Prep Football- The fall season is nearly upon us with the first game of the football season for Class 3A a mere three weeks away; so, it seems like a compelling opportunity to pick our way through District 4 and decide where these six teams stand.
Mt. Pleasant
The Panthers have the most to prove and, unfortunately, replace. Most of their offensive line graduated last season in Franklin Tousignant, Harmon Ensminger, Logan Borders, and Miguel Navarrette. Payson Coleman and Phoenix Watson, their two top pass catchers, graduated along with starting safety Carson Andreasen, second leading tackler.
The Panthers are attempting to right a lot of wrongs this season as they have gone 0-9 the last two seasons and haven’t won a district game since 2020. However, head coach John Bowlin is creating a culture that is eager to change both narratives.
One of the players looking to lead that charge is senior Payton Walker. The ultimate utility man this past season, he led the team in passing, rushing, and tackling. Walker also caught four passes for 51 yards and is the team’s punter.
With the relative lack of experience, it was nice for coach Bowlin to participate in a camp put on by Coe College with West Liberty during camp week that allowed his team to get some reps,
“I thought our line, you know, with the spot we need to go a lot better at, but our line played physical, did a good job, knew what they were doing” explained Bowlin. “You know, I thought our quarterbacks did a great job of making some reads. So, we got a few new wrinkles in the offense we’re working on.”
Biggest Strength: Payton Walker
Biggest Question: O-Line
Keokuk
The Chiefs are probably the most intriguing school in the district. Keokuk have finished above 0.500 in just two of the past 10 seasons with the most recent occurring in 2019.
Nevertheless, they doubled their win total from a year ago to finish 4-5 and could have very well finished 6-3 as they went 0-2 in one possession games. The Chiefs also return talented quarterback Brenton Hoard, who combined for 2,414 yards and 22 touchdowns, and Mason Claus, who led the team in tackles with 94.5.
All of this to finally mention that they have a new head coach, former NFL wide receiver and current Iowa Hawkeye record holder, Marvin McNutt. He coached two all-conference receivers at Coe College before getting the call to move to Keokuk.
Despite the lack of recent program success, McNutt is going to coach his team hard and set high expectations,
“…Let’s see where we can take this program, we will shoot for the moon and land next to the stars.”
Biggest Strength: Passing Offense
Biggest Question: Rushing Attack and Defense
Washington
The Demons could be looking at the most improvement from last year to this year. Washington touted a young squad last year with most of their offensive production coming from juniors and sophomores.
This squad was on the cusp of finishing with a record near 0.500 instead of going 2-7. Tied with Fort Madison after a quarter, a narrow 23-20 loss to Fairfield, and two poor quarters against Oskaloosa to fall 28-14 are examples of a team that could have finished 5-4.
The Demons return dual threat quarterback Logan McDole and their leading rusher in Kael Williams as he finished with 594 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground. Add in Mason Morgan on the outside contributing nearly 40% of the receiving stats last season.
Biggest Strength: Experience
Biggest Question: Middle Defense
Assumption
The Knights were a scary team for a majority of last season, especially after clobbering Solon 34-7 to start the season as the Spartans found their groove late in the season, falling to eventual champion Williamsburg at the UNI-Dome.
Assumption stumbled twice during the regular season with losses to North Scott and Mt. Vernon, but outscored Washington, Keokuk, and Mt. Pleasant 139 to 0 to close out the year. However, the 7-2 Knights lost 58-45 in the first round of the playoffs to West Delaware.
The problem? Their starting quarterback, running back, and wide receivers have all graduated. Braylon Thomsen is their only returner that managed to find paydirt at all out of their 48 touchdowns and he only accounted for four scores. Additionally, of their top 11 tacklers, nine of them were seniors.
Biggest Strength: Program Consistency (Have finished above 0.500 in 8 of their past 10 seasons)
Biggest Question: Every skill position except for quarterback
Fort Madison
Derek Doherty has continued to right the ship that is the Bloodhound football program after nine consecutive losing seasons Fort Madison has gone 26-12 in their last four years with three trips to the postseason.
After dominating teams in 2022 with a dominating defense and an offense that could move the ball; 2023 saw the Bloodhounds depend on the clutch gene with a 3-0 record in one possession games leading to a 6-3 regular season mark.
The next step for Fort Madison has continued to be success outside of southeast Iowa as they fell handily to Williamsburg, Assumption, Mt. Vernon, and Solon in the first round of the playoffs.
However, Fort Madison’s problem is very similar to Assumption, the loss of a lot of seniors. The Bloodhounds lost their top three tacklers, second leading rusher, and leading wide receiver. The retention of dual threat quarterback Marcus Guzman, who scored 21 total touchdowns, is the anchor for this team.
Biggest Strength: Marcus Guzman
Biggest Question: Replacing Teague Smith and Ike Thacher
Mt. Vernon
The last team to talk about is the squad that took the district championship and a loss to Solon being their only blemish during the regular season. However, the season ended in disappointment as Williamsburg knocked the Mustangs out of the playoffs in the quarterfinals, 38-35.
Their nine wins marked the 5th time in the last 10 seasons that the Mustangs were able to complete that feat. However, this success has come at a costly price.
The Mustangs swept the District Players of the Year in Joey Rhomberg (offense), Jackson Jaspers (defense), Andrew Heck (O-Line), and Ethan Wood (D-Line).
Rhomberg, the starting quarterback for the last two seasons who threw for 49 touchdowns, Jaspers, and Heck were all seniors. Along with their leading rusher in Jackson Hird and leading receiver in Evan Brase.
This team will need to replace most of their offensive line and find some replacements at skill positions. Junior Kellen Haverback threw three touchdowns to zero interceptions in limited action and Cooper Hird rambled for 360 yards and four touchdowns at tailback.
Biggest Strength: Defense
Biggest Question: Offensive Line