Waukon football team plays to program’s sixth consecutive district championship on the way to its 5-4 season record

Following the graduation of a large class of nearly two dozen seniors from last season and returning one of its smallest collections of both returning letterwinners and seniors in recent memory this past fall, the Waukon football team pushed through those challenges and nearly everyone’s expectations for this 2023 season to return to a very familiar place. While those expectations saw speculation throughout the spectrum of results, the football Tribe played its way to a 5-4 season record that included a 4-1 record in Class 2A District 3 play that lifted the Indians to their sixth consecutive Class 2A district championship and their 10th Class 2A State Play-Off qualification in the past 12 seasons since joining those 2A ranks.

“If you read the pre-season tabloids, you saw the District being handed to Osage, or New Hampton, with North Fayette Valley as the dark horse,” Waukon football head coach Chad Beermann said. “I don’t think even our kids expected much. But, as the season began, our coaches could see that there was potential in this group, if they would work and believe in themselves and teammates. As the season went along, they came to realize that themselves. That made our success possible. In addition to winning the District, we were the only team in the District to finish with a winning record.”

This season’s continued championship result in Class 2A district play saw the grid Tribe ride a bit of a rollercoaster throughout its fall campaign. Following back-to-back non-district losses to start the season, the Indians pulled off what many considered an upset victory over a then top-10 rated Class 3A Independence squad that eventually played to a 7-3 season record. The Indians then suffered their first loss in Class 2A district play since the 2017 season to open their league schedule this fall before rattling off four straight district victories to secure Waukon football’s sixth consecutive Class 2A district championship. That rollercoaster ride ultimately came to an end with a first-round loss in postseason play to Union, with the football Indians suffering their first-ever loss in the opening round of the Class 2A State Play-Offs.

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