Mt. Pleasant, IA- When teams had to gameplan for Mt. Pleasant this past football season, the defense took central stage with a group that would bring unrelenting pressure, resulting in splash plays and game defining moments. One of the leaders of the defense was Max Sloat, who signed his National Letter of Intent to play linebacker at Mt. Mercy University.
Sloat talked about what went into the decision,
“It’s been a long journey, but kind of like finding what felt like home and it just being in Cedar Rapids about an hour and a half away from here. It was a perfect fitting, like puzzle pieces going into the correct spot. I got on campus, you know, once, twice, and it’s where I wanted to be.”
Two years ago, Mt. Pleasant celebrated their first win in 24 attempts at Trojan Stadium in Fairfield; this year, the Panthers got to celebrate their first trip to the postseason since 2010 on the same field. Back-to-back years of Super Bowl-esque celebrations.
But the foundation of that celebration started four years ago, according to Sloat,
“… All the seniors, when we showed up, we were 0-9, two straight years. But I tell you what, that sophomore year was probably the best 0-9 team you could look at, so the second we became juniors, you know, 4-5, that’s where it just started going up and up. Senior year, I think we proved a lot of people wrong, and they kept looking over us and we just kept fighting back.”
That sophomore season saw Sloat generate 22 tackles in limited action. The desire to play at the next level went from a spark to a full-on bonfire after his sophomore season.
“I’ve always wanted to” said Sloat. “You know, I grew up an Iowa State fan. I’m still am. But yeah, you know, once you get to high school, freshman year, I wasn’t really doing much. Once I got to sophomore year, started playing some varsity, then I was, like, thinking, you know, ‘maybe I can go do this college thing.’ You know, junior year going into my senior year, I was like, ‘I really want to play college football.’ Started going to camps, meeting coaches, all that good stuff. Coach Bowlin was a big part of that. He brought that college bit to our school. So, getting exposed to those things, those coaches early was just, that’s really what exploded it.”
Him and Payton Walker—someone that Sloat has regular conversations with as Walker plays linebacker at St. Ambrose—controlled the middle of the defense for a squad that finished 4-5 and Sloat kept improving, totaling 42 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, and recovered a fumble. That’s when linebackers coach Ilias Montoya started talking to Sloat about coming to play for a program that is gearing up for their inaugural season in 2026.
“So, I talked to them [Mt. Mercy] a little bit during the preseason” Sloat described. “They came to one of our practices with West Liberty, where we scrimmaged them. And then two days later, I believe, I hopped on a call with Coach Montoya, who was here, and he said that we like seeing you and we want to keep doing that. So, he offered me there, and that was huge. Built a lot of confidence and I think since then I just started working harder and trying to become the best player I could.”
That’s when the self-diagnosed “killing feeling” took over the voracious senior linebacker, who led the team in tackles with 60 and finished second on the team in tackles for loss with 9.5 and sacks with 6.5 along with collecting a scoop-and-score against Knoxville.
It’s a feeling that only those crazy enough to play football on the defensive side of the ball can understand. Still, the First Team All-District linebacker is attempting to clean up the image,
“…I think it was the Hawkeye. He said I was a heat-seeking missile. So, I think, you know, coming down field and hitting people before they can even see me. And just, like, having fun. And, yeah, I like to play with some swag, I’d say, some swag.”
After building the Panther program back up into a 7-3 playoff squad, Sloat is confident that he can help the Mustangs build up their program. It will also be a Mt. Pleasant reunion of sorts with MD Daniels, former Iowa Wesleyan head football coach, in control of the program.
With a love of competition, it is no surprise that Sloat was looking to keep his life’s work related to athletics.
“I’m going to do exercise science. Currently, they do not have physical therapy, but since St. Ambrose has kind of bought into their academics, that program may show up to Mount Mercy or those classes from St. Ambrose will be there. I want to work with athletes. I’ve been around them all my life. I feel like I can understand them, not just on the physical side, but mental side and what’s going on. So, I want to be able to help them and make them chase their dreams as good as they can.”
The season is expected to kickoff in the fall of 2026 as a member of the Heart of America Athletic Conference at the NAIA level.