Columbus’ Amigon named Class A district 5 MVP

It was an exciting year for the Union area’s Class A football teams and there was a lot of positives to take away from Columbus, Pekin, Highland and Van Buren County’s seasons.

The four squads both competed in Class A’s District 5, which featured Danville, Lisbon, Louisa-Muscatine and Wapello.

Lisbon was this season’s district champion after an undefeated season through district play.

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Columbus and Pekin both finished the season with a record of 6-3. The pair both lost in the first round of the Class A playoffs.

Meanwhile, Van Buren County ended 3-5 and Highland 2-6. Both missed this year’s postseason.

Columbus lead this year’s district list with 10 total selections, followed by Pekin with five and Highland and Van Buren County with three.

Kicking things off for Columbus is senior Kaden Amigon. Amigon put together yet another stellar season on the ground for the Wildcats, ending the year as the districts offensive MVP.

Amigon rushed for 1,860 yards and 28 touchdowns all while averaging 12.5 yards per carry.

Columbus’ Payton White, Bryce Grimm and Itai Zapiensz represent the Wildcats on the offensive line.

They helped Columbus rush for 3,139 yards and 49 total touchdowns, along with 587 through the air and seven scores.

Riley Kaalberg joins Amigon on the running back list. Kaalberg ran or 942 yards and 14 scores out of the backfield.

Russell Coil and Markell Zapiensz are the Wildcats two selections on the defensive line.

Coil finished with 44 tackles, 17.5 tackles for a loss and two sacks. Zapiensz had 20.5 tackles and 4.5 tackles for a loss.

At defensive back, Cael Phillips and Tyson Kaalberg earn the distinction. Kaalberg totaled 52.5 tackles and six interceptions, while Phillips ended with 30 tackles.

For Pekin, Caden Bender makes it on the list as an offensive lineman.

Bender helped the Panthers rush for 2,179 yards on the season and another 1,144 through the air.

Robert Brown represents the Panthers as a tight end/receiver. Brown caught 24 passes through the year for 444 yards and eight touchdowns. No one else had more than two.

Defensively, Isaac Sylvester earns a spot as a defensive lineman. He finished with 29 tackles on the year with four tackles for a loss and one sack.

The final two spots are at the defensive back position in the form of Will Adam and Sven Dahlstrom. Adam tallied 43.5 tackles on the year with one interception, while Dahlstrom carded 55.5 tackles with a team-high four interceptions.

Highland’s first pick comes in the form of Sage Hartley-Norman as an offensive utility. He did a little bit of everything for Highland this season, throwing for 463 yards and three touchdowns, while rushing for another 515 and three scores.

Ayden Havel represents the Huskies as a wide receiver. Havel caught 18 passes for 309 yards and four scores.

Finally Logan McFarland is a defensive utility for the Huskies. McFarland lead the team with 55.5 tackles, 11.5 tackles for a loss and four sacks. He also had one fumble recovery and one interception.

Van Buren County is led by wide receiver Lucas Fett. Fett caught a whopping 46 passes on the season for 572 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Kamden Nusbaum is a linebacker pick for the Warriors. Nusbaum led the squad with 64.5 total tackles. He also recovered two fumbles and had one interceptions.

Last but no least T.J. Jirak is a punter selection. Jirak punted 25 times for 724 yards.

All four teams have have a slew of honorable mention picks as well.

The full list of Class A All-District can be found below.

CLASS A ALL-DISTRICT

OFFENSE:

O-Line: Payton White (Columbus), Bryce Grimm (Columbus), Itai Zapiensz (Columbus), Jonah Reiling (Lisbon), Blake Harms (Lisbon), Caden Bender (Pekin)

QBs: Dakota Clark (Lisbon), Jaden Bauer (Danville)

RBs: Kaden Amigon (Columbus), Riley Kaalberg (Columbus), Baylor Speidel (Lisbon)

WR/TE: Ayden Havel (Highland), Lucas Fett (Van Buren), Robert Brown (Pekin), Kessler Whaley (Danville), Landon Seibert (Danville)

Kicker: Gage Holub (Lisbon)

Utility: Sage Hartley-Norman (Highland), Jesse Reiner (L-M)

Return Specialist: Tiernan Boots (Lisbon)

DEFENSE:

D-Line: Russell Coil (Columbus), Markel Zapiensz (Columbus), Indy Ferguson (Lisbon), Isaac Sylvester (Pekin), Titus Svoboda (Danville)

LBs: Cole Storm (Columbus), Matthias Kohl (Lisbon), Henry Neymeyer (Lisbon), Kamden Nusbaum (Van Buren), Byers Nealy (Danville), Matthew Helscher (Wapello)

DBs: Cael Phillips (Columbus), Tyson Kaalberg (Columbus), Reid Fridley (Lisbon), Will Adam (Pekin), Sven Dahlstrom (Pekin)

Punter: TJ Jirak (Van Buren)

Utility: Jacob Walerius (Lisbon), Jackson Lanz (Wapello), Logan McFarland (Highland)

OFFENSIVE MVP: KADEN AMIGON (Columbus)

DEFENSIVE MVP: MATTHIAS KOHL (Lisbon)

LINEMAN MVP: JONAH REILING (Lisbon)

COLUMBUS HONORABLE MENTIONS: Trevor Phillips (QB), Elliot Wessley (LB), Gabe Zuniga (K)

HIGHLAND HONORABLE MENTIONS: Remington Fields (DU), Isaac Kleese (OL), Colten Sypherd (OU).

PEKIN HONORABLE MENTIONS: Alton Williams (OL), Cal Miller (DL), Deklan Hampton (DB)