Prep Football- Southeast Iowa will see a couple new coaches patrolling the sideline in 2024 after Jim Krekel retired from his head coaching position with Burlington at the conclusion of the 2023 season and Josh Roberts just recently announced that he will resign from the helm of the Keokuk football team after five years as head coach.
Krekel was honored after Burlington’s game against Xavier, which marked the end to his 38 years of coaching and his four years at the helm of the Grayhounds. Krekel was gifted a football with the numbers 347 written on it as he finished with a 17-17 record in his four years as head coach. His 7-3 record in 2021 was the first winning season for Burlington since 2009.
Roberts’ departure from the position is perhaps a bit more subtle though just as expected after his move to Carthage to take over the family farm proved to be too much to balance. Roberts worked on the staff for a total of seven years and worked as head coach for five years. In that span, he finished with an 18-22 overall record and led the Chiefs to the playoffs in 2020 for the first time since 2012.
Keokuk will have Brenton Hoard returning for his senior season at quarterback after improving their record from 2-7 to 4-5, while Burlington will have to find replacements for their leading tackler and longtime starter at quarterback, Gabe Robinson.