Hillcrest’s Scott, Bailey set to have major impact for Raider football

Last season, very little went right for the Williamsburg Raiders.

Their quarterback, then-sophomore Mid-Prairie transfer Cash Brown, went down with an injury in the middle of the season.

A slow start against elite competition, including early losses to 3A state qualifier Solon and undefeated 4A state champ Cedar Rapids Xavier, gave the Raiders tiebreakers that kept them out of the playoffs despite an upside victory over eventual 3A champion Nevada.

All this while getting used to new head coach Austin Blythe, Williamsburg alum and former player for the Iowa Hawkeyes and four NFL teams.

If the Raiders are able to reverse their fortunes in 2026, they’ll need big contributions from a quintet of players hailing from Hillcrest Academy.

“We’d definitely be a worse football team without those guys here,” Blythe said.

Senior Kale Bailey will be one of the leaders of the Williamsburg offense this fall. He was the team’s leading receiver in 2025, getting open early and often for Brown.

“I’ve been relied on to know what I’m doing, to know the plays, help others out if needed,” Bailey said. “I show what I can do so others can see what they need to do.”

Bailey is as close to an archetypal “X” wide receiver as you can get. He’s the tallest wide receiver on the team at 6’2”, has a vertical that once got him to the state finals in the high jump, and as a senior has a deep understanding of his route trees within the Raider offense.

“Kale is ready for a big season,” Blythe said. “He’s really put a lot of work in, starting in the spring. His football IQ has continued to get better. I’m just really looking forward to seeing what he does this fall.”

On the other side of the ball, Gibson Scott looks to be a force.

Physically, he’s shown an ability to be dominant both on the field and in the weight room, lifting with the Raiders over the summer and joining the team’s 1000 pound club as one of its strongest members.

“It’s a big achievement,” Scott said of joining the 1000-pound club, holding a commemorative plaque given to him by the coaching staff. “I’m just proud, I really had to push myself.”

Scott has a nose for the ball out of the secondary, coming in eighth on the team with 21.5 tackles last season, cleaning up the few plays that got past the dominant run defense in front of him. He generated two turnovers as well in 2025, forcing a fumble and securing an interception.

Also playing for the Raiders from Hillcrest will be  Abe Widmer, Garrett Bontrager and Charlie Hughes. Hughes was the only one of the three to see the field last fall, but the junior missed time this preseason due to a leg injury. Hughes says that he expects to return before district play begins.

It’s a 30-minute drive from Hillcrest to Williamsburg. That’s a drive this group will have to make every day to get to practice once school starts, an extra half-hour of class they’ll miss on gamedays. While that process has been a challenge, Scott says that the daily drive and the support of Raider nation only drive him further.

“They’ve been so welcoming from day one,” Scott said. “Not just the players, but the whole community has different people, whether its inviting us to their houses before games for meals or just saying hi around town. The whole team, the whole town, has been great.”

This is a big year for Williamsburg. Last year was turbulent, with bad luck and a lot of new faces causing the team to underperform. With Brown and Blythe in year two, expectations are higher. If the Raiders are going to get back to the playoffs and beyond, it’ll take this flock of Ravens to help them soar.