FOOTBALL: 11 from NV/OM make all-district honors

The Nodaway Valley/OM football team took some steps forward this season as they rebuild the program under co-head coaches Brad Honnold and Jack West. This was West’s first season.

While the Wolverines didn’t capture an elusive victory, the base of a winning program seemed to take shape throughout this year. The 11 Wolverine all-district players for Class 1A, District 7 included four seniors and seven players who will return next year.

West said he was pleased to see the team has so many honorees in the district.

“We had a lot of kids nominated and we had a lot of deserving kids. It leaned heavy towards defensive players, but when you factor in that most, if not all, of the all-district picks are from small schools, there were a lot of standouts who played both offense and defense,” West said.

Woodward-Granger’s Talan Fuson was named the offensive MVP in the district. Fuson helped lead the Hawks to the district title with a record of 5-0 as the only unbeaten team in the league. The Hawks finished the season 8-2. Fuson was second in the district with 1,856 passing yards and first in passing touchdowns with 24. Fuson also led the district in rushing scores with 13 to go with a district leading 902 rushing yards. In all, he scored 37 times.

Senior defensive lineman Trent Warner was named the co-defensive MVP in the district and is a first team all-district defensive lineman. Warner shared the honor of co-defensive MVP with Kane Mahler-Moreno, a junior from Woodward-Granger. Warner had 36 tackles, 2.5 sacks and 14.0 tackles for loss. He also led the district in fumble recoveries with three.

Warner was joined by three other first teamers on the defensive side of the football.

Earning first team all-district defensive honors were defensive lineman Ashton Honnold; senior defensive back Paul Berg and defensive utility player sophomore Caleb Christensen.

Christensen led the Wolverines in tackles with 51.5 — the seventh highest total in the district. He also had two sacks and four and a half tackles for loss.

Honnold tied for 13th in the district in tackles with 41.5 to go with 15.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks.

Berg had 31 tackles, a sack and three tackles for loss. He tied for third in the district with three interceptions where he ran back 55 return yards. He also tied for second in the district with a pair of fumble recoveries.

The offensive side of the football got honored with a pair of second team selections.Junior Titus Hamer was a second team running back selection and senior Eli Harris was a second team utility pick. Hamer rushed the football 20 times for 66 yards and a touchdown. Harris led the Wolverines in rushing with 394 yards on 95 carries and a score and also led the team in passing with 747 yards on 72 completions with a pair of scoring passes.

Five other Wolverines were named honorable mention. Offensive players were wide receivers senior Garrett Welsch and junior Keyin Steeve; and junior Remington Woosley at offensive utility. On the defensive side of the ball, sophomore Lawson Jackson at defensive line and junior Ty Strode at defensive back were honorable mentions.

Welsch tied for seventh in receptions with 20 for a team-high 234 yards and a touchdown. Steeve was tenth in the district in receptions with 18 for 208 yards and a touchdown. Woosley had eight catches for 88 yards. Jackson had 24.5 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss and two sacks while Strode had 22 tackles.

The Wolverines will say goodbye to seniors Eli Harris, Welsch, Couper Mitchell, Berg, Kasen Hansen, Christian Putney, Warner and Charles Rudolf. The Wolverines will return 13 juniors as seniors and 10 sophomores that will be juniors next season. Five freshmen suited up for the varsity this year and there will be a good group of eighth-graders coming up next year to help to keep building the program.

West said he can’t wait to get started working and getting ready for the 2025 season.

“We have some kids coming back especially on the defensive line and defensive side that I think will take another step in their development,” said West. “I can’t wait to get started. We have some excitement out there as we will be in a new district next year. I really think that we (2024 coaches) set the program on a good foundation and pointed in a good direction. The kids are excited to keep working and that is not the case with every program.”

Class 1A District 7 All-District:

Offensive Most Valuable Player - Talan Fuson (Woodward-Granger) Jr.

First Team Offense:

Quarterback - Talan Fuson (Woodward-Granger) jr.

Running Back - Nick Severseike (South Hamilton) sr., Kolby Hodnefield (South Hamilton) jr., Ashton Williams (South Hamilton) sr., Trenton Naragon (West Central Valley) sr.

Offensive Line - Tabor Lettow (Woodward-Granger) sr., Brock Zorn (South Hamilton) sr., Landon Sogaard (South Hamilton) sr., Gabe Burg (Grand View Christian) sr., Zach Teague (West Central Valley) sr.

Wide Receiver - Max Dalton (Woodward-Granger) sr., Austin Jordan (Grand View Christian) sr., Brayden Hoben (Grand View Christian) jr.

Offensive Utility - CJ Petersen (Woodward-Granger) sr.

Placekicker - Alan Diaz (West Central Valley) sr.

Co-Defensive Most Valuable Players - Trent Warner (Nodaway Valley) sr., Kane Mahler-Moreno (Woodward-Granger) jr.

First Team Defense:

Defensive Line - Kane Maler-Moreno (Woodward-Granger) jr., Trent Warner (Nodaway Valley) sr., Cayden Dudley (Ogden) jr., Ashton Honnold (Nodaway Valley) jr.

Linebacker - Oscar Potter (Woodward-Granger) jr., Braden Young (South Hamilton) sr., Carson Mueggenberg (Ogden) jr., Jordan Robinson (West Central Valley) sr.

Defensive Back - Chandler Drake (Woodward-Granger) sr., Brogan Wolfe (West Central Valley) sr., Roman Hammond (West Central Valley) jr., Paul Berg (Nodaway Valley) sr.

Defensive Utility - Caleb Christensen (Nodaway Valley) soph.

Punter - Isaiah Parlee (Grand View Christian) jr.

Second Team Offense

Quarterback - CeJay Jones (Ogden) jr.

Running Back - Jake Albright (Grand View Christian) jr., Titus Hamer (Nodaway Valley) jr.

Offensive Line - Caden Creger (Woodward-Granger) jr., Mason Headley (Woodward-Granger) jr., Titus Herrick (South Hamilton) jr., Luke Thompson (Grand View Christian) sr., Owen Bergstrom (Ogden) sr.

Wide Receiver - Anthony Keasey (Grand View Christian) sr., Tyler Lass (Ogden) fr., Weston Sundell (Ogden) fr.

Offensive Utility - Micah Speichinger (West Central Valley) sr., Eli Harris (Nodaway Valley) sr.

Placekicker - Jacob Carroll (Woodward-Granger) fr.

Second Team Defense:

Defensive Line - Brady Seeman (Woodward-Granger) sr., Owen Dunlavey (Woodward-Granger) jr., Connor Deppe (South Hamilton) sr., Marshall Dickson (West Central Valley) sr.

Linebacker - Ethan Dunlavey (Woodward-Granger) jr., Luke Jordan (Grand View Christian) soph., Jarel Madison (West Central Valley) soph.

Defensive Back - Vinny Sebastian (Woodward-Granger) jr., Kaden Dean (South Hamilton) soph., Ryder Eklund (Ogden) fr., Wyatt McKibben (West Central Valley) jr.

Defensive Utility - Brayden Miller (Ogden) soph.

Punter - Bryce Polich (Woodward-Granger) sr.

2024 Nodaway Valley All-District Selections

Co-District Defensive MVP & 1st Team All-District Defensive Line - Trent Warner (SR)

1st Team Defensive Line - Ashton Honnold (JR)

1st Team Defensive Back - Paul Berg (SR)

1st Team Defensive Utility - Caleb Christensen (SO)

2nd Team Running Back - Titus Hamer (JR)

2nd Team Offensive Utility - Eli Harris (SR)

Honorable Mention WR - Garrett Welsch (SR)

Honorable Mention WR - Keyin Steeve (JR)

Honorable Mention Offensive Utility - Remington Woosley (JR)

Honorable Mention Defensive Line - Lawson Jackson (SO)

Honorable Mention Defensive Back - Ty Strode (JR)