Kee football team returns more than half its squad with varsity letterwinning experience for 2016


Left to right - Front row: Casey Carroll, Brock Colsch, Jacob Walleser, Noah Spearbecker, Brock Flack. Back row: Cody Rosendahl, Aidan Winters, Tristan Rolfs, Tyler Reinhart, Clay Olson, Tucker Colsch. Not pictured: Eric Rud, AJ Gagner, Johnathon Mooney. Photo courtesy of the Kee High School Yearbook.

A significant reversal of fortune in returning experience from last season to this season hopes to pay the same dividends in game results for the Kee football team as the 2016 gridiron campaign gets set to get underway. After playing to a 2-7 record on the experience of just six returning letterwinners during the 2015 season, the Hawks return over half of their 26-player high school roster with letterwinning experience this fall.

Providing further promise is the fact that eight of this year’s returning letterwinners are seniors this season, providing a solid foundation of veteran experience. That senior crew includes Casey Carroll, Brock Colsch, AJ Gagner, Jon Mooney, Clay Olson, Tyler Reinhart, Cody Rosendahl and Jacob Walleser. Juniors Tucker Colsch, Brock Flack, Tristan Rolfs, Eric Rud and Noah Spearbecker, as well as sophomore Aidan Winters, also return with considerable game experience from last season.

“I expect the letterwinners to set the tone for practice each and every day,” Kee head football coach Chad Winters said. “Their willingness to work hard and show the younger guys the correct way to do things will help us improve as a team during the season.”

Although last season’s lack of experience resulted in the end of a string of six consecutive seasons for the Hawks qualifying for the State Play-Offs, the influx of young players forced into starting roles last season is expected to begin to pay dividends as they return this season. “A majority of the returning guys got their first taste of varsity football last year,” Coach Winters said. “There were growing pains along the way, but I think the valuable lessons learned will have them prepared for this year’s season.”

While having more experience will certainly help the Hawk cause this season, that experience doesn’t necessarily fall into every position on this season’s squad. “While we do have a few more returners than we have had in the past, we are very thin at a few key skill positions,” Coach Winters explained. “The depth drops off pretty quick, and we would have to move some guys around to account for certain injuries.”

Although graduation took just four seniors from last year’s squad, Ethan Walleser took with him the team lead in reception yardage and defensive take-aways. “It was a pretty small senior class last year with only four seniors participating,” Coach Winters said. “The departing seniors have left the depth at the wide receiver position and the defensive backfield a little thin.”
With so many underclassmen having to contribute last season, it should be no surprise that there is an abundance of team-leading statistical numbers coming back with them for 2016. Tucker Colsch will return for his second season at starting quarterback for the Hawks, although his favorite receiving target has been lost to graduation. Tucker Colsch also returns a team-high 36 solo tackles from last season’s squad, with Jon Mooney bringing back the team lead in tackles for loss with an average just under one per game. Although his season was limited by injury last fall, Clay Olson still ran to a team-high 418 yards for six touchdowns.

Experienced or not, it will be the ability to keep all players on the field that will factor into this season a great deal. “As always, staying healthy will help us greatly,” Coach Winters reasoned. “We lost a few guys last year to season-ending injuries and that really hurt us. We have two tough non-district games to open up the season to help us get ready for district play. Hopefully, the lessons learned and improvement made in the first two non-district games will help us get off to a good start in district play.”

It will be district play that will provide another new twist for this fall’s Hawk grid campaign, as district realignments pushed Kee into Eight Player District 3, where the Hawks are lined up with last season’s State Runner-Up and seemingly perennial power Don Bosco. Fellow District 4 competitor and State quarterfinalist Central Elkader will also follow the Hawks to District 3 this season. A trimmed State-qualifying field to just the top two teams in each district (down from the top four teams during the last several seasons) will also provide its own bit of challenge for the Kee gridiron gang.

“Perennial power Don Bosco looks to be the front runner for the district title, and Central Elkader returns some quality players from a State quarterfinal team last year,” Coach Winters speculated in regard to District 4.

Regardless of who stands across from them on the field or what they have to overcome in addition to their opponent, the football Hawks will still be working toward the same goals, both specific and more general. “Qualify for the play-offs by being a top-two district team,” Coach Winters said of his team’s most specific goal, while adding the overall standard of “Improve each day as an individual and as a team.”

The Hawks will kick off their 2016 campaign with a non-district road date at Turkey Valley this Friday, August 26 before playing host to Riceville Friday, September 2. “It’s a really fun group to be around,” Coach Winters summarized. “They come ready to work and do what we ask.”