Alex Hanson finds himself where Bing Crosby and Irving Berlin were after the release of the song "White Christmas" in 1942.

How could they improve on what is undoubtedly the most famous and popular Christmas songs ever released?

Likewise, how can Hanson improve on the season he enjoyed last season as the Williston quarterback?

Hanson, a junior, threw for 2,161 yards and 23 touchdowns, and ran for 586 more en route to all-state honors.

That adds up to 2,747 yards off total offense, a major reason the Coyotes went from one victory in 2007 to the state semifinals last fall.

How do you top that? Well, to put things in context, Hanson, a defenseman, could score 20 goals for the Coyote hockey team this season. Or he could win 30 games for the Williston high school and Legion baseball teams if warm weather ever returns.

The 6-foot-2, 180-pound junior's 2,747 yards total offense exceeded the phenomenal 2,598 racked up by Century's Zach Wentz the year before.

Wentz became the firstWest Region quarterback to surpass 2,000 yards total offense in the history of the Tribune's record keeping, which dates back to the 2000 season. He threw for 2,227 yards and ran for 371 while leading Century to the 2007 semifinals.

Hunter Johnson, Wentz's successor at Century, became the third quarterback in the 12-year sample West Region to reach 2,000. Johnson threw for 1,710 yards and ran for 290 yards to hit the 2,000 mark right on the button.

Hanson surpassed another Wentz record, connecting for 23 touchdown passes to edge the Century ace by two.

The 2008 season produced a bumper crop for West Region football. Three teams from the West - Williston, Century and eventual champion Bismarck - advanced to the semifinals. Bismarck became the first West Region team to win a state title since 2001.

Statistically, this year's crop of athletes added dramatically to the accomplishments of the elite with signal callers standing front and center.

Hanson was one of five West Region quarterbacks to top 1,500 yards. Only six had achieved that total in the previous 11 seasons.

Johnson and Hanson both exceeded 1,500 yards passing. Only Wentz and Jordan King of Minot had reached that plateau in the previous 11 years. King connected for 1,678 yards in 2003.

Hanson, Johnsonand MichaelBangs of Jamestown all connected for a minimum of 15 touchdown passes. That had been accomplished just six times since the millennium change.

Bismarck tailback Jake Miller, like Hanson a junior, joined the upper echelon of recent West Region running backs when he darted to 1,617 yards in 189 carries. He became just the sixth ball carrier to eclipse 1,500 yards in the last 12 seasons, the fourth from Bismarck.

WestonDressler of Bismarck set dazzlingly high standards in 2003 with 2,139 yards rushing to go with 40 touchdowns.

Miller's 144 points scored is the fourth-best total in the available data pool.

Hanson's favorite receiver, Jeff Skadeland, grabbed 51 balls, the most of any West Region pass-catcher in the last 12 seasons. His 907 receiving yards rank him third. Jake Caufield of Minot is the only 1,000-yard receiver. He latched onto 50 passes for 1,066 yards in 2003.

Here are the final West Region statistical leaders for 2008, accompanied by the 12-year best:

Rushing: 1. Jake Miller, Bismarck, 189-1,618. 2. Spencer Bickel, Minot, 204-1,232. 3. Luke Michaelson, Williston, 158-801. 4. ZachEmil,Century, 144-752. 5. Shelby Skytland, Mandan, 146-621. 6. Donte Smart, Minot, 62-599. 7. Alex Hanson,Williston, 127-586. 8. MichaelBangs,Jamestown, 130-505. 9. Andrew Carlson, St. Mary's, 102-484. 10. Kyle Walden, Jamestown, 81-471. (WestonDressler, Bismarck, 229-2,139, 2003).

Passing yards: 1. Alex Hanson, Williston, 127-263-17, 2,161 yards. 2. Hunter Johnson, Century, 110-202-7. 1,710. 3. Justin Klabunde, St. Mary's, 85-182-11, 1,406. 4. MichaelBangs,Jamestown, 86-161-14, 1,369. 5. Esley Thorton,Bismarck, 77-133-6, 1,236. 6. Ross Kovacs,Dickinson, 93-193-10, 1,134. 7. Sam Salveson, Mandan, 63-164-17, 964. 8. Derek Somerville,Minot, 56-128-8, 607. 9. Nick Jolliffe, Bismarck, 8-17-3, 116. 10. JordanLynch, Jamestown, 6-11-0, 113. (ZachWentz, Century, 2,227, 2007).

Touchdown passes: 1. Alex Hanson,Williston, 23. 2. (tie) Michael Bangs, Jamestown, and Hunter Johnson, Century, both 15. 4. Justin Klabunde, St. Mary's, 12. 5. Esley Thorton, Bismarck, 9. 6. Sam Salveson, Mandan, 7. Derek Somerville,Minot, 6. 8. Ross Kovacs, Dickinson, 5. 9. (tie) JoshWeatherspoon, Minot; ShawnEgge, Williston; JackSchauer, Williston; and CarsonWentz, Century, all 1. (Hanson, 2008).

Receiving yards:1. Jeff Skadeland, Williston, 51-907. 2. JordanPiatz, Jamestown, 45-887. 3. Garret Jacobs, Century, 36-691. 4. Ryan Huber, St. Mary's, 35-610. 5. Matt Chuppe,St. Mary's, 28-482. 6. Calvin Krueger, Bismarck, 26-470. 7. Brett Sinner, Jamestown, 33-436. 8. JackBietz, Century, 35-398. 9. Garret Kirchmeier, Mandan, 17-386. 10. Jake Miller, Bismarck, 23-342. (Jake Caufield, Minot, 50-1,066, 2003).

Total offense: 1. Alex Hanson,Williston, 2,747 yards. 2. Hunter Johnson,Century, 2,000. 3. MichaelBangs, Jamestown, 1,874. 4. Jake Miller, Bismarck, 1,618. 5. EsleyThorton, Bismarck, 1,556. 6. Justin Klabunde, St. Mary's, 1,522. 7. Spencer Bickel, Minot, 1,232. 8. Ross Kovacs, Dickinson, 1,175. 9. Sam Salveson, Mandan, 1,126. 10. Luke Michaelson, Williston, 801. (Hanson, 2008).

Scoring: 1. Jake Miller, Bismarck, 144. 2. Esley Thorton, Bismarck, 98. 3. Jeff Skadeland,Williston, 88. 4. (tie) Jordan Piatz,Jamestown, and Spencer Bickel, Minot, both 76. 6. (tie) Luke Michaelson, Williston, and Calvin Krueger, Bismarck, both 76. 8. ZachEmil,Century, 66. 9. Michael Bangs, Jamestown, 58. 10. Bruce Govig, Century, 54. (WestonDressler, Bismarck, 242, 2003).

Field goals: 1. ZachReisenauer, St. Mary's, 5. 2. Zach Pulkinen, Minot. 2. 3. (tie) Hunter Johnson, Century, and Jacob Ralph, Williston, both 1. (Will Kucera,St.Mary's, 2002).

(Steve Thomas is a Tribune sportswriter)

FORBOX

When WestonDressler rushed 204 times for 2,139 yards and 40 touchdowns in 204 carries during the 2003 season he did it on limited playing time.

Bismarck outscored the opposition by an average of 42-15 that year, so the Demons tailback didn't play many minutes after intermission.

Abit of data making the rounds last fall had Dressler carrying the ball just three times in the second half that season before the playoffs.

"We had a lot of games where it was over at halftime, but three carries? It seems like it should be more than that,"Dressler said in retrospect. "Ican't imagine that being right."