Three years unbeaten, friends forever

WELLMAN

For eight years now, these Golden Hawks have fought together, lifted together, screamed together, played together.

Eight years.

And in three varsity football seasons, they never lost a district game. Perfect.

Think about that.

“It just feels amazing,” senior lineman Tommy Miller said as he stood with his 11 senior teammates after the Golden Hawks finished off a three-peat unbeaten district championship last Friday with a 35-21 win over West Burlington/Notre Dame. “Just the connections we have. We’ve been playing ever since we were little in this sport.”

Oh, since about the fifth grade when they elementary school students in Kalona and Wellman.

And that’s what made Senior Night last Friday so special.

They stood with their parents in front of the home stands, listening to the applause and their own heart beats pounding. Eight years.

Some will head to college after this school year is over. Some are headed to military duty. And some, like Kale Miller, will go back to their family farm, perhaps for the rest of their lives.

And it’s over?

Not just yet.

“The Dome,” senior lineman Jack Sorrell said.

These are the hearts of Mid-Prairie football. Sorrell and Tommy Miller and Will Snider and Quincy Duvall are the ones clearing the way on offense for senior quarterback Brooks Weber, the top-rated quarterback in Iowa 2A.

Kale Miller kicks, catches passes, terrorizes opposing quarterbacks as a defensive end and does just about anything else asked by head coach Daren Lambert, defensive coordinator Derek Yoder and the other coaches. He even wore the Golden Hawk mascot outfit at a home volleyball match.

Caedyn Huston is one of the leading tacklers in Iowa District 2A-6.

Travis Shenk joins Kale Miller and Tommy Miller on the defensive line.

Nolan Jergens and Carson Humphrey, both state qualifiers in track, are about the fastest receivers you’ll see.

Max Kipp and Ryan Miller are liable to show up anywhere on the offensive or defensive lines, or at linebacker.

And in three years, they never lost a district football game. Never.

The Golden Hawks have won three consecutive district championships over three years. Not only a three-peat, but a three-peat with a perfect record. Fifteen wins, zero losses.

“When you step back and think about that accomplishment,” said Lambert, a middle school teacher in Kalona who saw all those kids before they became varsity Golden Hawks, “it’s quite an accomplishment.”

Win all those games, Weber says, and guess what, “You get the top seed.”

If only just for a moment, they reflected on that following last week’s game.

“It feels good,” Huston said. “Three seasons in a row especially is not something that happens a whole lot. It makes me feel good.”

“It feels amazing to just keep on winning,” Jergens said. “I think it’s been the standard the last few years.”

But it’s even more than that. These are friendships that are likely to last a lifetime.

“It’s just a great feeling to be able to hang out with these guys every day after school and play here on Friday nights,” Sorrell said. “It’s just monumental. I’ll probably remember this for the rest of my life.”

“Growing up together, everyone developing the way they did, just pushing each other all the time, it’s a feeling that you really can’t explain,” Tommy Miller said. “Just a winning feeling.”

And it’s not over.

The end of a Friday night in Wellman was not greeted by smiles and high-fives and bear hugs and tears. There is something bigger. The Golden Hawks have lost just one game this season and they want to be the first in school history to play in the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls in the 2A semifinals in November. And, hey, maybe the championship game.

Last year, they got within one game.

“We’ve got bigger goals,” Huston said.

“Got to keep it rolling,” Jergens said.

“That’s something all my years I’ve been wanting to do,” Sorrell said. “That is just a goal that we’ve always had as a team. That’s pushed me and that’s pushed our team to do better. That’s the set goal that we have.”

Need one more crushing block?

The Dome.

One more touchdown pass?

The Dome.

One more lift in the weight room?

The Dome.

The trek toward the Dome began Friday, when the Golden Hawks defeated Chariton in the first round of the 2A playoffs. Then another game next week. And another game the week after that.

Then, the Dome.

“If we were to make it there, setting all these things,” Sorrell said, “it would just be the best feeling.”

Indeed it would.

 News columnist Paul Bowker can be reached at bowkerpaul1@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter: @bowkerpaul