By Becky Walz,
Returning to the Warrior gridiron with a letter are (front, l-r) Tristan Bodensteiner, Carson Streeter, Braiden Todd, Kyle Kuboushek, Shayde Wermers; (back) Brandon Kriener, Aydan Palaox-Schultz, Eric Greve, Yahir Macario, Ray Lienau and Logan Tieskoetter. (Photo courtesy of Zak Kriener/Ossian Bee)
The defense will lead the way for the South Winn football team in 2024.
With a new quarterback and some new athletes on the offensive and defensive lines, the Warriors will be a little green when they take the field for the first time. However, nine veteran starters may give South Winn an edge in the district.
Overseeing the team hungry to bring home a district title is Jason Ohrt who is entering his 18th season as the head coach of the Warriors. His has a career mark of 110-64 and will be assisted by Mike Wenthold, Justin Izer and Carter Wenthold.
Student managers are Carson Straube, Shaun Barta and Earl Lienau.
Solid finish
The Warriors looked set to make a run in 2023 with 11 returning starters including a pair of all-district honorees.
They were off to a rocky start with a trio of losses to Starmont, North Butler and Wapsie Valley. It was against Newman Catholic where things turned around for the Warriors with a 27-20 win. South Winn celebrated homecoming with a 16-12 win over AGWSR, then spoiled the homecoming celebration 22-14 at Nashua-Plainfield. The regular season capped off the 5-0 run with wins over North Tama and BCLUW, allowing the Warriors to finish second in the district and earn a postseason bid. East Buchanan spoiled the fun in round one, 46-3.
For the season, South Winn picked up 2,414 total yards, with 1,859 on the ground and 555 through the air. They average 4.76 yards per play. The Warrior defense piled up 347 total tackles (249 solo) and 60.5 tackles for loss.
Starting lineup
Coach Ohrt and the rest of the coaching staff won’t be starting from scratch. They have 11 returning letter winners, including nine with starting experience, four of whom were all-district honorees last season.
Three starting seniors lead the way. Offensive and defensive lineman Tristen Bodensteiner (5’10,” 200 lbs.) saw action last season, providing 14 solo tackles and 7 assists. He helped the offense pick up 2,414. For his efforts, he was named first team all-district.
Also named first team all-district was then-sophomore Kyle Kuboushek. As a lineback and running back, Kuboushek (5’10,” 175 lbs.) was second on the Warrior squad with 57 total tackles (36 solo). On offense, he ran for 821 yards on 197 carries, averaging 4.2 yards a touch.
Carson Streeter (6’3,” 200 lbs.) will fulfill a variety of roles as he did last year — tight end, defensive end, linebacker, kicker and punter. A first-team all-district honoree last year, he caught 24 passes for 278 yards, averaging 11.6 yards per reception. Defensively, Streeter had 24 solo stops and 15 assists, two interceptions and a fumble recovery. As a sophomore last season, he provided 33 kick-offs for 1,653 yards, was 3-for-6 in field goals and 12-for-18 in PATs, in addition to 20 punts that sailed a total of 673 yards.
Calling out the signals will be Braiden Todd as he steps into the role as quarterback but may also be seen as a running back on offense as well as a linebacker on defense. A second-team all-district honoree last year, Todd had 23 total tackles (17 solo, 13 assists) and 4.5 tackles for loss. He recovered two fumbles and had one interception. Offensively he carried the pigskin 26 times for 60 yards.
Other athletes back with a letter include seniors Yahir Macario (5’9,” 175 lbs., RB/LB), Shayde Wermers (6’2,” 220 lbs., OL/DL); and juniors Ray Lienau (6’6,” 230 lbs., OL/DL) and Brandon Kriener (6’0,” 165 lbs., TE/DL).
Making their mark
Several athletes will be pushing for a starting spot vacated by graduated athletes.
Juniors making noise early in the preseason are Eric Greve (6’2,” 150 lbs, RB/DB), Aydan Polafox-Schultz (5’11,” 215 lbs., OL/LB); and sophomores Kolton Brummond (6’1,” 255 lbs., OL/DL), Landon Humpal (6’0,” 185 lbs., RB/LB), Landon Livingood (6’1,” 155 lbs., RB/DB) and Gavin Feickert (6’0,” 170 lbs., RB/LB).
A bright future
Even with very low participation numbers, the Warriors return a solid nucleus of experienced starters and rotational starters. Coach Ohrt believes the squad’s greatest strength will be the special teams led by Streeter.
“Despite early and late season injuries to multiple seniors last fall, we were able to tie for second place in the district. We feel very capable of competing for a district title if we can stay healthy this fall,” said Coach Ohrt.
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