WACO leads All-Union football team

It was a wild year in area football, and one that saw plenty of successes from around the area.

This year saw the renewed success of WACO and Sigourney-Keota from the year before. The Warriors made it all the way to the Class 8-Player state championship, and the Cobras were eliminated one game before advancing to the Dome.

This season also saw playoff runs by Columbus, Mid-Prairie, Winfield-Mount Union and New London, while a few area teams missed out on the field by just one or two games.

The 2022 All-Union football team is led by WACO after the Warriors’ historic run to the state final, but plenty of other teams are represented on the list.

Coach: Chad Edeker, WACO

The 2021 WACO football team came frustratingly close to the Dome, and Edeker’s Warriors weren’t going to let that happen in 2022.

One year after getting knocked out in the Class 8-Player quarterfinals, WACO went on a tear, finishing the regular season 9-0 before going on the deepest postseason run in school history.

Not only did WACO surpass the quarterfinals with a dominant 52-7 win over Montezuma, but the Warriors knocked off Newell-Fonda 29-21 in their first game at the UNI-Dome before falling to Remsen, St. Mary’s 38-16 in the championship game.

Captain: Simeon Reichenbach, senior, WACO

While WACO did a good job of maintaining balance on the offensive side of the ball, Reichenbach was still a workhorse in 2022.

The Warriors’ senior running back went for 1,576 yards on the ground this season and 33 touchdowns. He was also fantastic in the passing game, catching 24 balls for 402 yards and five scores.

Reichenbach’s offensive merits may have earned captain’s right on their own, but he was a menace all over the field.

Not only did he finish the year with 55 tackles, three interceptions, one fumble recovery and one defensive touchdown, but Reichenbach also made an incredible 11 field goals this season, more than anyone else in the state of Iowa.

QB: Tate Allen, senior, Fairfield

Allen’s move to quarterback last season sparked a Fairfield offense that turned into one of the best in the district, and he saved some of his best work for his final year on the team.

Allen threw the ball around for 1,520 yards this season and 22 touchdowns, but that’s not the only place he was dangerous. He also led the Trojans on the ground, running for 617 yards and eight scores.

RB: Cole Clarahan, senior, Sigourney-Keota

Sigourney-Keota’s offense is always led by a strong ground game, and that wasn’t any different in 2022.

This season, it was Clarahan who stepped up to be the lead back in an offense that found the end zone 39 times. Clarahan himself ran for 1,198 yards and 21 of those scores.

RB: Kaden Amigon, junior, Columbus

Columbus punished opposing defenses with the ground game all year, and a big reason for that was the play of Amigon.

Amigon carried the ball 158 times this season for 1,872 yards and 26 touchdowns. He and his fellow running backs were so dominant that the Columbus offense had to throw the ball just 18 times all season.

OL: Evan Vittetoe, senior, Sigourney-Keota

The SK line was fantastic as always this season, and the Cobras were led by the senior, Vittetoe.

Vittetoe and the men up front pushed the Cobras to 2,827 rushing yards and 39 touchdowns this season. The offense also scored nine times through the air.

OL: Trent Wilkerson, senior, New London

The running game paced New London again this year, and that couldn’t have happened without a solid offensive line, led by Wilkerson.

New London’s senior leader and his comrades on the front lines helped the Tiger offense rush for 2,553 yards and 41 touchdowns. New London also scored 16 times in the passing game.

OL: Brayden Hartman, senior, Washington

Washington’s top offensive lineman stepped up in a senior leadership roll this year, and Hartman led the charge for the Demon offense all season.

The Demons’ offensive line created space for 1,936 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns this season. Washington also burned defenses on six passing touchdowns.

OL: Chase Waterhouse, senior, WACO

Waterhouse was a leader all year on an offensive line that never failed to get a push for the Warrior offense.

Behind Waterhouse and the rest of the offensive line, WACO ran for an incredible 2,553 yards and 59 touchdowns this season. They also served to protects passing game that went for 1,758 yards and 24 scores.

WR: Wyatt Woodsmall, senior, Mt. Pleasant

Thanks to an unbelievable start to the season, Mt. Pleasant’s top wide out finished as one of the best pass catchers in Southeast Iowa in 2022.

Woodsmall brought in 43 passes this year for 545 yards. Four of those he took to the end zone.

WR: Anthony Duncan, senior, Van Buren County

Though officially listed as a tight end, Duncan was the Warriors’ deep threat all season, and the anchor of the team’s passing game.

Duncan caught over half of Van Buren County’s 61 receptions this season. He hauled in 32 of them for 756 yards and six touchdowns.

TE: Max Weaton, senior, Fairfield

Fairfield’s All-State tight end showed why he is just that with another stellar year leading the Fairfield offense.

Weaton caught 43 passes this year, almost half of the 90 receptions for Fairfield as a team. He also score 13 touchdowns through the air to cap off a fantastic career for FHS.

TE: Abram Edwards, junior, Winfield-Mount Union

When the ball was in the air for the WMU offense, it was usually intended for Edwards, who gave the team a big threat in the pass-catching game this season.

Edwards caught a team-high 31 passes for 392 yards and four touchdowns. He also contributed mightily to the running game, rushing for 339 yards and nine scores.

UTIL: Cole Kindred, junior, Sigourney-Keota

There’s a reason that Sigourney-Keota’s Kindred was chosen as a utility man. He was just that for the team this season.

Kindred not only caught a team-high 10 passes for 171 yards and four, but found the end zone six times on the ground.

UTIL: Ethan Patterson, senior, Washington

Washington’s athletic quarterback had another big year both passing and throwing the ball for the Demons. Patterson threw for 410 yards and five touchdowns, and also ran for 417 yards and three scores.

On the defensive side of the ball, Patterson created a couple of turnovers, picking off two passes from opposing quarterbacks throughout the course of the year.

DL: Colton Leichty, senior, WACO

WACO’s dominant defense was aided by a stellar defensive line, and Leichty was one of the best in the entire state of Iowa.

Leichty finished second on the team with 90 total tackles. He recovered four fumbles and picked off one pass on the season.

DL: DaShaun Westphal-Edwards (12), Washington

Washington’s defense had to step up in a few big games this year, especially down the stretch, and Westphal-Edwards is a big reason the Demons made a playoff threat in their final games.

Westphal-Edwards finished the season with 54 total tackles, third-best on the team. He had 38 solo tackles and recovered one fumble.

DL: Russell Coil, junior, Columbus

Columbus’ bread and butter this season was its running game and defense, and the defensive side proved to be quite the challenge for opposing teams.

Coil finished second on the Wildcats with 58.5 tackles this season, 46 of them of the solo variety. He not only recovered one fumble, but picked off one pass and brought it back 40 yards for a defensive touchdown.

DL: Drew Diers, senior, WACO

In a linebacker-heavy year, Diers was one of the best, but he showed throughout the season he could get it done up at the line as well, which is why he is slotted in as a defensive lineman for the 2022 squad.

Diers finished the year with an incredible 108 tackles, 11th-best in the entire state. He had 74 solo tackles, including some big ones in the Warriors’ two games in Cedar Falls.

LB: Cam Buffington, junior, Winfield-Mount Union

Another year and another stellar performance by Buffington, who was Mr. Everything both on the offensive side and the defensive side again this season.

Buffington earns his spot as a linebacker after finishing the year with 95.5 total tackles. He picked off three passes this year, all of which were returned to the end zone for defensive scores, and added one fumble recovery to boot.

If you add up offense, defense and special teams, Buffington scored 35 total touchdowns this season.

LB: Jack Clarahan, junior, Sigourney-Keota

The Cobras’ defense was stellar in the middle of the season, and a big reason the team found itself in the Class 1A quarterfinals.

Clarahan led the Cobra defense with 67.5 tackles this year, 38 of them solo. He also had one fumble recovery and one interception.

LB: James Strabala, senior, Washington

Nobody had more tackles for the Washington Demons this year than senior James Strabala. Strabala finished the year with 86.5 of them, including 48 solo.

Straabala was able to take the ball away from opposing offenses twice this season. He finished the year with two fumble recoveries.

LB: Dom Lopez, senior, New London

New London’s defense was huge in 2022, and although Lopez had a fantastic year on offense, he earns his spot on the defensive side as a linebacker.

Lopez finished the season with 37 tackles and one fumble recovery this season, a nice compliment to 26 total touchdowns on the offensive side of the ball.

DB: Mason Miller, senior, WACO

It was nearly impossible to move the ball on the WACO defense this year, on the ground or through the air, but teams had a particularly bad time throwing the ball in the area of Miller.

One year after recording nine interceptions in his junior year, Miller did it again, picking off nine more passes, which tied him for the state lead. He also added 34 tackles and one fumble recovery to his resume

DB: Jake Moore, junior, Sigourney-Keota

SK’s Moore jumped onto the scene this year in the defensive backfield, coming away with 38 tackles on the year.

Moore coled the team with three interceptions, totaling in 52 return yards and one defensive touchdown.

DB: Oleh Shtefanchuk, senior, WACO

The WACO defense picked off 25 passes this season, and five of those fell into the hands of Shtefanchuk.

Shtefanchuk was incredible in his senior season in WACO blue. Along with being the second-best ball hawk on the team, he recorded 68 tackles this season, 56 of them solo.

PR: Blaise Porter, senior, New London

In his career at New London, Porter has been one of the most dynamic ball carriers in the area, and that was proven by his year in the return game, where his only two punt returns of the year ended in the end zone for a combined 105 yards.

On offense, Porter carried the ball for 615 yards and 10 touchdowns, and caught 21 passes for five scores. He also picked two passes off this season, one of which went back for a defensive touchdown.

KR: Triston Miller, senior, Columbus

Miller was dynamic all over the field for the Wildcats, doing most of his work in the running game where he scampered for 883 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Miller, however, earns his spot on the 2022 team because of his skill in the return game. He returned 13 kicks for 368 yards and a score, and took eight punts back for 223 yards and another touchdown.

K: Cain Brown, senior, Mid-Prairie

Brown did just about everything for the Mid-Prairie football team this year, including an impressive year in kicks, making 32 point after attempts and a 33-yard field goal.

But Brown’s inclusion means a lot more than what he did on special teams. He led the Mid-Prairie pass catchers wwith 27 receptions for six touchdowns, and was also fantastic on defense, leading the squad with four interceptions.

P: Jeffrey Hoback, senior, Columbus

Hoback was fantastic for the Wildcats all season, and although he only had to punt the ball 15 times, his 600 total yards is enough to trust him as our punter this season.

Along with his work on special teams, Hoback boosted the Wildcat offense with 241 rushing yards and four touchdowns. He ran one of the top offenses in the area behind center, despite only having to throw eight times. Two of those eight passes did go for touchdowns.