Mid-Prairie’s boys soccer team is heading into a new world of Iowa Class 2A this season in the state’s new four-class system for boys soccer.

But that’s OK.

The Golden Hawks began their season with a scrimmage March 24 at Benton Community, a school that played in 2A last year and is in the WaMaC West. The Hawks won, 2-1.

“This 2A this year, it’s fresh,” Mid-Prairie head coach Wyatt Cady said. “There’s going to be a ton of competition. We played well against 2A schools last year.”

And that’s not all that’s fresh and new at Mid-Prairie. Wyatt Cady, who was previously an assistant under his dad, Pat, is now in his first year as head coach. He is taking over a team that won 11 games the last two seasons and rose to No. 1 in the Class 1A rankings last year.

The Golden Hawks return just four starters from last year, with leading scorer Jack Pennington and goalkeeper Justice Jones among those lost to graduation.

Stepping in as team captain is Owen Trimpe, a senior forward who had a team-high 10 assists last year and also scored 9 goals.

The Golden Hawks lost their first two regular-season games to Williamsburg and West Liberty, and play at Columbus on Thursday.

Mid-Prairie played strongly on Benton’s turf field, dominating portions of the play and scoring twice in the first half.

“I think we looked really good today,” said Wyatt Cady, who was joined by Pat Cady and assistant coach Byron Yoder on the sidelines. “We’ve only had three of four practices outside to this point. Yesterday (March 23) was the first day we even stood in our formation. These guys have done a good job.”

Joe Hall, a junior, and Andrew Kaufman, a sophomore who played in four games last year, will be in goal for the Golden Hawks.

In addition to Trimpe, returnees with starting experience include senior Noah Ford, and juniors Daniel Rodgers, Tucker Miller and Beau Flynn. Sawyer Hough, another junior, played in nine games last year.

For the new Golden Hawks, the scrimmage game was a first.

“We got a lot of playing time out of three or four people that hadn’t even played soccer before,” Cady said. “I think we did a good job knowing our roles and playing as a team.”

Highland

The soccer numbers are up at Highland and that’s great news for head coach Dylan Stewart.

“It opens the door,” he said. “Our practices are different. More subs, more rotations, bigger drills.”

The Huskies won just one game last year, but return a number of players along with a group of newcomers that could lead to success in 2023. Among the returnees are Sage Hartley-Norman, a sophomore defender who played in 12 games last year and was the starting quarterback for the Huskies in football, and Ayden Havel, a striker who also played in 12 games as a freshman last year. Jared Diaz, a midfielder, is also a returning sophomore.

Stella Slaymaker, a junior, started in 13 games last year and will again play a key role for the Huskies.

Newcomers include Logan McFarland, who was a starter in basketball and football.

“I think we have a good group of kids,” Stewart said.

Hillcrest

Senior defenders Grant Bender and Isaac Lybeck, along with sophomore defender Mason Bender, will help the Ravens stand strong defensively.

The Ravens won six games last year and held Mid-Prairie, which was ranked No. 1 in Class 1A at one point, to just one goal in a 1A tournament loss.

Micah Gerber, a sophomore, returns to lead the offense. He scored seven goals last year.

Grant Bender and Lybeck are the only seniors on a team that will also rely heavily on a big sophomore class.

“There is a good nucleus of guys from last year, so we hope to build on that,” said head coach Marcus Miller. “We have some younger guys coming out, so hopefully that helps. Grant and Isaac should provide good leadership for this young group.”

Other sophomores include midfielder Seth Ours and Jesse Blossom, and defender Bryce Bailey.

The Ravens host Cedar Valley Christian in their season opener April 6.