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Washington Evening Journal
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Washington, IA 52353
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Tigers looking to take next step
High school football begins this month
Iowa Valley
The Tigers are coming off a successful 7-3 season in which they advanced to the second round of the playoffs in eight-man play and fell to Clarksville.
The Tigers were young last season and have the potential to be even better this season.
Nolan Kriegel returns as the team’s quarterback and leading rusher. He rushed for 1,283 yards last season with 20 touchdowns.
Caleb Haack returns and provides the Tigers with a deep threat in the passing game.
Many key defensive pieces also return for the Tigers with players such as Layne Peska and Chance Hoyt.
“We are excited about this upcoming season and are looking to build on a successful year last year, Iowa Valley head coach Casey Krull said.
“Our guys have put in a lot of great work this offseason to help them prepare for this season, and we are returning a lot of key returns on special teams, offense and defense from last year.”
The Tigers will be well tested with a tough schedule that begins with BGM.
“We are going to have to be ready to play every week this year because we have five playoff teams on the schedule from last year,” Krull added.
Williamsburg
The Raiders reached the top of the mountain last season, claiming the Class 3A championship at the UNI Dome in a 20-0 victory over Bishop Heelan.
The team looks to defend its title this year after losing a great group of seniors. But the Raiders have a lot of production coming back this season.
Key returners include Rayce Heitman, who did produced in all areas (offense, defense, special teams) for the Raiders last year with his speed.
The Raiders’ top two receivers — in terms of yards — are gone, so Heitman may fill an even bigger role in that area.
Nile Sinn, last year’s leading rusher, and Cael Moore, who racked up 50.5 tackles last season, are other key players returning.
Sophomores from last season, including Dylan Weisskopf, will see increased roles this season too.
Grant Hocker will be the team’s new quarterback, a role that was filled by Derek Weisskopf, in the Raiders’ playoff run last season.
The Raiders will play the same district schedule as last year, highlighted by a State semifinal rematch against Solon, and will face Cedar Rapids Xavier again in non-conference play.
Belle Plaine
The Plainsmen went 4-5 last season and lost to Winfield-Mount Union in the first round of the eight man playoffs. Winfield-Mount Union ended up in the State Semifinals.
The eight-man system was new to the Plainsmen last year. They’ll have a little experience under their belts as they open the second season.
Returning much of their offensive production from last season, the Plainsmen will look to make it to the postseason again this year.
The Plainsmen relied heavily on the run game last season (as is common in the eight-man game) and will be returning both Ty Alcott and Lane Voukon, who rushed for more than 600 yards each and 22 combined touchdowns last season.
Will and Wade Sankot also will be key players for the Plainsmen this season.
Defensively, the Plainsmen lost their top two tacklers from last season in Jeremy Reineke and Jax Stamp. They’ll look to others to replace the production of Reineke and Stamp.
Clarksville will be the Plainsmen’s first opponent this season. Clarksville won last year’s matchup 34-32. It was not only Belle Plaine’s first game of the season but its first eight-man game.
English Valleys
The Bears went 4-5 last season and missed out on the postseason.
Without Myles Grove, who was the team's quarterback, leading rusher and leading tackler last season, the Bears will need to find more production from returning players.
Ben Coffman and Deshon Anderson both saw a solid number of carries last season and will be key for the Bears’ offense this season.
A new quarterback to replace Grove will be key for the run game and for when the Bears choose to pass the ball.
Defensively, Cael Grove is the top returning tackler for the Bears with 44.5 last season.
The Bears open up play against Calamus-Wheatland, who they defeated last season.
HLV
The Warriors went 2-8 last season and will look to improve on that record this season in a tough district.
Returning are six varsity letterwinners from last season and some promising newcomers, including freshmen such as Cash Hawkins and Easton Krumm.
The team returns Bryer Jack at quarterback and Cale Weisskopf as the leading rusher and receiver. Weisskopf will be a key piece for the Warriors this season on both sides of the ball.
Sean McCulloch will be a name to watch for. He should play an increased role for the Warriors offense this season.
Boston Roorda and Devon Weisskopf are key defensive returners for the Warriors.
The Warriors open up the season against Montezuma.
