Mt. Pleasant, IA- The Iowa High School Athletic Association released the Class 3A All-District 4 teams after Mt. Vernon was eliminated from the state tournament over the weekend. The Mustangs ended the year as the District Champions and, expectedly, swept the District Players of the Year awards.
District Players of the Year
Jase Jaspers grabbed Offensive Player of the Year as he led the district with 1,879 all-purpose yards and 10 total touchdowns on offense. He was also a spark plug on special teams, leading the district in average punt return yards, returning one for an 86-yard touchdown, as he earned First Team Special Teams.
Defensive Player of the Year went to Jaxon Anderson. The junior linebacker accumulated 70 tackles, leading the way for a stout group that allowed only 11.9 points per game. Anderson also added 8.5 sacks, 14 tackles for loss, three fumble recoveries, and a pick-six.
Josef Briesmeister earned Offensive Lineman of the Year as the Mustangs touted the second-best rushing attack and the best passing offense in the district.
Unsurprisingly, Kael Riniker was honored with Defensive Lineman of the Year. Riniker was a problem for opposing offenses, collecting a district-high 15 sacks and 28 tackles for loss.
Mt. Vernon
The Mustangs finished the year ranked #5 in the Class 3A RPI, getting eliminated in the semifinals by Humboldt. Their 10-2 record topped the district as they went a perfect 5-0 in district play, resulting in 14 players earning a spot on the All-District First Team Offense and Defense.
Kellen Haverback was named First Team quarterback as he led the district with 2,285 passing yards to go along with 27 passing touchdowns. The junior signal caller also added 10 scores on the ground. His third-favorite target Watson Krob was named First Team wide receiver with 479 yards and eight touchdowns.
Cooper Hird grabbed First Team running back as he ranked second in the district in rushing yards with 862 and touchdowns with 13. Josef Briesmeister and Aaron Bellamy helped pave the way, garnering First Team selections for the offensive line. Lastly, the aforementioned Jaspers earned First Team Utility.
On the defensive side of things, Riniker and Nova Lane were First Team Defensive line as Lane totaled 23 tackles for loss to go along with 10 sacks. Anderson was First Team Linebacker.
Defensive backs Michael Ryan and AJ McDermott each earned First Team spots with Ryan nabbing three interceptions, while McDermott snared two interceptions, including a pick-six. Lastly, Ethan Wood, last year’s Defensive Lineman of the Year, was named First Team Defensive Utility for his 12 sacks.
Bennett Harp was named First Team Punter as he averaged 33.3 yards per punt.
Second Team members: Cole Thurn (WR/TE), Brody Nosek (OL), Tyler Williams (DL), Caysen Curran (LB), and Luke Paulus (DB).
Davenport Assumption
An 0-4 start to the season is will usually derail a team, not so for the Saints as they finished 4-1 in district play to punch their ticket to the postseason where they fell to Wahlert Catholic. For Assumption, they tout four total players on the First Team and six on the Second Team.
Junior Ben Armstrong was named First Team offensive lineman, and he helped senior running back Ben Yeggy finish the season as the only 1,000-yard rusher in the district to go along with 14 touchdowns, earning him First Team honors.
On the defensive side, Joey Funderburk’s 77.5 tackles, seven sacks, and 13 tackles for loss led the Saint defense, which gave him First Team defensive lineman. Helping clean up any plays that got past the first line of defense was First Team linebacker Keaton O’Neil with 53 tackles and four tackles for loss.
Second Team members: Braylon Thomsen (QB), Brady Curoe (WR/TE), Dru Diaz (Offensive UTL), Ben Leinart (K), Luke Argo (LB), and Ben Yeggy (SP)
Washington
The Demons had an incredible bounce back season, going from 2-7 last year to 6-3 (3-2 district record) and knocking on the door of playoffs. The senior heavy squad earned five spots on the First Team and eight spots on the Second Team.
Mason Morgan grabbed First Team wide receiver/tight end as the senior caught 21 passes for 464 yards, which led the team, and four touchdowns. Helping the offense was First Team running back, junior Kael Williams. The junior tallied 528 yards rushing on the season to go along with six rushing touchdowns as he also added 215 receiving yards and four scores through the air.
Helping lead the way for this balanced offense was senior Summit Keith as he earned First Team offensive lineman.
Transferring over to the defense, Jayfred Espinosa’s two interceptions garnered him First Team defensive back, while the district’s leading tackler Jude Carter with 84.5 wrap-ups and 10 tackles for loss nabbed him First Team defensive utility.
Logan McDole, senior quarterback, was the first signal caller out despite throwing for 1,157 yards, rushing for another 521 yards, and scoring 20 total touchdowns for the season, the Demon was named Second Team quarterback.
Second Team members: Lucas Zahs (OL), Greyson Hartman (OL), Keider Gomez (DL), Rudy Wolfe (DL), Blaine Rees (LB), Caden Greiner (DB), and Conner Leyden (P)
Mt. Pleasant
The Panthers turned back-to-back 0-9 seasons into a 4-5 (2-3) campaign and one district win away from possibly sneaking into the postseason. Mt. Pleasant had three players make the First Team and two players make the Second Team.
On the First Team for defense, Payton Walker and William Birdsell each earned a spot at the linebacker position. As the middle linebacker, Walker led the team with 75 tackles and 11.5 tackles for a loss. He also added a fumble recovery, an interception, and 1.5 sacks, which included a safety against Tipton.
Head coach John Bowlin talked about the leader of his defense,
“I mean, he is just a goer. He, if we don’t have him out there, you know, our defense looks a lot different. So, he flies around side to side, line to sideline. And definitely he was the second team all-district last year, I believe, at linebacker and probably could have been first team. I mean, he was just as good last year as this year. Obviously took a step forward and well deserved me that I think he was one of the best linebackers in our district and definitely one of the best leaders on our team.”
Walker also added 519 total yards on offense with a team leading seven rushing touchdowns for the season. Two of those touchdowns were against Fairfield in the opening game of the season. An overtime thriller, which ended the Panthers 23-game losing streak.
Birdsell was a constant nuisance in the backfield, tallying 11 tackles for a loss with 3.5 sacks as he finished tied for third on the team with 32.5 total tackles. The senior also blocked a punt, which turned the tide in Mt. Pleasant’s comeback victory against Fort Madison in week 8. For coach Bowlin, it was not a surprise when he made the play,
“Yep, and that speaks to his energy getting off the football. So, I think that’s one of the best things he did was he was quick off the ball, and that’s what allowed him to make those big plays in the backfield.”
Nolan Frueh was the last member of the First Team for the Panthers, earning a spot on the offensive line. Frueh helped clear the path for a Mt. Pleasant rushing attack that gained 1,279 yards and scored 17 touchdowns on the season, their best marks since 2020.
“Yeah, he was really both sides,” said coach Bowlin. “We could pull with him. We ran behind him all the time just because he was our most consistent guy is just moving the line of scrimmage. I mean he would always get movement and you could rely on him to go blow somebody up across from him. I just thought he had really an outstanding year on the O-line. He said those statistics don’t show up but the yards rushing do. And he was a big part of leading that for us.”
On the Second Team was junior offensive guard Kellen Kohorst, who also nabbed an interception on defense, as he helped lead the Panthers at the line of scrimmage and Ramzy Davis, the junior running back and defensive back.
Coach Bowlin is excited that he gets another year with Kohorst on the line,
“He just played, just was really solid for us. Great leader. Definitely one of our smartest players that can just get after it. So, he got on an O-line. I think he could have got on D-line too. And just really well-deserving, works his tail off. And he’s going to be a big force for us going into next year, so excited that we get to keep him for next year.”
Davis had recorded two carries for five yards through the first four games; the junior got the starting spot in week five and never looked back as he accumulated 245 yards and six rushing touchdowns in a three-week span. He finished the season with 312 yards and an interception on defense.
In an effort to keep players fresh, coach Bowlin kept Davis limited to defensive snaps but when injuries piled up, he decided to give the junior a chance he didn’t give back,
“…I was keep trying to keep some people defensive fresh and some people on offense fresh, so, you know, we didn’t give him too many carries start the year and then once we decided you know kind of give a shot out there and he just saw the hole for us really well, you know, he’s not your fastest kid but he’ll outwork anybody and I think that showed up. He kind of gave us another element running the football. And I think six touchdowns in District play just really had an outstanding year for us. And I’m just excited to see what he does next year, both offensively and defensively. He’s going to be a force to reckon with.”
Keokuk
The Chiefs entered the year with plenty of momentum in hiring former NFL wide receiver and Hawkeye great Marvin McNutt to patrol the sideline with the return of three-year starter and senior quarterback Brenton Hoard. However, a tough non-district schedule and a porous offensive line knocked Keokuk back to 3-6 (1-4) for the season.
The glue that held the Chief offense together was First Team quarterback Brenton Hoard. The senior tossed for 1,893 yards, 22 touchdowns, ran for 608 yards, and scored eight touchdowns on the ground. His go-to target was fellow senior Drew Campbell, who finished the season with 37 receptions for 691 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Mason Claus ranked second in the district in tackles with 7.5 to go along with 3.5 sacks and 11 tackles for loss to earn him his second First Team linebacker honor.
Second Team members: Braxton Hayner (DB)
Fort Madison
After four seasons of winning records and a couple trips to the postseason, the Bloodhounds hurtled back down to earth, matching their 0-9 (0-5) record from 2016. Their defense struggled the most, allowing an average of nearly 38 points per game, while the offense managed to score over 20 points in one game.
Nevertheless, the team certainly had talent as Brody Cashman earned Frist Team wide receiver. The senior hauled in 26 passes for 302 yards and a touchdown. Henry Graham nabbed First Team kicker.
Marcus Guzman could have grabbed a spot on offense or defense, but the senior was named First Team defensive back. Guzman made 40.5 tackles, including two for a loss. His biggest mark was on offense as he finished the season with 1.506 all-purpose yards and was responsible for all 15 touchdowns.
Second Team members: Hunter Cook (OL), Aaron Warner (DL), Justin Maitner (LB), Noah Swigart (DB). Swigart was second in the district with four interceptions.