Sloat chooses Mt. Mercy

MT. PLEASANT — Last week marked the end of a journey for Mt. Pleasant senior Max Sloat and the beginning of another, as he closed the book on his college choice and officially made himself a part of the Mt. Mercy football program.

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Sloat, a star linebacker for the Panthers this season made his decision known at the Mt. Pleasant Community High School media center last Wednesday.

“It’s been a long journey, but it was kind of finding what felt like home,” Sloat said. “It being in Cedar Rapids is only an hour and a half away from here, it was just perfectly fitting, like puzzle pieces going into the correct spot.”

Sloat made a meteoric rise with the Panther football team as a key member of a senior class that helped turn Mt. Pleasant from a winless team to a Class 3A playoff qualifier.

He was the team’s leading tackler by a long shot this fall, finishing with 60 tackles, including 9.5 tackles for loss. He had a defensive touchdown on a punt block as well.

“Freshman year, I wasn’t really doing much, but once I got to sophomore year and started playing some varsity, I was thinking ‘maybe I can go do this calling thing,” Sloat said.

Sloat will be joining an upstart team that will be stepping onto the field for the first time next fall. The first Mustang football season will be coached by former Iowa Wesleyan head coach MD Daniels.

Sloat plans on majoring in exercise science when he gets to college.