Sigourney-Keota comes in at No. 4 in 1A Gazette poll

The Gazette dropped is Class 1A Iowa high school football 2023 preseason rankings on Saturday morning and the Union area is represented inside the top five, while a 2022 reining champion who wasn’t in the class a year ago holds the top spot in 1A.

Coming in at No. 4 in the preseason standings is the Union’s own Sigourney-Keota. The Cobras, a state quarterfinalist from a year ago, bring back a bunch of talent from last year’s squad which pushed pollers to push them into the top five.

While Sigourney-Keota threw the ball scarcely a year ago (64 attempts), starting quarterback Sawyer Stout returns for his senior season. Stout threw for 620 yards and nine touchdowns in 2022.

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A big loss comes at the running back position as Cole Clarahan, who ran for 1,198 yards and 21 touchdowns, is gone. The bright side? The Cobras return the every other rushers, which includes 11 players.

Issac Bruns leads the returners after putting up 500 yards and four touchdowns in 2022. Stout, Reid Molyneux, Cole Kindred and Jake Moore all ran over 20 times for more than 150 yards.

At receiver, the Cobras have to replace a lot as the top two receivers graduate. Kindred, Bruns and Caden Clarahan are the only three players that caught a pass returning. Kindred did lead the Cobras a year ago in catches as he reeled in 10 passes for 171 yards and four touchdowns.

Defensively, two of the top five tacklers are gone, but Reid Molyneux, Jake Moore and Evan Vittetoe each finished with over 30 tackles. Vittetoe lead the squad with three sacks and 10.5 tackles for a loss.

A season ago, the Cobras were one game away from the UNI Dome, but ran into eventual state champion Van Meter in the quarterfinals. Sigourney-Keota wont have to deal with the Bulldogs this season as Van Meter moved up to Class 2A, but another champion enters the mix.

That team is none other than 2022 Class A state title winner and preseason No. 1 Grundy Center.

Arguably the one team in the state with the most of their key contributors coming back, it’s no surprise that the Spartans hold the top spot despite the class change.

Grundy Center brings back five first-team all-state selections, which includes quarterback Colin Gordon, running back Justin Knaack, receiver Tate Jirovsky, lineman Trent Cakerice and linebacker Clay Saak, along with the top four leading tacklers from 2022.

The Spartans now eye a title in a bigger class, but will have a tough road regardless as other powerhouses look to get their hands on some hardware, which includes the Cobras.

The top five is headlined by Grundy Center, followed by Underwood, MFL MarMac, Sigourney-Keota and South Hamilton.

The Gazette’s full list of 1A rankings can be found below.

1. Grundy Center 58 (5)

2. Underwood 52 (1)

3. MFL MarMac 51

4. Sigourney-Keota 26

5. South Hamilton 24

T-6. Avoca AHSTW 23

T-6. Waterloo Columbus 23

8. Iowa City Regina 16

9. West Branch 13

10. Aplington-Parkersburg 11

Others receiving votes: Pella Christian 9, Ida Grove OABCIG 8, Sumner-Fredericksburg 6, Dike-New Hartford 3, Ogden 2, Treynor 2, Wilton 2, Lawton-Bronson 1