, the Jaguars avenged an earlier loss to Upsala/Swanville to beat them in the section final at the Fargodome 52-44.
“As a sophomore Luke played a big part in leading us to the state tournament,” said B-B-E Head coach Chris Moscho. “Several games stick out that season where he led drives and made some great throws.”
Dingmann was an All-District selection in both 2021 and 2022 and was District QB of the Year last season. He has virtually rewritten the Jaguars record book for quarterbacks with more than 5,000 yards passing and 67 touchdowns.
Moscho said Dingmann grew up in an athletic family that was always participating in competitive activities. He served as the Jaguars’ water boy when he was in elementary school and learned a lot about football from his older brother and former B-B-E QB Ashton, who was a top-notch athlete in the program before being sidelined with an ACL injury.
“Ashton was Luke’s biggest mentor,” said Moscho. “When Luke came out of the game he went to his brother for advice. Now his brother is in college and with Luke being a senior, the growth he has made is having a huge impact on our team.”
While possessing definitive athletic skill, Dingmann also has the intangible assets quarterbacks need to be successful. Moscho said some of those traits include leadership, uber competitiveness, intelligence, motivation and his ability to rise to the occasion especially in big games.
“Practices are just like games for Luke and games are like championships,” said Moscho. “He is super competitive and does not like losing in games or in practice.”
Dingmann isn’t afraid to demand the same level of focus and competitiveness from his teammates.
“He challenges his teammates to do their best,” he said. “He demands his teammates go 100 percent and lets them know if the ball should have been caught or a blitz should have been picked up.”
As a three-year starter, Moscho is comfortable giving Dingmann the green light to audible out of a play if he sees something he likes or doesn’t like. His ability to read defenses is another asset he brings to the table as a signal caller.
Of course, Dingmann hasn’t done it alone. He has had the help of a strong team around him.
“Another thing that has made Luke progress so well is his surrounding cast,” said Moscho. “He has an offensive line that spent countless hours in the weight room, and we are very deep at wide receiver and running back.
“Luke trusts every one of them to make the big catch,” said Moscho.
They have made many catches. Dingmann has tossed for 1,647 yards through the team’s first nine games, including 27 touchdowns and just seven interceptions. He has completed 116 of 167 passes and has a QB rating of 122.6. He also has a team-leading 551 yards rushing and has scored nine rushing touchdowns.
“If nothing is open, Luke loves to pull the ball and run,” said Moscho. He is not an easy guy to take down and loves contact. He has made several big hits against defenders who try to tackle him.”
Twelve different players have caught passes from Dingmann and five have scored multiple touchdowns. Luke Illies and Brett Deroo have six touchdown catches and Joshua Walstrom has five. His ability to spread the ball around shows he has a knack for reading defenses and finding the open receiver.
“He has very good overall strength, arm strength, mobility and has a quick throwing motion,” said Moscho. “He also has the ability to navigate around the pocket.”
With Dingmann taking snaps, and a strong supporting team around him, the Jaguars will look to get back to where they were when Dingmann took over the starting QB job two years ago – in the state tournament.
